Code of Hammurabi

The Code of Hammurabi is an ancient set of laws that was used to establish order in ancient Egypt. Although this code would be viewed as brutal by today's standards, it was a huge step forward in the pursuit of stability in the ancient world. Perhaps the most brutal aspect of this code is the concept of lex talionus, or the "eye for an eye" system of punishment that it established.

The Code of Hammurabi is thought to be one of the earliest forms of written law. This code was carved into a large black stone and displayed for the public to view so that every person could know and understand that laws that were being placed over them. These laws regulated almost every aspect of ancient life. Everything from property ownership, to construction, to murder, and even adultery, this code helped establish what was to be considered appropriate behavior, as well as the punishments for breaking the code. These punishments were very strict and were intended to equal the crime that was committed.

Examples of lex talionus are found throughout the Code of Hammurabi. An example of this can be seen in paragraph number 196 of the code, which states; " If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out" (Sacred-texts.com). Another example can be found when reading code number 200; "if a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out". These codes are the root of the well-known saying "and eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth".

There is a certain degree of conflict regarding whether or not the Code of Hammurabi was fair in its punishments, mainly due to the brutal nature of them. In my opinion, the punishments that were put into place were intended to be equal to the crimes that were committed. Due to this equality in crime vs. punishment; I believe that the repercussions were very fair. Another reason I believe that they were fair is because they were published in a public location for everyone to read, thus, everyone had the ability to know and understand the repercussions for their actions. Another reason I feel that these punishments were fair is that they were literally set in stone. This eliminated the bias of judges and juries, and help eliminate corruption in the legal system.

Although the Code of Hammurabi was extremely crude in its punishment, it was the first real set of written law. This code of laws paved the way for the ideal that punishment should fit the crime, which is still used today, although not as literally. It is interesting to think about how modern laws would be different if they the Code of Hammurabi had never been created.