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Created with Fabric.js 1.4.5 Mythology in the World England Guatemala Benin England Following an invasion of ancient England by the Gauls and Iberian Celts in the mid Iron Age, the local people adopted many of the beliefs of their invaders. These beliefs were polytheistic in nature, and often centered aroundthe worship of "nature gods", who mainly explained how mundane natural occurrences happened. Most Britons had small, hand crafted shrines to gods that were kept in their homes. Many of these gods were no human, often represented by animals or ethereal beings. The chief propagators of thesebeliefs were the Druids, who acted as Priest-like administrators in pre-modernEngland before the Roman invasion and eventual Christian invasion. They were powerful figures, and often were revered as divine envoys of the gods. Gods include:Etherun- purpose unknownCernunnos- stag god, purpose unknownName Unknown- God of WarSulis- God of Healing Guatemala Before its conquest by Imperial Spain, Guatemala was part of the powerful Mayan empire, and had a developed and diverse belief system. While some cultures worshiped nature gods, the Mayan gods were centered around theirastrological calender. Their belief held that there were three celestial planes: heaven, Earth, and the Underworld, whichwas called "Xibalba" Their religion also was centered around the growth of maize, and involved the worship of gods relatedto the harvest. The Mayans did practice human sacrifice, but not to the extent that the Aztecs did. The majority of theirsacrifices were conducted for the sole purpose of the maize harvest, and occurred far less than those in theAztec Civilization. Benin In Benin, the belief system of the indigenous people is not well understood, as it was largely wiped out by overzealousEuropean colonists. However, what is known is that the worship of royal dead as demigod-like figures was commonand encouraged, and the belief held that the royal dead had power in the afterlife. The religion also had gods, but they were not well known. There are well preserved oral traditions of their belief in the creation of the world, which is as follows: I) First was the universe.II) Second was HumanityIII) Third was human intellect.IV) Fourth was technology. Similarities and Differences Many ancient beliefs centered around the worship of nature-gods, mainly as a way of explaining howmundane, natural happenings happened. As can be seen in both the English and Mayan cultures, worship of some sort ofnature-god is very common, despite the thousands of miles separating the two cultures. Likewise, in Benin and in the Mayan Empire, the rulers of the kingdoms were revered as, if not god-like, then inspired by the gods. However, differences do exist. The beliefs, which are often bred from a sort of necesity, center around what is important for the cultures. The English had nature spirits to protect their streams and rivers, the Mayans had gods for the maize harvest, and the Beninese had gods for technology, although we do not know their names. Each ancient belief stems from what isimportant to the cultures, often leading to similarities, but also to diferences as well.
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