Filled with complex abstraction and emotional expression, The Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld reflects the intellectual sophistication of the educated citizens of this early high civilization. The story takes place in a universe seen as a stratification of three layers. It seems to consist of heaven, sky and earth. This supernatural universe of Ishtar reeks of divine beings, gods, and demons. Ishtar is portrayed in an anthropomorphic way as superior human, imaging the ruling class of society. She is, however, more powerful, and is viewed as the cause of seasonality and fertility because of her ritual journey to and from the "dark house." The action in the story reflects the patriarchal society of the times. The story has many levels. In one sense, it tries to explain the natural force of seasonality on earth. In their religion, starting with a force of nature (birth and seasonality), and then personalizing this force as a goddess create the goddess Ishtar. Ishtar the goddess represents natural forces that reflect the environment and local surroundings in a society that observes life and death in the seasons, and asks the big question, "Is there life after death?" She is Venus, or the goddess of fertility, and she is good evidence of an exceptional religion that had not yet reached the stage of monotheism.

Millions of years ago the procreant low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris was probably the home of some animal life, but no great civilizations. However, things change over time, and just a few thousand years ago the same fertile low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris became the home of a very rich and complex society. This first high society of man was located in what some still call "Mesopotamia". The word "Mesopotamia" is in origin a Greek name meaning "land between the rivers." The name is used for the area watered by the Euphrates and Tigris and its tributaries, roughly comprising modern Iraq and part of Syria. South of modern Baghdad, this alluvial plain was called the land of Sumer and Akkad. Sumer is the most southern part, while the land of Akkad is the area around modern Baghdad, where the Euphrates and Tigris are closest to each other. This first high, Mesopotamian society arose as a combined result of various historical, institutional, and religious factors. The reality of these factors occurring at a specific place within the fabric of space and time, indeed established the basis for this first high civilization. Items like irrigation, topography, and bronze-age technical innovations played a big part along with the advent of writing and the practice of social conditioning, (through the use of organized religion) in this relatively early achievement of man.

Bronze-age technical innovations played a big part in the advancement of civilization. The metallurgical qualities of malleability and hardness made bronze a good choice for construction tools. The bronze tools expedited the construction of public buildings necessary for evolving civilization and government. Furthermore, tools of bronze aided in the erection of fortifications surrounding the cities, like security walls. Tools and related mechanical innovations like the wheel fueled the progress of early civilization, but metallurgy and tools were just part of the formula.

A pattern that was common among the ancient civilizations of Rome, Greece, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, was that most of them started as a dictatorship, or a monarchy. Eventually, most of the ancient civilizations changed to a democracy, republic, or to class systems. Almost all of the civilizations had a few great leaders. For example, Egypt had King Tut, Greece had Alexander the Great and Rome had Julius Caesar. One of the major ancient civilizations was the Romans. They started out as a monarchy government by having one ruler and eventually, the idea of republicanism overthrew the monarchy. The Romans thought that this would keep any one person from ga

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Approximate Word count = 3129
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)