Comparative analysis of the Ancient Civilizations

by Sharmaine Mararac, BS Bio 2_4

The different civilizations around the world all have different religions and beliefs. Some may be
derived from a past culture, as was the Babylonian number system from the Sumerian, and some may have
been unique on their own, but essentially, they all have their own concept of science and technology that
either resemble another’s coincidentally in efforts to make life efficient and productive for their own, or had
been more or less inspired by the other.
There had been a common denominator _ religion. The ancient culture of the first civilizations
centered around the concepts of sacrifices, praying, building infrastructures dedicated to a holy one, and these
are all incorporated with daily instructions and general way of life.
Starting with the Sumerian religion, their gods shaped their political institution and controlled every
little thing such as the weather, fertility, harvests, and even medicine, with the people never questioning the
existence of a greater existential being, but succumbing entirely to a rule below that ‘holy one/s’ and his
image as the ‘absolute law’. As seen in the Epic of Gilgamesh, they also believed that the gods will ever be
generous to give, but will also be as cruel to take away. With Babylonia, it was more like they continued the
‘spiritual life’ the Sumerians lead and added a few cultural aspects of their own, but they were not ones to
focus solely on religion, and instead their culture was honed by the infamous “Hammurabi’s Code of Law”.
The Egyptians however, started what was called “theocracy”, where their king (or pharaoh in strict
terminology) is automatically their god, and this ruler would then be owner of everything his people are, will
be, and whatever they will make or already have.
For the Greeks and Romans, they too have found a way to incorporate religion in the uniqueness of
their civilization. The popular myths of the Greeks and Roman mythologies have been so prominent in their
time that the stories exist still today, and are enjoyed by many. Such tales, whether people believed them or
not, reflects the richness of the ancient human’s creative minds, which may have been limited by the lack of
proper understanding of art and its many medium at the time, but nevertheless finding a way to express and
let imaginations flourish through legends.
Social class in the ancient civilizations varied by names, but were still essentially the same things. For
upper Mesopotamian civilizations namely Sumerian and Babylonia, there were kings, priests and government
officials for the upper class, and then people from the middle and lower class (which included slaves).
Pharaohs held the ultimate power in Egypt, wherein everyone else was sorted according to their jobs, but the
priests, traders, and farmers were treated higher than the slaves and unskilled workers. For the Greek and
Roman civilizations, people were still classified as the rich and the poor, and the land owners and government
officials are considered the rich and powerful of the society.
Another interesting culture of the ancient civilizations were their form of writing, which were
relatively unique to each civilization and depict a higher form of organization and cognitive thinking. It was
cuneiform for Sumerian and Babylonia, and hieroglyphics for Egypt, each finding way to write in clay tablets
and even the walls of buildings in Egypt, while they used different types of scribing instrument appropriate
and made available from their resources at the time. This part of history alone tells us a little something from
the stone age when ancient people discovered that communication was possible through sounds, and then the
invention of language after, and then the formation of the first civilizations when humans were no longer
nomadic and encouraged formation of communities for a systematic way of living, and then each of these
communities then discover ways to be more efficient without anyone instructing them or guiding them on
what to do, eventually forming a system for writing, for politics, for religion, medicine, astronomy, for
architecture, and philosophy, up to the point where we’ve reached the modern times and we are one click
away from information learning about these communities and how they worked their way up to get us to
where we are now.
 The number system is also unique for every civilization discussed. As mentioned before, the
Sumerians had the semi_sexagesimal system, while Babylonians took this and derived from it a purely
60_based number system that some people find relatively easier and easier to understand. Thousands of years
later, the Greeks and Romans were able to make another history for themselves when the Romans invented
the Roman numerals and named it after them for an easier, yet limited system for counting. These inventions
are not perfect nor as efficient as the numbers we know today, but these same numerals or systems paved
away for a new number system to be improved and altered for better effectiveness.
For infrastructures the ziggurats of the Sumerians were famous for its intricate design and the amount
of architectural work embedded into it compared to its time. This same remark can also be said to Ancient
Egypt’s famous temples, with some even standing today and is now a tourist spot famous to foreign visitors.
There are also the popular pyramids that made people of today respond in awe to the practical ways of how
the ancient human beings built their infrastructures from limited resources, manpower, and the basic
knowledge we have now of architecture design and construction science. The Greeks were also known for
their massive theaters, and the kind of houses they built to live in. For the Romans, it was the city complex
instead, the urban community focused on the forum, a large open plaza, and the important buildings
surrounding it, such as the basilica, and law courts.
For specialized sciences, Egypt was especially ahead of its time when records reveal that the
Egyptians had a sophisticated concept of how the heart (and the body) works, and that though their
understanding of the human anatomy isn’t accurate, it was close to the truth and still deserves commandment
when medicinal practice was uncommon at their time and they did not have the devices we have today to
correctly study the human body and its physiology. The Egyptians learned this medicinal knowledge from
embalming their dead, which came from a culture of believing in an afterlife from their religion.
In the end, the civilizations’ contributions become more special when we take into account that they
do not have information readily available for them, These same people form the ancient civilizations have had
to fight for territory in their early life, get punished and condemned by specific rules created by the society
they were born in, and the less lucky ones have had to deal with being slaves sold for life. These people were
also made vulnerable by their dependence on religious explanations that otherwise are subjected to practical
and straightforward solutions, and were more likely to die of illness than people of today because they had
limited understanding to healing. These same people were intelligent enough to invent practical tools like the
plow, the wheel, the calendar, and even Math (Early Mesopotamian civilizations) when they have no means
to understand theorems and explain why these work, and yet they know that they do work, and these
inventions will make life easier for them.
For the Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations, not much differed for both of them since they were
essentially belonging to the same region, but lived and prospered in different times. Their way of writing can
remind us of one or the other, and applied sciences like the number systems are also very closely related since
the Babylonians took after the Sumerians and made their own name, eventually passing Sumer as the most
famous and successful civilization from Mesopotamia because of Hammurabi, the great king of Amorites.
For Greeks and Romans, one can also remind us of the other because of their characteristically
beautiful and massive infrastructures, and having related versions of mythologies but each having a different
name for a god with similar descriptions.
Reflection on the Ancient Civilizations
by Sharmaine Mararac, BS Bio 2_4

I see the nomadic people from the stone age as extremely resourceful and must have been greatly
adaptable to be able to survive in changing environments and temperatures with no appropriate clothing in
order to find food to survive. This knowledge of the first humans before civilizations began humbles me to
know that it is acceptable for humans to be so desperate and to go against all odds for one thing they so
desire, and that we can survive extreme conditions when our determination to survive is greater than
anything.
With Sumerians, I only always read about their cuneiform writing and how it is one of their greatest
contributions. After knowing about their ziggurats, I imagine how so religiously dependent their culture
had been and how it must have shaped the society they formed. Growing up from a not so religious
upbringing in a religious country, I haven’t always connected with the spiritual aspects of a Catholic
society, and I have the same sentiments with the Sumerians. I view them as ancient, faraway people who I
will not be able to connect with, but I imagine how their usual day felt like. I feel an ounce of pride and
fascination to how they built their lives unsupported by the knowledge we now know, and I like to imagine
that they were extremely hardworking people who thought outside of the box and yet had a very simple
outlook in life : to be practical and do the work they must. I feel like they might have never been lazy, and I
admire it.
With the Babylonians, I actually really enjoyed learning their number system. I admit not to be
fully comprehended by it, but I notice that it is easier for me to digest than the Sumerian system. I
recognize Hammurabi’s efforts for the good of his people, despite his cruelty, and his affirmation and
power that enabled him to conquer the rest of Mesopotamia during his term is inhumane and unforgivable,
but he was an opportunistic leader that bore fruits of power and advantage to those he ruled. I do not know
enough about him to comment on his rule, and so I cannot say whether I agree with his choices or not.
Meanwhile Egypt’s theocracy reminds me of what we call fascism today, wherein people of Egypt
are the ones who are being led to a dictatorship disguised as the ruler’s efforts in bettering the nation, and the
people, ever forgiving, loyal, and a pushover, molded by the conformity of accepting what is and never
questioning those in power, accept the oppression and thank their ‘god’ for it.
The invention of religion, actually fascinates me the most, as its background of emergence as a way
of protecting the human mind from the dangers of feelings of uncertainty of the future and the origin of life
itself by declaring the existence of a one true god that will look upon us and take care of us seems a little too
simple of an origin for a widely accepted concept that people of today are engrossed in more than ever.
Egyptians were especially committed to their faith, as ancient civilizations always had, when they built
temples made specifically for a particular god, and then another for another god or goddess. It requires
immense amount of time, effort, resources, and manpower to construct a massive temple without the
machineries that are used today, and yet the ancient Egyptians were able to create hundreds of them, with few
ones being so exceptionally well built that they still stand strong today, because they were that dedicated to
their faith.
The next fascinating thing, of course, is the enhanced and upgraded arts brought by the Greeks and
Romans. Their own mythologies are something I really enjoy and study, and their infrastructures are another
wonders to the architectural world. They were able to create beautifully made buildings and the Greeks even
brought us theaters and Rome pantheons.