FREE ESSAY ON HUMAN SUFFERING IN ANCIENT CIVILIZATION

HUMAN SUFFERING IN ANCIENT CIVILIZATION

Human Suffering in Ancient Civilizations
Suffering is a facet of life that all cultures must learn to deal with. Whether it is
religion or mythology, humans must find a way to explain suffering and more importantly,
death. Death is the single most unifying aspect of all cultures - after all, it doesn't
discriminate. Ancient civilizations such as the Babylonians, Hebrews, and Greeks all had
different mythology to explain the reasons behind suffering and death, but all of it is
fundamentally the same. When life seems too harsh and unhappy, society will create a way
to welcome death. This is true throughout the entire history of civilization, even today.
However, in ancient times, it was much easier for the people to swallow because it also
provided an explanation for all the unexplainable that occurred around them all the time.

The concept of divine intervention seems to pervade Mesopotamian culture when concerning
suffering and death. In "Lament for Ur," the God Enlil punishes the city of Ur by
summoning a hurricane that ravages the town until "the people lay in heaps." This idea of
divine intervention explaining the suffering brought on by a hurricane is the only way
their ancient culture had of dealing with the random nature of such an event. Since there
was no way of predicting a hurricane, it had to be an act of an angry and vengeful God. 
A view of pessimism resulted from the way Mesopotamia viewed suffering. If there was
nothing that could be done to predict it, if no god can be prayed to for assistance, then
how can one have an optimistic view of life? In "Mesopotamian Wisdom Literature," the
author conveys his frustration to the Gods. "What is good for oneself may be offense to
one's God/What in one's heart seems despicable may be proper to one's God," he bemoans,
his pessimism towards the gods and life in general a direct result of the suffering he
has endured in life, and the futile task of rallying against divine intervention seems
too much for him to take.
The perception of the afterlife is also one of severe darkness and foreboding. The "Epic
of Gilgamesh" presents a gloomy and ominous picture of death and what it brings.
Gilgamesh talks of the "house whose people sit in darkness; dust is their food and clay
their meat." How can one invite death if this is the afterlife they have to look forward
to? The beliefs espoused in texts such as Gilgamesh shed light on the pessimism the
Mesopotamians felt for death. To them, suffering is not only part of the human
experience; it awaits them in death as well.
These three passages seem to explain how the Mesopotamians dealt with suffering, and also
maybe goes a bit into explaining why they held such a bleak outlook on life in general.
When destiny has predetermined exile to the dark house depicted in Gilgamesh as the final
resting place of the dead, then optimism becomes a bit of a scarce commodity. The reason
for the dreary folklore? Location may have something to do with it, as the centralized
mecca of their civilization was prone to conflicts between roving tribes and neighboring
civilizations. 
The Hebrew civilization had a markedly different view of God, death, and afterlife. The
western philosophy of men and women having to "measure their actions by God's laws" was
born with the Hebrews. Although many of the elements in their literature are borrowed
from the Babylonians, such as the Creation, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel, the spin
they put on these stories created the foundation for the way society looks upon God
today. The idea that one is responsible for their own behavior is a very advanced idea at
the time when divine intervention in most aspects of life ruled. 
Suffering for the Jews began with their testament of creation, Genesis. When Adam and Eve
disobeyed God, and ate from the tree of knowledge, they were driven from the Garden of
Eden, thus beginning a cycle of human suffering and evil that has yet to end. However,
with this new outlook on God came an increased awareness of one's self, and a different
outlook on suffering as a cathartic experience. Through suffering and pain one can find
enlightenment from a God beyond human understanding. 
The Book of Job asks many questions about the nature of suffering and the role of Divine
Intervention. Job expresses his anger towards God's ways in this passage, "He has kindled
his wrath against me, and counts me as an adversary. Why do the wicked live, reach old
age, and grow mighty in power?" What did Job do to deserve this? The idea of life as a
test began with the Hebrews. Presented with a dilemma, does one choose God or more
worldly ways for a solution? God wants your devotion over all else, but a life without
pain, suffering and death will not cut to the soul of the person living it. Pain is
required to prove to God devotion above the earthly joys of family, friends, money, etc.
Eventually, Job is repaid in spades - he has passed his test.
The Greeks took the idea of personal responsibility even further than the Jews. The
Greeks believed in the greatness of man, and so the God or Gods played a bit lesser role
than in the previous two societies. The Greeks followed the Karl Marx line of thinking,
using religion and the Gods as an opiate for the people. In Antigone, Sophocles preaches
of the greatness of the human being, and also sheds light on their view of suffering:
"Only Death, and Death alone he will find no rescue/but from desperate plagues he has
plotted his escapes." The strength of the human is enough to overcome adversity and
suffering, and with the assistance of God one can find happiness, or as Pindar put it in
"The Pursuit of Excellence," one can find "God-given splendour."
However, there is an underlying suspicion of the Gods in Greek culture. The tales in
Greek mythology are laced with stories of Gods and Goddesses acting no better than
humans. The resulting feeling is expressed by Achilles in the Iliad, who, speaking to the
father of the slain Hector, states, " . . .weeping is cold comfort and does little good.
We men are wretched things, and the gods, who have no cares themselves, have woven sorrow
into the very fabric of our lives." A parallel can be drawn here between Gilgamesh and
Achilles, but where Gilgamesh responds with anger towards the gods for their corruption,
Achilles has an almost brooding resentment at the injustice of war waged because of Gods.
Whether he called it the Gods or simply fate, Homer illustrated the futility in fighting
or resisting it. One must accept it. 
This use of Gods to justify human suffering is simply the natural progression of the
human psyche. Life is simply too hard - people will not accept the fact that we are
alone. When times are good, it is easy to push the thoughts of religion, gods, and an
afterlife to the back and concentrate on "the good life." But, when times turn to war,
poverty, famine and such, it becomes much easier to accept the existence of an
all-knowing being or an afterlife to escape to. Human suffering is a constant in society,
and the way it is justified seems to be a constant. It is much easier to accept a
omnipotent God handing down punishment to the wicked or deserving members of society than
to accept either the randomness of suffering or accept personal responsibility. The Gods
are a way out for these cultures and our own, a way to explain the atrocities that are
part of the everyday human experience.