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Arica Flores
Professor Thomson
History 134
25 June 2016
How Traditions, Religion, and Beliefs Shaped Many of the Cultures from Ancient Times Until
Today and What We Can Learn From it.
Traditions and religion are very much part of everyday life of the people in the cultures
we have studied. From the rulers to the common person, they shape their thoughts and are the
reasons behind what they do and why they do it. It is because of the importance of these beliefs
that much of what archeologists find from ancient cultures are religious artifacts. Even common
items such as pitchers to carry water could be decorated with pictures of their belief system.
Religion and the beliefs that go with it shape the culture and has been known to led to the
rise and, or fall of empires. It at times, has also lead to changes in the rulers. Sometimes these
religions and beliefs were passed on to conquering nations. The gods of the Aegeans, Greeks,
Romans, and Egyptians are very similar mythologies. They have different names and have
changed their persona to fit better with the people of that specific culture. Mythology is belief in
different Gods and the use of those Gods to explain the world around them such as, why the sun
rises and sets. The Greeks and Romans had Apollo who, drove a flaming Chariot through the sky
while, the Egyptians had Ra who traveled his Sun boat to explain how the sun rises and sets.
The Greek gods not only influenced day to day life but also influenced government. A
God or gods would become a patron or protector of a city. People or rulers would offer sacrifices

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to the gods for a good outcome such as, to the God Ares in order to help win a battle. i Alexander
the great, one of the finest military leaders of all time sought out the Oracle of Delphi to answer
the question; was he was a demigod? This was such an influential aspect of his personality it
could have been a key factor in his confidence and ability to conquer and spread the Greek
empire as far as Egypt which also led to the spread their religion.
Religion can also be used as a tool to strengthen the claim of a leader to rule. A good example of
this was during the rule of Augustus in the Roman Empire. He used the peoples belief in the
Gods and Haileys Comet to prove that, Caesar was with the gods and as his heir he was the son
of a God giving him the ultimate right to rule. (staff) History gives us meaning. It allows us to
think critically about narratives that have developed over time and, in doing so, provides us with
a format to develop the meaningful interpretations necessary to examine the events that shape
modern society. Says Postma. (Postma) Augustus, like Alexander the Great probably believed
this strongly himself giving him confidence derived of faith to expand the empire into Egypt. It
was because of his belief in restoring the glory days that he gave money to the arts including
Livy and Virgil which gives us much of the written history of the time.
In Imperial China Qin Shi Hungdi was the ruler of a conquering empire. His strong
beliefs and his search for immortality drastically affected the nation. He and his advisor pushed a
very legalistic belief which affected the thoughts of all his people and helped him hold power.
Those beliefs led him to the conquering of other nations. Although, he was never able to achieve
the true since of immortality his belief in taking with him what he needed to rule in the afterlife
gave us a tomb full of information of the past and memorialized him in history. In a dig outside
the Tomb of Qin Shi Hungdi archeologist unearthed the terracotta warriors. Almost life-size
replicas of the warriors of the time so detailed we know Qins army was made up of diverse

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soldiers. From the placement of these soldiers we know how the armies of the time functioned.
The belief in reincarnation also led to the leader enclosing the tomb builders Qins women and
servants and anything he might need in the afterlife to rule.ii
As McNeill Stated Studying alien religious beliefs, strange customs diverse family patterns and
vanishing social structures shows how differently various human groups have tried to cope with
the world around them for we can only know ourselves by knowing how we resemble and how
we differ from others. Acquaintance with the human past is the only way to such knowledge
(McNeill) Qins pursuit of immortality in its truest form might seem strange today but, I believe
we are all still in the pursuit of immortality. However now we do it through the legacies we leave
behind. In lieu of dedicating a tomb of terracotta warrior we leave behind family heirlooms with
a history of beliefs to our children.
Qins death left a void and a struggle for power from which arose the mandate from
heaven which was the belief that whoever has the power to take over the rule must have been the
chosen one to rule. This concept is not unique to China and during the medieval time in Europe
especial France this was a belief that was followed only it was done under the monotheistic
religion of Christianity. It is a belief that if you lose power you have lost Gods favor and the one
to take power has gained his favor.
We see a much different aspect of religion and how it is tied to the government when we
look at the history of Islam, Christianity and Judaism, all three have beginnings together with a
monotheistic belief in the one God of Abraham. Islam ties Religion and government together in
many aspects including taxing non-Muslims. This could be one of the reasons Islam is one of the
fastest growing religions. In his resignation announcement Benedict described the modern world
as, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of

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faith. (Perry) Islams growth and the decline of Christianity is a good example of this, some
rulers of religion could feel like modernization has taken away respect or tradition in relation
to god. People no longer look towards the heavens in order answer to the big questions like the
secret to immorality. Instead they can look towards their phones or secular leaders to guide them.
In her paper On the Rhetorical Use of History to understand the present, Blair Hodges
describes the growing culture movement of the Tea-Part activists. She describes them as
constitutional worshippers who shape a narrative of history, selectively interpreting the past in a
way that gives sense of presence in the resent and direction for the future. Throughout history a
belief in something larger than ones self be it a divine power, or the constitution as the
beginning of a great nation, humans use their beliefs so shape culture. It is only when we study
this that we understand the influences people beliefs have on us today.

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Bibliography
Hodges, Blair Dee. "Foundation of Modernity Term parper." Term Paper. 2012.
document.
An examination on how philosophers view historical context. Combining
personal interpretations with expert opinions on how history can give meaning to
present events.
McNeill, William H. "Why Study History." (1985). document.
McNeill explains how we learn from history highlighting the different types of
history such as
local, national, and global. He gives a perspective of studying
the past gives us a since of human
capacities for good and evil.
Perry, David M. "How History Can Help Us Predict the Next Pope." The Atlantic
(2013). document.
An article framing the 2013 resignation of pope Benedict and his oncoming
successors against sound ideas on voting and elections
Postma, Micheal. "What can HistoryTeach Us today." ASCD Express Ideas From the
Field 2011. document
Postma gives logical reason to teach children history including world history.
he gives example of how history is offten tolf from different cultures and how
that may change how the history is told.

staff. "The Roman Empire in the First Century- Age of Augustus." n.d. PBS.org.
Document. 25 June 2016. This article gives a brief look into the life and story
of Augustus. From his entry to leadership to his demise. It highlights his
military victories and the achievements

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i For more information on cultural significance of the gods in such things as sports,
everyday life and government see Mark Cartwrights Definition article dated April 11,
2013.
ii Youtube video The First emperor of China very informative it gives you a look at Qin
whole life story. His tyranny and quest for immortality.