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Comparison Between Greek and Egyptian Mythology
Introduction
Before the existence of science and modern astronomers, the origin of the world and society was explained by mysteries. Because science was not in use, people tried to put meaning in life dilemmas and the happenings around them, which led them to turn to mythology and religion. Mythology and religion made them have understandings of human history and societal, cultural development. Despite the geographical differences in the societies, ancient people of Greek and Egypt were able to come up with solutions that others seemed similar to interpret the mysteries of the world. In this essay, we will compare and contrast similarities and differences in the Greek and Egyptian mythologies.
Both the Greeks and Egyptians are considered to have the oldest civilization in world history. The two societies shared many similarities from religion, art, architectural designs, and creativity styles. The two ancient societies believed in the existence of a superior being. The Greeks believed in Zeus, who was believed to be the king of all the deities in Greek, he reined in Mt Olympus. On the other hand, in Egyptian mythology, Osiris held the first position in the deities hierarchy. Osiris was the god of love, health, and happiness. When he was killed, Horus ascended to the pinnacle of the leadership of all deities. Both the ancient Greek and Egyptian traditions shared the idea of a Supreme Being and polythetic religions.
Some Greek deities are also recognized with Egyptian societies, particularly the Egyptian supreme deity, Osiris, and the Greek Dionysus. Both of these deities are gods of fertilities, among other duties. Similarly, they were both born twice. It is believed that the Greek deity, Dionysus, was first birthed from Semele’s womb, and later he was delivered from Zeus’s thigh. Both societies share similar gods like Horus and Apollo, Demeter and Isis, Hathor and Aphrodite, and Bast and Artemis. Other similarities are their interests in geometry, mathematics, insular society, and government structure.
In contrast, Egyptians held the tombs and pyramids as the holiest places of worshiping their gods and pharaoh, unlike the Greeks. The latter carried out their prayers and religious activities in temples and pantheons. In contrast to Greek mythology, Egyptians believed in Duat, the underworld. In contrast, the Greeks were more enlightened and mainly focused on the world and mount Olympus where Zeus and other heroes lived. Consequently, the ancient stories and legends in Greek were bequeathed to next generations by story-telling while Egyptians stories and legends were narrated in hieroglyphics on caves and stones. Unlike the Greeks, the ancient Egyptians held dead people in high esteem. They maintained a close connection with them through the spirit realm—the latter associated their afterlife deities with gloom and evil.
Conclusion
Finally, even though these mythology does not exist in modern societies, they played a key role in the evolution and development of modern societies. Through these mythologies, human beings understand generational conflicts, love for power, and stability of human nature.