Favorite Ancient Culture

[Shanks 10,816]

For the past few weeks or so I have been reading the Papyrus of Ani aka the Egyptian Book of the Dead for this term paper for my World History class. It is the most complicated book I ever read, but is also one of the most fascinating books I ever read. The Papyrus of Ani is part of a tradition of individualized funerary texts in Ancient Egypt dating back thousands of years. Its purpose is to act as sort of a guide for the deceased through the Duat (underworld) and to act as a protection against the various dangers the deceased would face on their journey to become "vindicated" (judged favorably by the gods) and become one of the "blessed dead".

 

That inspired this topic idea where I ask what is your favorite ancient culture? The Papyrus of Ani for me acted as a tie breaker making Egypt my favorite ancient culture. Their views on the afterlife are particularly interesting to me, to them this life and the next are intertwined. This is also why another common name for the Egyptian Book of the Dead is the "Book of Going Forth by Day". This is a reference to the ability of the "blessed dead" to travel freely from the afterlife to the land of the living to accept offerings as well as other purposes. This is even referenced in the Egyptian belief about the sun, every night the sun goes into the underworld where Re does battle with the chaos god Apophis but drives him back and rises the "newborn sun" the next day.

[Princess Periwinkle 3,775]

Well, I'd have to go with the Mongols.

 

Why? Take it away, Calvin.

 

[Aurelleah 894]

Hebrew. Some craaaazy shiz happened 4000-6000 years ago.

[Justin_Case001 4,891]

I love ancient Egypt and Greece.  Hard to decide between those.  You got The Mummy, and you got God of War.  That's some pretty awesome sh*t right there.  I'm sorry, I'm being so immature.

[Lisa 5,553]

Does Viking culture count as ancient? If so, Viking culture.

[Envy 6,166]

I love the Greco-Roman architectural styles, as well as their overall aesthetic, like the way they dressed. Although who knows how much of that is portrayed accurately nowadays?

 

Otherwise I really enjoyed learning about ancient Europe, so that.

[Pastel 7,630]

I like Aztec and Maya culture, and of course, ancient Egypt culture is very interesting too.

[Shanks 10,816]

Hebrew. Some craaaazy shiz happened 4000-6000 years ago.

Before reading the Papyrus of Ani they were tied with Egypt for me, something about the ancient middle east in particular is interesting. The ancient Israelities were the first known culture that defined themselves not just by ethnic or geographic origin but also by their religious identity. It does make me wonder what happened to cause them to break away from the polytheism of their neighbors and become monotheistic. I doubt it happened overnight, there is even evidence in the Hebrew Bible that the Jewish religion may have started out as a henotheistic religion with them recognizing that some of the gods of their neighbors exist but only choosing their one god. I think they started to switch to pure monotheism sometime after the Babylonian exile and the Persians who liberated them had a significant influence on them. The Persians at the time practiced a monotheistic religion called Zoroastrianism where they believed their god Ahura Mazda would one day judge mankind in an apocalyptic judgment similar to that depicted in the Book of Revelations in the bible.

 

 

I love ancient Egypt and Greece.  Hard to decide between those.  You got The Mummy, and you got God of War.  That's some pretty awesome sh*t right there.  I'm sorry, I'm being so immature.

The Greeks weren't the only civilization to have a war god but they were the most well known, it is not surprised that the Spartans were especially devoted to Ares.

 

 

I love the Greco-Roman architectural styles, as well as their overall aesthetic, like the way they dressed. Although who knows how much of that is portrayed accurately nowadays?

It is a bit of a mixed bag, I would say that the Romans are portrayed more accurately because people forget that while the Greek city states had a common language and a common religion that the Greek city states didn't all have the same form of government. Sparta was a mix between a monarchy and a military dictatorship, Athens started as a monarchy but eventually became a democracy as a matter of fact it is where the earliest known form of democracy was practiced. The Greek city states have been at war for centuries due to various territorial disputes with one of the rare moments of unity being when Zexes and his Persian army invaded Greece. As a matter of fact one of the kings of Sparta (Sparta had two kings) actually believed that the gods had willed the city states of Greece to come together to defeat the Persians.

[Gernia 691]

I'll go and say Egyptians. Some very interesting things about them.

[King Sejong 859]

   I have a fascination for the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians, these two Semitic cultures gave us some stunning architecture, like ziggurats from the earlier Sumerian civilization and gardens, like the famous Hanging Gardens, but gardens were in other cities like Ashur, Nineveh, Babylon, Ur and Kish. I have seen some artefacts from these civilizations before, like gold and jewels, statues and surviving artwork, the Pergamon museum in Berlin is a pretty good place to see ancient Semitic artefacts, plus a good replica of the Ishtar gates, it is amazing to me to see the engineering and adornments, that went into the construction of the gates, and my imagination runs wild when I see artefacts, and drives my curiosity to learn more, to seek out archaeology notes and discoveries.      

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,302]

The Ancient Greeks.  Philosophy, architecture, astronomy, mythology.

 

The Parthenon; associated with the goddess Athena.

 

Ancient depiction of everyone's favorite Gorgon: Medusa.

 

Greek mythology.  Heroes and monsters and gods; gods that were sometimes every bit as fallible and selfish and petty as mere mortals.  Tragedy and triumph.  Epic quests and divine intervention.  Polyphemus and Scylla and Typhon and our noble friend Prometheus.

[Frostgage 7,975]

I'll go with the Incans, just because I like the name and Machu Picchu is cool. I really don't know as much about ancient cultures as I should

[Steel Accord 6,660]

I don't like to judge this kind of think on the mythology of the culture as while a culture's myths says a lot about them, it's not indicative of the average life there, which is my actual criteria for this sort of question.

 

Probably a predictable answer, but I would have to say Ancient Rome. While not perfect or anywhere near what we would describe as a truly free society by today's standards, many things about Rome were inherited by the English and American founders for a reason. The standard of living for the average Roman citizen was certainly higher than most places in the classical world, Hell slaves in Rome had it better than freed men in most other places.

 

Their culture, architecture, technology, military, philosophers, physicians, artists. The influences of Rome are still felt today.

[Dark Horse 12,961]

Egypt, most definitely. They had some great architectural style, and a really interesting language system. I'd love to spend some time pondering over the hieroglyphs.

[Tao 7,765]

Druids/Celtic: given how much we don't know of the culture before the Romans and what

we first did know  came from the Romans sadly.

 

Japanese/Warring States/Heian period/Samurai: I love japanese history, most my history books

are bout samurai and folklore and culture of the japanese and such! 

[Shanks 10,816]

I'll go with the Incans, just because I like the name and Machu Picchu is cool. I really don't know as much about ancient cultures as I should

What is really a shame about the Incans is because they never had a system of writing a great deal of what they were like has been lost to history. The Azetecs, Mayans and several cultures of Ancient Mexico and Central America had written languages but there are no known cultures of Ancient South America that had written languages. Though the Spanish thought the Aztec and Mayan writing was "satanic" and destroyed quite a few Aztec and Mayan books partly due to that and to discourage native traditions. The greatest accomplishment of the Incans is the Nazca Lines which are massive inscriptions accross the Machu Pichu desert floor that depicts various animals such as a humming bird, a monkey and more that can only be seen from the sky. It is unknown how they made these and why but it is reasonable to assume that it likely had something to do with their gods.

 

 

I don't like to judge this kind of think on the mythology of the culture as while a culture's myths says a lot about them, it's not indicative of the average life there, which is my actual criteria for this sort of question.

It dosen't tell you everything but it does explain their core beliefs and values which does have an influence on how the people live. Much of the vikings mythology revolves around a warrior culture for example which makes is fairly obvious they are a fairly warlike people which they indeed were as various peoples they invaded across Europe can tell you. The Greek pantheon is one of the most diverse with their being a different god for almost any kind of person, if you like learning and knowledge than there is Athena, if you are warlike than there is Ares, if you like to drink and party than there is Dionysus. Alot of the various gods of the middle east like Baal, Moloch ect... were quite harsh and brutal, honestly I think they are even harsher than the harshest interpretations of god in the old testament and that is saying something. Most of the Egyptian gods are anthropomorphic with human bodies and animal heads which is likely partly due to the animistic beliefs of their African neighbors having an influence on their religion.

[FlutterDash4072 189]

I love ancient cultures, but I've studied Greece the most. I love their archetecture, history and mythology.

[Snow Frostflame 3,568]

the Aztecs have always been my favorite ancient culture.... though I have no idea why,,, there is just something about them I like 

[Blackshirt Brony 415]

My ancestors, the Celts. They produced some of the greatest warriors and one of the most fascinating mythologies.

[OkBuddy 586]

Ancient Rome is one of my favorites. Their culture seems so interesting, with their stolen and yet still interesting gods, the architecture, the daily lives such as their cuisine, and just how goddamn advanced they were for the time.

[A Black Circle 1,586]

NOT Egyptians. It's a dead horse that's been beaten, fried, eaten, magically resurrected, killed, and beaten again. It's been played the shit out of in media.

 

Incas are pretty cool, I guess.

Edited April 19, 2015 by Sheo G. Orath

[The Real Minty <3 217]

Egypt FTW!!!
 

Also Hebrew, God did some awesome stuff for them

[Krampus 197]

The Roman Empire is one of my favorites. Another one that I just learned about is the ancient Muslim Empire. They controlled most of Central Asia and at one point a large section of future Spain. In fact, it wasn't until about 1492 that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella finally managed to oust the last vestiges of Islamic power from that area.

[Shanks 10,816]

The Roman Empire is one of my favorites. Another one that I just learned about is the ancient Muslim Empire. They controlled most of Central Asia and at one point a large section of future Spain. In fact, it wasn't until about 1492 that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella finally managed to oust the last vestiges of Islamic power from that area.

One thing a lot of people don't realize is that while Europe was in its dark ages the Muslim world was making significant advances in math, science, medicine and the arts with Baghdad being one of the greatest centers of learning in the world at the time. As horrible as the crusades were one positive effect of them was to bring this knowledge back to Europe as much of this knowledge though I wish this would have come through more peaceful means. 

[SparklingSquirrels 21,342]

I like old norse/viking culture!