The emergence of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations is astounding in both their similarities and differences. The Mesopotamians were pessimistic while the Egyptian civilization was very optimistic. <Tab/>Take for example both civilizations view of the rivers that ran through their land. The Egyptians had the Nile which they believed was in its own form a god, and called the annual floods, "The gift of the Nile" (Moss lecture, 9/23/04). The Mesopotamians …showed first 75 words of 479 total…

…showed last 75 words of 479 total…and they lived morally pure lives and had good character so they would be happy in the afterlife. From this I would draw the conclusion the Egyptians were optimistic about their lives, gods and land, whereas the Mesopotamians were highly pessimistic, they saw death as a means of creation, they did not live morally pure lives, and they saw the Tigris-Euphrates valley rivers as almost a curse even though it is what made them flourish.