Differences in History
History has, for centuries, remain the only sources that human beings can understand the past, present, and future. The opportunity to understand different cultures and traditions through myths is widely represented and recorded in literature. In many ancient kingdoms, there exist myths and beliefs that have shaped the modern world. In understanding what it means to have different beliefs and myths, it is critical to look at various legends or famous people. They were regarded to have supernatural powers or immortality.
Gilgamesh was considered as a hero who was the king of Sumerian in Near East, who had the desire to become immortal. At any moment that he might have found himself living in ancient Egypt, then it would mesmerize him to learn some beliefs are very different from what he knew in Uruk. Gilgamesh would miss his quest for immortality and the fact that his beliefs of being a son of a goddess and a father who was half god and half-human. In ancient Egypt, Gilgamesh would find the celebratory of death confusing because, in his life, he had gone to seek immortality from Utnapishtim, who had survived the great floods. Gilgamesh would feel; uncomfortable in Egypt where death is embraced and ceremoniously prepared even before the death of a person or a leader such as Pharaoh. Gardiner states that “thy columns being sharpen of white stone amid the tombs of the Royal Children” (1916). To Gilgamesh, that would be confusing to see tombs made for the royal family even before they were mature. In ancient Uruk, if a person was not a God, then death meant that they were completely erased from the earth, but in Egypt, a Pharaoh was even buried with his workers because there was a belief in life after death. This will bring a lot of questions and confusion to Gilgamesh, who had risked his life to attain immortality after witnessing his friend drown and lost forever. However, Gilgamesh would enjoy living in ancient Egypt because there is a belief in the existence of gods, which was also the case when it came to his parents. Thus, it will be easy for him to enjoy living in the land peacefully without any beliefs conflicts. In an area where the nobles are revered and respected, he would have found a perfect place to dwell as he believed that he was meant to be a god just like his parents. The relationship between deities and gods in both areas would have made it easier for Gilgamesh to blend with people like Pharaohs, who were regarded as gods in the land.
In ancient Persia, there was a mono monotheistic religion, which was known as the Zoroastrian faith. If a person from there found herself in among the followers of Buddha, then it will not correlate with their beliefs and thus will be lost in confusion. It will be confusing for her to interpret the spiritual and a way of life of Buddhism because it does not contain a supreme god. That will make a person from ancient Persia miss the environment of communism, which exists in her monolithic religion back home. The promise of going to worship with the expectation of a greater reward such as everlasting life would be something that she will miss from her time. The fact that in Buddha teaching followers believe in the way of life and not adherence to teachings and traditions will not be easy for her to adopt. In Zoroastrian faith, there is a monotheistic god, and people who die are promised heaven for eternity while “One fundamental belief of Buddhism is that people are reborn after dying” (Religious Tolerance). A person from ancient Persia will, therefore, be confused in a religion that makes reincarnation of a person a possibility that what a monolithic religion teaches. The confusion will even be worse once they learn that once a person reincarnates, they are not born the same but a different person. In ancient Persian religion, there was only one Supreme Being who decided who will attain eternity. However, in Buddhism, a person’s actions and relationship with other people play an integral part when it comes to the attainment of the highest eternity known as Nirvana. However, they will still enjoy a culture that values beliefs and promises a better end to anyone who follows a particular way of life. The fact that that she will be among followers who advocate for peace and living harmoniously with others will surely make her enjoy the stay in their presence. Moreover, the fact that many monolithic belittle women while Buddhism is an equal religion will provide her with a new freedom that she would never have experienced in ancient Persia.
Confucius’s follower believes that humanness, ritual norms filial piety, and reciprocity, which advocates that a person’s well-being directly depends on the well-being of others. If a follower of Confucius found herself in Uruk, then it might not be easy to identify with many things she has grown up knowing and believing. Uruk religion comprises many gods who were offered sacrifices and it was believed that a person could become immortal. If a follower of Confucius came to Uruk then they will not be able to identify with the many gods or even understand the purpose of sacrifices because their beliefs is more philosophical than religion. Thus this will make them miss home where particular regard and care of other well-being were practiced, which was not the case in Uruk where sacrifices were made. Ahmad claims that “CONFUCIANISM is a treasure house of profound wisdom.” The fact that followers use rationality in their beliefs and uses a practical approach rather than deities supernatural powers in Uruk. The follower would then experience a hard time identifying with the Uruk kingdom primarily because of religious beliefs. The confusion of the many gods who are located in every kingdom Uruk will not be easy to comprehend for a person who believes in a philosophical approach to life. Confucius is the supreme being, but he is not divine, while in the Uruk religion, the gods were so divine and feared that they had to be sacrificed as a way of appeasement. However, the Confucius follower may enjoy a more practical religion than a philosophical one. The participation in the religious functions and a possible promise to immortality is one of the things that she would likely enjoy in Uruk.
History provides an opportunity to compare and contrast different times, which enable humans to understand cultural and religious patterns. The ancient heroes and mythical persons shape how religion has evolved for centuries and how we can understand contemporary beliefs and how they came to be in ancient times. The knowledge then acts as the basis of understanding the human past and the possible future that we will likely face. Religions emergence and gradual change show that nothing is absolute of permanent and human beings should always strive to embrace change. Christianity and Islam seem to originate from ancient Persia, Confucius from Asia, and Gilgamesh from Africa, which relatively shows how the current world religion has geographical representations.