“The Drinking Gods.” In Drinking in Ancient Societies: History and Culture of Drinks in the Ancient Near East, edited by Lucio Milano. Padova: Sargon, 1994. Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York and Oxford: Facts on File, 1990. Roueche ́, Berton. “Alcohol in Human Culture.” In Alcohol and Civilization, edited by Salvatore Pablo Lucia. New York: McGraw Hill, 1963. Beer was used for religious events, rituals, and even a way of forming friendships in the ancient civilizations. The people believed that beer was a gift from the gods, so in return, the beer was presented as a religious offering back to the gods. Sharing a drink with others was a way to prove that a person could be trusted. Also, the Egyptians and Mesopotamians alike used beer to simply have a good time. It was so important to them that they believed that no meal was complete without the consumption of beer. According to Standage, beer civilized man simply because of agriculture. Agricultural surpluses allowed people to do other jobs besides farming. This means that eventually, villages would turn into cities, furthermore civilizing men. There was a surplus of grains, meaning that there was plenty of bread and