When examining the ancient cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia, it is vital to observe the distinct similarities between their religious beliefs. Considering the geographic closeness of the two ancient civilizations, Mesopotamia occupying mainly modern day Iraq, centered around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and Egypt which is still located in the region recognized as modern Egypt, centralized around the Nile River, and the overlapping time frame both of these societies occupied, it is not unexpected that Mesopotamia and Egypt would possess similar ideologies. Despite the fact that the political structure of these civilizations differed between Mesopotamia’s unstable collection of city-states and Egypt’s unified monarchy, both societies were comprised a polytheistic philosophy where the Gods reflected a larger, universal system. Furthermore, both ancient civilizations relied on the flooding of their adjacent rivers for survival and these floods manifested within their religious ideologies. Although, the annual flooding of the Nile gave the Egyptians a sense of comfort and satiability surrounding death and was the direct rational of the Egyptians belief that rebirth followed death, the inconsistent flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates left the Mesopotamian people uncertain of the continuity of lives, evident in their harsh God’s and lack of interpretation of what the after-life consists of. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two culture’s religious beliefs are far too comparable to be discounted. Being polytheistic in nature, the religious beliefs of the Mesopotamians and Egyptians consisted of a chief or father god who all the other gods descended from. Each god represented a different part of nature or physical or societal phenomenon. Mesopotamians specifically believed that “human society was merely a part of the larger society of the universe governed by theses gods and a reflection of it” (Sayer 34). In Mesopotamian culture, Anu was considered the Father of the gods and God of the sky. Anu was the original supreme deity who was later surpassed in importance by Enlil, the God of the air and storm. (Sayer 34). The harshness of the Mesopotamian gods can be demonstrated from the Epic of Gilgamesh following Enkidu and Gilgamesh killing Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven and also the chopping of the tallest cedar tree in the Cedar Forest. The gods were furious with these actions so Enlil proclaimed Endiku must die as compensation even though Shamash, the Sun-God intervened that it was “at his command they killed the Bull of Heaven and Humbaba” (Kovacs 59). Re, the God of the sun, was chief among all other Egyptian gods. Egyptians specific philosophy was that “religion reflected an ordered universe in which human activities were thought to be part of a grand and harmonious design” (Sayer 68). Through these beliefs reflects the Egyptian’s positive view of religion, life and the afterlife. Even though these two separate cultures had a different disposition towards religion, the polytheistic nature of their religions manifested similarly. Mesopotamian and Egyptian polytheistic culture revealed more similarities within the structure of their cultures. In ancient art, the deities of both Mesopotamia and Egypt are illustrated in human form adorned with ornate headdresses, and in Egyptian culture specifically, the gods and goddesses are sometimes depicted with animal heads. The rulers of each civilization were believed to have been connected with the divine in various ways. The priest-kings of Mesopotamia were charged with being the intermediaries between the gods and the people, were often believed to possess divine attributes themselves, and it was the priest-kings paramount job to please the gods and contain their behavior to benefit humans (Sayer 35). Mesopotamia was divided into many regions thus empowering different priest-kings within each region. Each region worshiped a particular god. The division of Mesopotamia caused the whole region to be unstable between each division and particularly vulnerable to outside threats thus leading to an easy fall of Mesopotamia. In Egyptian society, the king was referred to as a “netjer nefter” or, a junior god (Sayre 68). It was believed that the king communicated with the gods at temples. The king was actually considered “the son of Re,” and eventually the king was worshiped as a god himself (Sayre 68). This belief tying the kings decent to Re stabilized the Egyptian citizens to their government. But, like most civilizations, Egypt also untimely fell to invaders. Religious beliefs play a vital role in a society’s structure and culture. Generally speaking, polytheism creates a deeper connection between the individual to natural phenomenon. The individual thus acts accordingly in a way to respect all that surrounds them. The polytheistic cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt encouraged moralism over god worship thus introducing an ideal of a perspective of a greater meaning to life than just the self. It could be concluded that because of Egypt and Mesopotamia’s polytheistic nature and consciousness of the universe that these civilizations were able to thrive creatively and intelligently. In both of these civilizations, great accomplishments were achieved, many of which were the first of their kind of be achieved, such as pyramids, writing systems, types of math, and astrological study creating calendars. There is much todays society, particular monotheistic cultures, can learn from these ancient civilizations. If today’s society’s pushed aside the internal struggles each individual holds on to, and begin to look at a universal connection, we may be able to conceive great technological advancements that future generation look back upon and marvel at.