Life in ancient times was full of risks and uncertainty for those people living there. Much trust was put in the unknown, but as civilizations progressed, there was a feeling of need to understand the unknown and the meanings of life. Within this paper I will discuss three important issues that deal with the progress of life in relation to the civilizations of the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Hebrews and Greeks.In ancient civilizations concepts of the afterlife were based on myth. Glamorous stories about gods and goddesses from the past were the motivation for ancient people to live their lives. In Mesopotamian culture, every day was controlled by the gods and goddesses of the world. As humans, Mesopotamians were bound to the earth in a life of servitude without promise of salvation. There was no definite afterlife; only hints of a place of darkness were given to us through stories such as The Epic of Gilgamesh. This story also eludes to the fear of death held by the Mesopotamian people. It portrays a story where a man is willing to make a dangerous journey to avoid death. Do not let me see the face of death which I dread so much. Was one of Gilgameshs pleas for an unreachable goal. In this historical story, death is looked at as a place where They [people] see no light, they sit in darkness . This was most likely because of the uncertainty of life, as well as death for Mesopotamians. Even when people lived in full compliance to their gods and goddesses, their lives would not be one of luxury as we read in Mesopotamian Wisdom Literature The uncertainty of life and death in general lead to acts of divination, such as sacrifices, which were intended to interpret the will of the gods, though all was used to improve life in the physical world. Unlike the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians and the Hebrews had definite afterlives in their belief systems. Orisis, who was one of the Egyptians natural deities, was presented as the jud...
