Mesopotamian Worldview Essay

Our worldview affects how we interpret the world around us as well as the literature we consume. Both ancient and modern worldviews have been heavily influenced by religions central to their cultures. One ancient culture whose worldview was strongly influenced by religion was Mesopotamia, as seen from their texts such as the Enuma Elish. Mesopotamian worldviews contrast from modern worldviews, which in turn cause our perspectives on every aspect of life to vary. One aspect in which modern and Mesopotamian views disagree is the topic of origin. Many with a modern, Christian worldview believe there is only one God and He created the world. The Mesopotamians, according to the Enuma Elish, believed in multiple gods and they seemingly were constantly fighting amongst themselves. Tiamat was the name given to chaos and it was through her defeat that the world was created. Later in the story, Marduk creates humans to essentially be servants to the gods. This creation story was widely accepted during that time and it suggests that humans were expendable. This view was reflected in how they found meaning in their lives.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a prime example of how the Mesopotamians found meaning through their worldview. In Enkidu’s dream, he dies
and becomes a servant to the gods. His afterlife is completely miserable and upon wakening he pleads for someone to take his place. This further supports the idea that the Mesopotamians believed they were servants to the gods, as well as that life was meant for pleasure. Immorality would be the ultimate reward since it would allow whomever it was granted upon the ability to enjoy the pleasures of life forever instead of being forced into servitude. Gilgamesh shows that the meaning of life for that culture was immortality and pleasure, whether it was obtaining such or providing a story or structure that could last forever, thus preserving the memory of that person.
Morals are another aspect of life that is largely connected to worldview.
Actions that would seem outrageous in modern society would be considered perfectly acceptable in different worldviews. We can compare our morals with the Law Code of Hammurabi, which was a ruling set of laws that exemplified the morals of the Mesopotamians. One of the major points found in Hammurabi’s Code is the idea of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. This meant that whatever harm was done to one person, the same harm would be returned upon the offender. If a man were to break another man’s arm, his arm would be broken in return. While that seems unreasonable and immoral in our worldview, it was widely accepted and even expected in that
period