Examples Of Sexism In The Code Of Hammurabi

426 Words1 Page

HAMMURABI’S CODE ESSAY Hammurabi’s Code communicates the barbaric nature of Babylonian society to historians today. The Babylonians had a lack of jails and had excessive punishments. The punishment for an illegal act could be death, slavery, or amputation. Being jailed was not a punishment in Babylonia. An example of this injustice is the law that states, “If a man has broken into a house he shall be killed before the breach and buried there” (Hammurabi’s 21). If a man has stolen bread, he has no trial he is simply put to death. In today’s sophisticated world, we have jails to punish felons, so they have hope for redemption. Hammurabi’s Code is a very sexist document. It conveys women as men’s property. The laws say things such as, “If

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Hammurabi And Greek Laws

    635 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ancient laws were brutal. Babylonian laws, like Hammurabi's Code, included physical torture and death as punishments. The rule behind these punishments was "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."Hammurabi was the name of the king in the city-state of Babylon who ruled for nearly 4,000 years ago.This code was a set of 282 laws that maintained order. Hammurabi's Code was unjust because accidents were punished, punishments for intentional damage was extreme, and it focused on revenge instead of preventing future crime.

    Read More

  • Is Hammurabi's Code Just Or Unjust?

    356 Words  | 1 Pages

    I think Hammurabi’s Code was just because, one of his laws was. If a free man was to know out the other man’s eye was to be knocked out as well. Therefore, it’s protecting the victim’s eye. That was law 196. In my opinion, I don’t think this law was bad, it’s protecting the free man but if a slave’s eye was to be knocked out. The other person would have to pay have of the slave’s owner ship to his master.

    Read More

  • Hammurabi And Machiavelli's Theory Of Social Order In Ancient Society

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Code of Hammurabi has a slightly different way of describing the way a society should maintain stability and avoid chaos. In this code of conduct it is more on the lines of something similar to the Bill of Rights where each idea is stated in form of a law. For example, in the 15th amendment of The Code it staes “15: If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates [to escape], he shall be put to death.” It is a listed set of laws followed by a consequence whether it is minor or as harsh as the death penalty. If such harsh punishments were informed, I believe the law makers or theorists saw it as a type of scare which would prevent people from committing the crime. There are those people who do break the law and make stupid decisions, but it would keep the amount of people making stupid decisions and breaking the law to a

    Read More

  • Analysis of Hammurabi’s Code

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the world, people consider The Code of Hammurabi one of the most important codes of law ever recorded in the history of the world based on what it tells us about the history of early Babylon. The code gives people a way to see not only how the society of Babylon developed early on but also how other civilizations were developing complex societies, which were similar to the Babylonians. However, the code also shows us how the role of written documents and writing is effectively portrayed in Hammurabi’s laws. This is effectively observed by analyzing what types of documents the code provides evidence for, what are situations and reasons in which Babylonians used writing, and if writing is the only acceptable form of proof. The Code of Hammurabi is one of the most important codes ever recorded because it shows us evidence of early principles of justice, which provide proof for early legal documentation; gives us observable, physical proof of the Babylonian beliefs for future people to witness; and shows us how written works are the only acceptable form of proof because of the historical accuracy of the work.

    Read More

  • Hammurabis Code

    338 Words  | 1 Pages

    The formers of the Hammurabi’s Code of Laws surely created strict rules with severe punishments for their violation. In fact, these laws played a big role in organization of Mesopotamian society. Reading these laws, reader may learn about ideals people of Mesopotamia had about crimes, their attitude to the lower and higher social classes, and legal rights between men and women. Reading the laws I noticed that many crimes were punished by death penalty. Many laws tell that guilty person has to pay the same price for the physical harm one did to another person or one’s relative. For instance: law 196 states (encyclopedia.com): “ If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.” In addition, at that time, people were penalized to death for many crimes or wrongdoings that almost never would be penalized with capital punishment at a modern time. Among such felony and misdemeanors are stealing, robbery, accusation, adultery, and desertion. Hammurabi’s Code also, reveals inequality between social classes. Slaves were not treated by the laws the same as free-born people. According to the Code of Hammurabi, women had some legal rights, but these rights were not equal to men’s. Married women had a right to divorce as well as men. In fact, in order to acquire the right for divorce, a woman has to find a reasonable explanation for her desire, and only than the divorce could be possible.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In The Code Of Hammurabi

    1613 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Code does not always rule against women in certain situations. For example, if a woman was accused of cheating on her husband, but is not actually caught in the act, may swear that she is not guilty and return home (Hammurabi 131). Yet, in law 130, “If a man violate the wife (betrothed or child-wife) of another man, who has never known a man, and still lives in her father 's house, and sleep with her and be surprised, this man shall be put to death, but the wife is blameless.” The man is killed and the women does not bear any blame of the adultery. This shows that women were treated rather well under this code, and were protected from certain punishments. On the other hand, they are clearly not equal to men. For example, in law 141, if a man did not wish to release his wife, he could keep her as a servant. There is no such law for men, indicating a difference between the

    Read More

  • Hammurabi Code Essay

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    The construction of the code is very precise, for each crime committed there was a specific punishment. The punishments were usually extremely harsh by current standards. Many of the offences resulted in death, deformity or the use of “Law of Retaliation philosophy”(tooth for tooth, eye for eye). Also some laws in the code mention to jump in the Euphrates River to show one's remorse or purity. If the accused returned to the land safely, they were considered innocent, if they drowned they were guilty. This practice makes the Babylonians believe that their destinies were in the hands of their gods. The code outlines rules for observers and those making allegations of crimes. In Illustration, "If any one bring an accusation of any crime before the elders, and does not prove what he has charged, he shall, if it be a capital offense charged, be put to death." The code gives details on how stealing or destruction of property should be handled, and also gives instructions for dealing with business/trade problems. The code affects to the entire Babylonian society. The punishments of the code was different for everyone, it depended on the status of the victim. The patricians, who were the free men and women, the plebeians, who were the commoners, and the slaves, were the classes i...

    Read More

  • The Code of Hammurabi

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author of the Code also makes some key assumptions while writing his laws. Hammurabi must assume that the members of his kingdom have the same values and morals that he does. He writes as if everyone will agree with each law written, and makes no provision for members of society to disagree with him. Hammurabi also assumes that the punishment he prescribes will be enough to deter crime and prevent repeat offenders. When prescribing the incentives given to doctors, Hammurabi made assumptions about how much money it would take to encourage doctors to practice medicine and shipbuilders to build ships.

    Read More

  • Hammurabi Research Paper

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    To conclude my speech today, Hammurabi was the sixth king of Babylon (Hammurabi). He was a successful military leader and ruler that concentrated on building defensive protection, establishing a basis of law and order, and specializing irrigation. Hammurabi is arguably most remembered for his code of the laws governing Babylonian life. The Code of Hammurabi consists of 282 laws ranging from divorce, property and inheritance, and fairness in commercial exchanges (Code of Hammurabi: Ancient Babylonian Laws). Punishment and severity varied within social structure. “It symbolizes not only the rise of justice in the minds of men, but also man’s rise above ignorance and barbarism toward the peaceful and just societies that we still pursue today” (EAWC Anthology: Hammurabi's Code of Laws).

    Read More

  • Hamurabi´s Code And The Social Structure Of Hammurabi's Code

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most important aspects of any society is the ruling system. A society simply could not function without any sort of rules or regulations. With the tremendous growth of Babylonian society came the need for law systems. Perhaps one of the most well known law systems was Babylonian ruler Hammurabi’s compilation of Mesopotamian laws known as Hammurabi 's Code. Hammurabi 's Code contained laws pertaining to trade, marriage, property, crime, social class, and more (Judge and Langdon, 25). So much can be learned about early societies through this famous artifact. Although these laws may have been accepted by the Babylonian citizens at the time, it is now clear to see that the code was extremely unjust. Hammurabi 's Code uncovers the social

    Read More

  • Hammurabi Code Dbq

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    The laws gave men more freedom over their lives, unlike women. Lastly, if a woman killed another woman, her daughter would be put to death! However, if a man killed another man, he would be killed. The person who killed someone should have been put to death, because the kids were innocent. Overall, women were considered their “husband’s property,” and they were not considered a true wife until they had kids. The Hammurabi Code allowed more freedom for men.

    Read More

  • Ancient Babylon

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    The code of Hammurabi was one of the most important documents in Babylon history. It was adopted from many Sumerian customs that had been around for a while before the Babylonians. Though many of the Laws were adopted from Sumeria they were published by Hammurabi and thus known as the code of Hammurabi. This code had four main parts to it. They were: Civil Laws, Commercial Laws, Penal Laws, and the Law of procedures.

    Read More

  • Women's Rights In The Hammurabi Code

    1529 Words  | 4 Pages

    No doubt the concept “an eye for an eye” was a big part of the Code of Hammurabi. Although, when it came to women, this principle does not apply equally as it did with men of the Babylonian civilization. For example, if a man were to practice adultery while he was married, he would get a very minor punishment for whatever good reason he came up with. If a woman were to practice adultery on her husband, she and the other man she was having an affair with were both thrown into a river while being tied up to one another. Basically women were constantly addressed as a piece of property just as slaves were treated. Hammurabi’s Code demonstrated how the rights of women individually were not acknowledged as men’s rights were taken. King Hammurabi was the sixth Babylonian king and he gave all of the power to the men in the civilization. It can be proven that a woman, in Hammurabi time didn’t have as many rights, even right to defend herself. There are three major issues that were taken place during the Babylonian civilization. The first issue, was about a woman’s family wealth being controlled by her husband or her father. The second issue was about women’s sexuality being sacrificed to ensure legitimacy. The last issue talked about a woman needing society’s help if she was divorced. The Hammurabi Code describes all of women’s rights and

    Read More

  • Treatment of Women in Ancient Literature

    2408 Words  | 5 Pages

    Women were often subjects of intense focus in ancient literary works. In Sarah Pomeroy’s introduction of her text Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, she writes, “Women pervade nearly every genre of classical literature, yet often the bias of the author distorts the information” (x). It is evident in literature that the social roles of women were more restricted than the roles of men. And since the majority of early literature was written by men, misogyny tends to taint much of it. The female characters are usually given negative traits of deception, temptation, selfishness, and seduction. Women were controlled, contained, and exploited. In early literature, women are seen as objects of possession, forces deadly to men, cunning, passive, shameful, and often less honorable than men. Literature reflects the societal beliefs and attitudes of an era and the consistency of these beliefs and attitudes toward women and the roles women play has endured through the centuries in literature. Women begin at a disadvantage according to these societal definitions. In a world run by competing men, women were viewed as property—prizes of contests, booty of battle and the more power men had over these possessions the more prestigious the man. When reading ancient literature one finds that women are often not only prizes, but they were responsible for luring or seducing men into damnation by using their feminine traits.

    Read More

  • Prologue And Epilogue Summary

    171 Words  | 1 Pages

    Q2:What values or ideals governing the code are expressed in these excerpts? Hammurabi was the creator of the “eye for an eye” laws. However a hierarchy still exist inside these laws. If a crime occurs between two upper class citizens the punishment is equal to the crime. If a crime occurs between an upclass and lower class citizen a small payment is made for compensation.

    Read More

More about Examples Of Sexism In The Code Of Hammurabi

Open Document