What is the history of how gods ruled over humanity

Revision as of 16:20, 5 March 2020 by Altaweel (talk | contribs) (Examples in the Old World)

In many world faiths, humanity is ruled by an all knowing and powerful god or sometimes gods. This understanding has a long history and surprisingly many faiths have taken it as given that god(s) rule over mortal humankind. Stories and myths around some of the ancient religions that created or had developed this understanding are evident in a variety of locations and periods.

Examples in the Old World

In many myths, how gods ruled over humanity is often tied in the creation myths that those religions have. However, it is also more complex than this, as often the power structure and hierarchy of the gods varies across time. In other words, which gods rule over humans has often changed and the relationship that humans have created with their gods reflects how people saw their world. Take for example in Egypt, where in the New Kingdom period, in the late 2nd millennium BCE, the combined god Amun-Ra was seen as the chief of the pantheon of gods. Egypt, like many Mediterranean and Old World societies, saw that gods, like human societies, had hierarchies. Thus, gods ruled not only humans, because they created humans, but that there was a hierarchy of power among gods. This is also true in ancient Mesopotamia. The gods created humans, in this case, but according to the Enuma Elish or at least the later version of the story, it is the god Marduk who heroically comes to the defense of humans and the gods who achieves power over people. In the war between gods, the victorious gods chose Marduk to rule them all and, by extension, humanity who serves the gods. Similar stories exist, but with other gods inserted as the victorious god, including from Ashur, in northern Mesopotamia or modern northern Iraq.

Examples in the New World

Modern Relevance

Summary

References