HRF30/HRE30 Chapter Three Mr.

Sooroojpal

Chapter Culminating Questions

1. According to Zoroastrians who is the “Lord Of The Universe” and who is their
“Rival”?

2. What does “Fire” symbolize for Zoroastrianism?

3. The term “Ahimsa” refers to what for those that practice Jainism?

4. In Taoism, “Tao” can be described as what?

5. The term “Yin and Yang” refers to what?

6. In Ancient Egyptianculture what were two ways in which Pharaoh's got their power?

7. In Greek mythology who are the most popular Greek figures and where can you find
them?

8. In Celtic mythology, who is the “God of the Underworld?”

9. How did the first people get to the Americas?

10. After watching the four part video series “What the Ancients did for Us”, list five
things mentioned that you found unique or interesting.

Answers:

1, Sooroojpal
1.​ When Zoroaster meditated, he received a revelation that the universe was only ruled by
one god, this god’s name was Ahura Mazda. His main rival is Angra Mainyu, a god of
similar power who denied the truth and came to represent the forces of evil. Ahura Mazda
and Angra Mainyu represent the battle between good and evil. It was a 12,000 year battle
where Ahura was able to maintain the upper hand because he is slightly more powerful
than Angra.

2.​ In Zoroastrianism, fire is the most important symbol because it represents divine
presence and is the organizing principle behind the place of worship for Zoroastrians
which is the fire temple. In this sanctuary, there is a fireplace that is maintained by a
priest, and the continuous burning of the fire signifies the continuing divine presence of
Ahura Mazda.

3. ​The term Ahimsa refers to the noble art of non-violence. There is more to Ahimsa than
just agreeing to avoid physical violence. It involves commitment to all life forms on
earth, as well as to the survival of the planet by not engaging in practices that may bring
the earth harm. It also involves avoiding conduct that can be mentally and emotionally
damaging to oneself and others. To put it another way, Ahimsa encompasses the entire
lifestyle of the individual and is the clearest and most intelligent path to liberation
according to the Jain tradition.

4.​ Tao is the force that existed before all things. By giving birth to one, Tao gave the
world a mechanism for balance. The birth of two means the birth of opposites. The birth
of three refers to the existence of heaven, earth, and humanity. All creation can be related
back to Tao, the great silent source of harmony. Tao means “way.” To follow the Tao is
to practice the way of nature. Tao has been described as being like water. Water is a fluid
and is soft but can demonstrate great force by wearing down the hardest rock. Tao is the
balance between opposing forces.

2, Sooroojpal
5. ​Yin-Yang represents balance and harmony. The symbol has a black and white area
with a white dot in the black area and a black dot in the white area. These opposing dots
are seen to represent the fact that when there is evil there is good and vice versa. The
Yin-Yang represents balance because one cannot exist without the other. This symbol
shows us that we should learn to see the good and bad in everything. The movement is
shown by the curves. It shows a smooth flow when everything is balanced. The curves
also represent the Taoist belief that everything is subject to change. The yin is the black
side and represents the shady side of existence. It is seen as the breath that formed the
earth. In contrast, the yang is the white side and is known as the sunny side. It represents
the heavenly force and is akin to movement, light, fire, life and warmth. It is seen as the
breath that formed the heavens.

6.​ The two ways in which Pharaohs got their power is when the religion became more
involved that the true deities were confused with human beings who had been glorified
after death. The second reason is during ​the 5th Dynasty the pharaohs began to claim
divine ancestry and from that time on were worshiped as sons of Ra.

7.​ The most popular greek figures are Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hera, Athena
and the titan Atlas. The titans ruled before the gods of Mount Olympus which was in a
region of Greece called Thessaly. After the Olympian gods overthrew the titans, they
dwelled on Mount Olympus.

8. ​The god of the underworld is Bile. He is regarded as the ancestor of the Irish. His wife
is the goddess Danu. Bile is the father of Mil.

9.​ The first people got to the Americas from Asia by crossing the Bering land bridge
between Alaska and Siberia.

3, Sooroojpal
10. ​The first thing I found interesting is how Tenochtitlan was a floating city that was
made up of hundreds of tiny islands linked by a network of canals and waterways. Even
the Spanish Conquistadors were amazed when they arrived there that they declared
Tenochtitlan to be more grander and spectacular than Venice. The second thing that I
found interesting is how on the floating islands, the Aztecs spread rich fertile mud on the
bottom of the canals. The mud is so rich that fertilizer isn’t needed and is completely
organic farming. The mud apparently stinks but would smell a lot worse back then during
the Aztec times because human excrements were used. You could even buy it in pots
from the market. The third thing I found interesting is how well the mayans understood
the changing positions of the sun and moon during the seasons. One of the pyramids has
365 steps to represent one year. The entire city is built in alignment with the sun and
moon. In the spring, the edges of the pyramid cast a zig-zag pattern besides the steps that
form a perfect serpent slithering down. The fourth thing that I found interesting is the
Mayans calendrical system. The calendar could predict solar and lunar eclipses as well as
transits of Venus right up to 2012. Their calendar surpassed even what our own calendar
could do. The last thing I found interesting is how the Aztecs adopted the Mayan’s
calendar who used it for their own understanding of time and as a way of interpreting the
will of the gods. Their first calendar is about when to plant crops and the seasons. The
first calendar also only has 360 days and the last 5 days were seen as bad luck because it
was the time where disasters struck. The second calendar had 260 days and was used for
making predictions. Each day has its own name, for example, the first day is called one
crocodile.

4, Sooroojpal