When one examines the characters of different civilizations, one begins to notice commonalities of concern.  That is, recurring patterns.  Especially in the most ancient of civilizations.  There is this obsession with capturing the Spirit of Life, mastering its principles, and using that Mastery as a sort of pole-vault—if you will—to leap over the Wall of Life into the realm of the After-Life.  Look at those old Assyrian stone reliefs, showing the bearded kings pollinating their date-plants, which were the staff of life in the ancient Near East.  Look at the pharaoh smiting his enemies with a mace, and enjoying every minute of it.  Mastering life in order to master death, in other words.

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