Egyptian empire is longest lasting in history, and they emphasized maintaining old customs
Agonaden tried to bring about progress and open mindedness. And the people went back to the old asap
Babylonians thought planets were gods by they (unlike other stars) moved around the sky. They named days of the week after these 7 gods (sun, moon, Saturn)
Jews, between Egypt and Babylon, stood out for their belief in one God, which made them persevere as they were conquered by each in turn
Phoenicians were merchants who invented 26 letter language to do more writing than could be done with hieroglyph or cunograpby
Greeks sailed so were exposed to new ideas and so looked for progress not old customs, so history sped up