Download Key Concepts Period 2

 Key Concept 2.1- Development and Codification of
Religious and Cultural Traditions
1. Codifications and further developments of existing
religious traditions
 Hebrew faith formed into Judaism
 700 bce, Hebrew kingdoms conquered- Neo-Bab
kicks them out, tear down temple
 Return during Persian empires- many stay where they
were beginning the Jewish diaspora
 Scattered more by Romans- refused to worship
emperor
 400s, codified Jewish scripture (Tanakh w/Torah),
and commentaries (Talmud)
 “Eye for an eye” in Ten Commandments (influenced
by CoHamm)
 Patriarchal, discouraged marrying outside Jewish
comm; slavery
 Vedism to Hinduism
 Vedism ruled in India since 1500s
 700s, power of brahmins questioned
 Upanishads showed possibility of escaping
reincarnation w/out brahmis
 Buddhism emerges from these denials
 Mostly absorbed into Hinduism
 Recognizes 1000s of gods- three newer deities most
followed: Brahma masculine, Vishnu preserver, Shiva
destroyer
 Karma and reincarnation from Vedism
 Caste system from Vedism
 Law of Manu (200-200 justifies caste system
 Highly patriarchal- women with no righgts to
property
 Sati ritual
2. New belief systems and cultural traditions emerged and
spread
 Buddhism
 Based on teahings of Siddhartha Gautama (563-483)sought answers to suffering
 Enlightenment awaited, preached his ideas
 Followers compiled sutras and distributed them
 Ashoke spreads Buddhism- got to China
 Four Noble Truths
 Started as a philosophy to correct Vedism
 Reincarnation and karma
 Anyone can achieve nirvana (rejects caste); follow 4
truths and 8fold path
 Two schools after Buddha- Theravada/Hinayana is
simplicity and meditation, closer to original teachings
 Popular in S/SE Asia
 Mahayana has more ritual and symbology due to
syncretism; blends w/local beliefs; nirvana as heaven,
bodhisattvas
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 Popular in Japa/Korea/China
Confucianism
Founded by Confucius (551-479 bce)
Lived through war/chaos, pondered relationship
between society and individual
Teachings compiled after death are Analects
More concerned about ethical conduct than the gods
Harmony from benevolent rulers and good behavior
from subjects
Order and hierarchy matter- well-being of group
before individual; if ruler is good, people oblige him
Fit well w/mandate of heaven
Stressed filial piety, society as a family; worked with
ancestor veneration
Patriarchal- multiple wives, concubines, divorce for
no heir
Women as homemakers and mothers
People inherently good- respect central to
philosophy (contrast with Legalism- people as
immoral and only punishment keeps them in line)
Coexisted w/Daoism, Buddhism
600s ce Neo-Confucianism shos up
Daoism
Founded by Laozi around 500s
Central text Tao-te China (Daedejing)
Universe is governed by the dao; uses parables to
understand the world
Seek harmony from universe, care little for politics or
materials
Flexible philosophy- reconciled w/veneration and
the celestial bureaucracy
Influenced cultural practices
Fortune telling (I-Ching)
Philosophical aspect to Chinese poetry esp during
Tang dynasty
Interwoven with fend shui
Yin-yang
Spread through China- syncretic with Buddhism and
Confucianism
Christianity
Grew out of Judaism
Founded by Jesus of Nazareth (4 bce-29 ce)
Sougt to change Jewish laws- more concerned with
compassion than customs
Claimed to be Hebrew messiah
Spoke of kingdom of Heaven
Popular among commoners and poor
Angered Jewish conervatives and concerned Romans
When Jesus went to Jerusalem to preach Jews had
him arrested and crucified
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Said he returned form the dead; after, disciples began
to preach a new religion; believed in Second Coming
Rome banned Christianity but gained large following
Paul as chief disciple along with Peter; helped make
it appealing- no dietary restrictions or circumcisionmade it easier to convert
Caught on among disenfranchise- noncitizens, slaves,
women, commoners
Open to all with hope of good afterlife
Early church had women in power roles- grew more
hierarcahial and patriarchal; justified by Adam and
Eve
313 ce, Roman persecution ended when Constantine
legalized it
Official faith by end of centurs
300s-400s, hierarchy of priests and bishops solidified
Body of dogma created- compiled the Bible
Post-Roman collapse, Christian church drifted apartRoman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy split in
1054
Scientific thinking- Greece
Ppl began to understand math, astronomy, anatomy,
engineering- empirical learning
Greeks move to scientific thinking (600-200);
influenced by Egypt
Pythagoras, Aristotle, Euclid, Ptolemy, Archimeded
outlined concepts of geometry, astronomy, medicine,
natural history
Some belief in gods
Philosophy created- Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
question nature of things and reality, how to govern
Romans have Stoicism- courage and virtuous
behavior
Compared to Vedic debates and Chinese Confucian
era
Other scientific thinking
Decimal system, pi, zero, Gupta create Arabic
numerals
Cultural changes
Literature
 Mahabharata (200-200) longest poem; Bhagavad
Gita of Arjuna and Krishna (moral duty)
 China- Analects, Tao-te Ching, I-Ching, Art of
War
 Greece- Illiad and Odyssey, theatrical Greek
drama (Aeschylus’s Oresteia trilogy), Sophocles
Oedipus trilogy, Euripides commented onf role
of gods nd free will v. larger society; Aeneid as
foundation myth for Rome
Language- Sanskrit, Mandarin Chinese, Greek, Latin
Tech- woodblock printing and paper (200s ce)
Architecture
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Distinct due to religious/political purposes
Library of ALexandira, Hanging Gardens of
Bablyon
 Greco-Roman- columns and facades, Roman
arches and domes (Parthenon, Pantheon,
Colosseum, Church of St. Stophia)
 Maya and Aztecs used pyramids for sacrifice
 India- cave temples for Buddhis/Hindu deities,
Pillars of Ashoka
 East Asia Buddhism- pagoda style, grid layouts at
Chang’an
 Greco-Buddhist architecture from Alexander’s
conquest in 300 bce; syncretism
Belief systems reinforced existing social structures and
offered new roles for some
Patriarchal systems in India, China
Christianity bring power to poor, women; women start
w/leader role, diminished
Other religious and cultural traditions persisted
Spirit-based animism and shamanism remained popular
Shamans heal sick, prayed to spirits for success (Shinto
in Japan)
Ancestor veneration (Africa, China)
Andes, Incans mummified ancestors for oracle advice
for waeter
Burial of the dead important to Greeks and Hebrew,
household shrins in Rome
Syncretic practices, paganism among Christianity