Beliefs and Rituals

3 dot points, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

What did the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia believe about their gods, and how did religion shape kingship, temples and daily life?

Examine religious belief and ritual practice in the ancient Near East, including the gods, temples, kingship and creation myths, and evaluate the cuneiform and archaeological evidence.

Religious belief and ritual in ancient Mesopotamia, including the pantheon of gods, the temple and ziggurat, the religious basis of kingship, and creation and flood myths, evaluated through cuneiform texts and the archaeology of cities such as Ur and Babylon.

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What did the ancient Egyptians of the New Kingdom believe about death and the afterlife, and how did their burial practices express those beliefs?

Analyse New Kingdom Egyptian beliefs about death, judgement and the afterlife, the practices of mummification and tomb-building, and the archaeological and textual evidence for them.

New Kingdom Egyptian beliefs about death, judgement and the afterlife, the practices of mummification and tomb-building in the Valley of the Kings, and the textual and archaeological evidence including the Book of the Dead and the tomb of Tutankhamun.

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How did religion, ritual and belief in the gods shape public and private life in ancient Greece and Rome?

Examine the nature of religious belief and ritual practice in ancient Greece and Rome, including sacrifice, oracles, festivals and state cult, and evaluate the evidence for them.

The nature of religious belief and ritual in ancient Greece and Rome, including sacrifice, oracles, festivals and state cult, and the literary, archaeological and epigraphic evidence for them.

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