DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5625#0086
The Age of Hammurapi and After 67
Thus a man might say an ox was worth so many ounces of
silver, only he would use " shekels " (the name of a weight)
m place of ounces. Loans were
common, and the rate of interest
was twenty per cent. Babylonian
civilization was above all things
mercantile. Merchandising was
the chief occupation and was
even carried on in the temples.
The temples were trading
centers, owning much property,
carrying on banking, and con-
trolling a large part of the busi-
ness of the people. Nevertheless
there were some indications of
higher desires in religion. The
ritual of the temples contained
a small group of prayers which
indicate a deep sense of sin;
hut the chief teachings of reli-
g'on showed a man how to
. * A shaft of stone (diorite), nearly
eight feet high, on which the laws
are engraved. They extend entirely
Wound the shaft, occupying over
thirty-six hundred lines. Above is
a fine relief showing King Ham-
murapi standing at the left, receiv-
lng the laws from the Sun-god
Seated at the right. The flames ris"-
lng from the god's shoulders indi-
cate who he is. The flames on the
;fift shoulder are commonly shown
ln the current textbooks as part of
a staff in the god's left hand. This
ls an error. This scene is an im-
pressive work of Semitic art, six
hundred years later than Fig. 4°
112. Higher
life of
Babylonia:
temples and
religion
Fig 42. The Laws of Ham-
murapi, the Oldest Surviv-
ing Code of Laws (2100 b. c.)*
Thus a man might say an ox was worth so many ounces of
silver, only he would use " shekels " (the name of a weight)
m place of ounces. Loans were
common, and the rate of interest
was twenty per cent. Babylonian
civilization was above all things
mercantile. Merchandising was
the chief occupation and was
even carried on in the temples.
The temples were trading
centers, owning much property,
carrying on banking, and con-
trolling a large part of the busi-
ness of the people. Nevertheless
there were some indications of
higher desires in religion. The
ritual of the temples contained
a small group of prayers which
indicate a deep sense of sin;
hut the chief teachings of reli-
g'on showed a man how to
. * A shaft of stone (diorite), nearly
eight feet high, on which the laws
are engraved. They extend entirely
Wound the shaft, occupying over
thirty-six hundred lines. Above is
a fine relief showing King Ham-
murapi standing at the left, receiv-
lng the laws from the Sun-god
Seated at the right. The flames ris"-
lng from the god's shoulders indi-
cate who he is. The flames on the
;fift shoulder are commonly shown
ln the current textbooks as part of
a staff in the god's left hand. This
ls an error. This scene is an im-
pressive work of Semitic art, six
hundred years later than Fig. 4°
112. Higher
life of
Babylonia:
temples and
religion
Fig 42. The Laws of Ham-
murapi, the Oldest Surviv-
ing Code of Laws (2100 b. c.)*