Effects+of+Myths+on+Culture

=Fantasy's Force on Fact=

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting free exercise thereof…” This immortal phrase and the epitome of our nation are the very first words stated in our very first amendment of the Bill of Rights and establish a boundary between religion and our government. However, in older cultures, this separation never existed, as witnessed in early Italy, early Spain, and Ancient Greece. In these civilizations, the governments were based on and affected by religion. Nonetheless, the controversial decisions to base a system of government on religion actually paid off for these empires. However, this seminar will not argue whether religion’s involvement in culture benefits or impairs people. Instead, it shall consist of the effects of ancient religion on daily rituals, perception of gods, myths’ influences on morals and objectives, and the personification of imaginary heroes’ impressions on culture. Specifically, these motives will pertain towards Ancient Egypt and Ancient Persia.

Possibly the most famous ancient culture in the world, Ancient Egypt’s civilization contributed several celebrated myths and unique, modern ways of living. The most well-known myth, //Osiris, Isis, and Horus//, tells a story of the trials and tribulations of the hero, Horus. Basically, the story depicts Horus’s rise to the throne as ruler of Egypt while avenging his father’s “death” at the same time. Horus’s tale of his acquisition of power and ascent to the throne also rose to a prominant position in Egyptian culture and religion. In Ancient Egypt, polytheism acted as the main facet of religion. The people worshipped over 2,000 Gods, including Horus, during Ancient Egypt’s culmination from 3100 BC to 300 BC. In addition, the pharaoh, who ruled Egypt as an all-powerful dictator, made himself into a God in the eyes of the citizens. Thus his decisions became irrefutable and his choices perfect.

Though Egypt attained greatness through their accomplishments in their own empire, Ancient Persia gained formidability and notoriety among other nations through their conquests of lesser realms. King Darius and King Xerxes, the two most famous kings in Persian history, conquered other empires including Egypt, Lydia, and Medes. Through these triumphs, Persia achieved unmatched power until their fall in the 300s BC. However, during this reign, they established a stable culture with a large emphasis on their religion, Zoroastrianism, and contained the capacity to create several thought provoking myths, like //Esfandyar: The Prince Who Would Be King.// Essentially, this story encompasses Esfandyar, son of the king of Persia, embarking on several journeys in order to gain nobility and legitimacy to take over the throne his father holds. Eventually, he reaches his goal after numerous struggles. All in all, Egypt and Persia played a monumental role in world history, and myths, religion, and heroes all played a vital role in the development and status of these great empires.

In Persia, the religion of Zoroastrianism played a large part in the ascension of the Persian Empire. Zoroastrianism was brought to Persia by the prophet and scholar Zarathustra around 600 B.C. This new religion preached about the everlasting struggle between Spenta Mainyu, the “Holy Creative Spirit”, and the “Hostile Spirit” Angra Mainyu. However, what sets this religion apart from other monotheistic beliefs is that this conflict is an inner, moral conflict instead of a conflict between two higher beings. Zoroastrianism emphasizes that to win this conflict inside oneself; one must have “Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds,” which is their motto. Zoroastrianism’s god, Ahura Mazda, possesses seven main traits that are outlined in the //Gathas,// which is their main religious text. These beliefs are shown in their empire, especially by their rulers. Whenever a nation was conquered by Persia, those people were allowed to maintain their old traditions and religions, which reflect their commitment to moral righteousness. Also, Persia rigorously maintained an excellent infrastructure and an organized empire, emphasizing Ahura Mazda’s traits of dominion and creative energy.

The war between good and evil emerges as the predominant theme in Persian mythology, where the hero fights for what he believes is right, such as when Esfandyar fights the demon-warriors of Turan. Esfandyar’s quests are to bring glory to Persia and Zoroastrianism, and to eventually become the king of Persia. These goals are reflected in the Persian Emperors, such as Darius and Xerxes, who were always out to conquer new territory for the glory of Persia and Zoroastrianism. However, the morals of myths and stories also influence the cultures they are part of. In the case of //Esfandyar: the Prince Who Would Be King,// the primary and probably the most common moral is that we are all mortals who will die someday, and that fate guides us through life. The rulers of Persia embraced these values, claiming that their actions are pre-ordained by Ahura Mazda. In addition, the ordinary people took these values to heart, remaining loyal to the king that they believed fate appointed.

Finally, the mythical heroes of stories and legends personify elements that we find in cultures and civilizations. In //Esfandyar: the Prince Who Would Be King,// the two prominent heroes, Esfandyar and Rostam, embody the model citizens of Persia. Their courage, nobility, intelligence, loyalty, and devotion to their respective causes earned the respect and adoration of the population. Between them, they are role models for the youth of Persia, who eventually hope to attain the level of greatness that Esfandyar and Rostam had. Also, the values that the heroes held dear became very prominent in Persia, traveling far and wide through storytelling and preaching. Values such as their religious beliefs and the fight for good against evil embedded themselves in everyone’s head because of these myths, which shaped those people as individuals and the Persian Empire as a whole. This chain of events happend in other empires during this era, most notably in Egypt.



Many religions reflect their culture in both the way their respective gods act, and in their beliefs. For example, in Ancient Egypt, the gods were much kinder than the Babylonian gods and the Mesopotamian gods. This came about because the Egyptians lived near the Nile, while the Mesopotamians lived near the Tigris and the Euphrates. The Nile was always a source of life for the Egyptians. It flooded every year at the same time and the Egyptians used this to their advantage. Even though there was a constant fear of the river drying up, it was still basically a kind and fruitful life. However, the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers constantly flooded, changed courses or dried to a trickle. Whenever they did, it would either destroy a village or cause a famine. Both of these lifestyles are reflected in the actions of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian gods. Egyptian gods are somewhat caring and gentle because the Nile gives life and takes little. However, the Mesopotamian gods are violent and unpredictable just like their two rivers. The people living in Mesopotamia had to come up with a way to explain why they lived in such an unbalanced world. Egyptian beliefs were a major part of their culture. Because in their religion there was an after life, the Egyptians buried dead nobles with items that they might need in their new life. Pharaohs were considered part-god, so they actually had power over their subjects both mentally and spiritually as well as physically. Religion played a large part in their culture, both changing it and influencing it.

Myths often reflect and affect the culture that they originated from by telling the accomplishments of a certain hero and by setting morals and values to live by. In the Egyptian myth, //Isis, Osiris, and Horus//, this is easily discovered. Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, emerges as the hero because he aims to avenge his father. He ends up fighting Set, Osiris’s brother, and is about to kill him when Isis saves Set before the killing blow. It can be easily assumed that vengeance was part of Egyptian culture. Not only that, but this story portrays the archetypal good verses evil story. Horus, who fights for good, engages Set in battle, who wages war for evil. Thus it seems like a story that people would use to differentiate right from wrong and the moral could be considered that good can triumph over evil, though not permanently. The values that this story stresses seem to be a wife’s devotion to her husband and son, and that you must avenge your father’s death. Also, death was something that all cultures fear, but with Egyptian myth, they believe that there is a hope for life after death. This made //Osiris, Isis, and Horus// an immensely popular myth because it outlined the process of resurrection. In ancient Egypt these values could be integrated into society as guidelines for how and Egyptian should act.



Anyone can learn a lot about a culture and how they functioned by just looking at that culture’s heroes. A correlation between how a hero is personified physically and mentally, what that hero hopes to archive and what he thinks is important, and how that culture functions begins to emerge. Horus, in the Egyptian myth //Isis, Osiris, and Horus//, can probably be considered the hero of that myth. Egyptians generally depict him as a young man with the head of a hawk. The hawk head represents how Horus is the god of the sky and horizon. This influenced Egyptian culture because, with this myth, hawks became important spiritually to all Egyptians. His eyes represent strength, vigor, and self-sacrifice, so it can be assumed that these values were important to ancient Egyptians. Also, Horus’s actions and what he thinks is important also reflect his culture. Horus avenged his father’s death, so family might have been an important theme to Egyptians.

All of these religions, myths, and heroes played an invaluable role in the formation of empires and nations. These elements united different tribes into one country or state with one belief system, and it told people what to do and what not to do in order to survive. Since then, the ideals present in early beliefs and religions has imbued itself into the mainstream of many cultures and civilizations, from Ancient Persia to modern day America, influencing how people act, think, and see the world.

Questions:
 * Despite the separation of church and state, why do Christian values and beliefs appear in the mainstream society of modern America like Zoroastrianism values appeared in mainstream Persian culture?
 * How much did religion affect the behavior of an individual back in Egypt and Persia? If there were no religions at that time, would the behavior of that individual differ in any way? If so, how?
 * How vital is religion, which played such a major role in Persia and Egypt, in our modern culture?
 * Did ancient empires with one religion possess any major advantages over a multi-religion country? If so, why? Do these advantages apply to modern nations as well?
 * Can having an over-arching religion in an empire backfire on that country? How?
 * Since religion played such a big role in the formation of cultures and civilizations, what would have happened if there were no religions when people began to get together in tribes and groups? How would that have change the past and the present?



Bibliography: "Ancient Persian Religion." __Ancient Persia__. 17 Dec. 2007 <[|http://www.ancientpersia.com/religion/rlg_f.htm>.]

Bahmani, Bruce. __Rostam Super Hero: Popularizing a Persian Myth__. __Payvand's Iran News__. Hyperwerks. 19 Dec. 2007 <[|http://www.payvand.com/news/05/oct/1030.html>.]

Erickson, Adam, Shawn Laven, Matt Iffert, Chuck Daniels, and Mary Scheider. "Egyptian Mythology." 2002. 17 Dec. 2007 <[|http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/religion/mythology.htm>.]

"Ideology and Belief in Ancient Egypt." __Digital Egypy__. 2003. University College London. 17 Dec. 2007 <[|http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/themes/beliefae.html>.]

"Persian Mythology." __Myth Encyclopedia__. 2007. Advameg Inc. 17 Dec. 2007 <[|http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Pa-Pr/Persian-Mythology.html>.]

Rosenberg, Donna. __World Mythology__. Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC Group, 1999

"The Concept of the Afterlife." __Egyptology Online__. 2007. The Astra Corporation. 18 Dec. 2007 <[|http://www.egyptologyonline.com/the_afterlife.htm>.]

__The Persian Empire__. __FORVM's Maps of the Ancient World__. 19 Dec. 2007 <[|http://www.forumancientcoins.com/Articles/Maps/Maps_of_the_Ancient_World.htm>.]

Wasserman, James. The Egyptian Book of the Dead. __Windows to the Universe__. 19 Dec. 2007 <[|http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mythology/images/horus_jpg_image.html>.]