Topic 1

Using specific examples from the excerpts of both the Ten Commandments and the Code of Hammurabi from Chapter 2 of your textbook, discuss which code you believe was more advantageous in providing justice based on the beliefs of the people who followed it.

The Code of Hammurabi was written by King Hammurabi, who was the sixth Babylonian king. The code was a collection of 282 laws carved on a seven-foot five-inch stone tablet and used to govern his empire (Sayre, 2018). The code was divided into several sections, covered all facets of human life, and was used to govern the extensive empire. The code presented different levels of justice for people according to their social class and was mainly based on retaliatory justice.

The Ten Commandments were a set of ten laws written by God on two stone tablets on Mount Sinai and were given to Moses to give to the Israelites who descended from the Hebrews. The commandments detailed how the Hebrews were supposed to conduct their daily lives and interact with each other to please God (Sayre, 2018). They were meant to ensure that the Hebrews remained holy in the eyes of God. As opposed to the Code of Hammurabi, the commandments did not have any sanctions encoded in them.

The Ten Commandments were better at giving justice as opposed to the Code of Hammurabi. The code of Hammurabi had extreme penalties for petty offenses. Some of the laws required the removal of body parts such as an eye as retaliation for an offense that was committed (Sayre, 2018). While it required evidence to condemn a person as guilty, it presented harsh penalties to the people. The code of Hammurabi also had different levels of justice for the different social classes. For instance, the penalty for a doctor losing a rich patient was losing their hands while they would pay a fine for the death of a slave (Sayre, 2018). The discrimination based on social class meant that some people were denied justice. The Ten Commandments, on the other hand, applied to everyone equally. The commandments were thus more just than the code of Hammurabi. The code of Hammurabi was focused on retaliatory justice and had fixed penalties for guilty parties. The guilty did not have a chance to bargain for lenient penalties, and they were denied justice under the code. On the other hand, the ten commandments promoted a religious way of life, and anyone who broke a commandment could offer a sacrifice and be forgiven. They, therefore, had a chance to bargain and save themselves from damnation.

Topic 3

How does the lyric poetry of Sappho (Readings 4.6a, 4.6b) reflect the growing trend towards humanism and naturalism in Archaic Greek culture?  Discuss how either the pottery example “Women at a Fountain House” (figure 4.30) or the Peplos Kore sculpture (figure 4.26) relate to the naturalism and humanism found in the specific examples of Sappho’s poetry (Readings 4.6a, 4.6b)

Sappho was one of the greatest lyric poets of her time. Her poems conveyed the humanist and naturalist qualities of Archaic Greek culture. Humanism entailed the entirety of the human experience. It placed human experiences as the main area of focus. Humanism also appreciated the flawed nature of humans and appreciated the struggle to make the best of the flaws. Sappho’s poetry was based on love and the relationships she had with others. One of her longest remaining poems is about the love she had for a married woman. She captured her emotions for the woman in the lyrics. In the poem, she says that when she meets her, a thin flame runs under her skin, she cannot see, there is drumming in her ears and her body trembles (Sayre, 2018). The explicit detail of her experience with the woman fulfills the humanism quality of Greek culture. Sappho also describes her voice like a sweet murmur and her laugh as enticing.

Humanism also entailed appreciating humans’ physical beauty and qualities, which is why the Greek Gods had human forms. Sappho’s description of the woman’s laugh and voice, therefore, fulfills humanism (Sayre, 2018). Naturalism was the notion that only natural forces and laws were present in the world. Sappho wrote that even though her words were just breath, they were immortal (Sayre, 2018). This married the Greek belief that words and actions could grant one immortality, not any supernatural forces.

The Peplos Kore statue demonstrates humanism and naturalism in ancient Greece. Sappho describes the man married to the woman she is in love with in her poetry. She says that he is a god in her eyes and is more than a hero. The Peplos Kore has a bore hole in her hand which means she used a bow, arrow and shield (Martin & Jacobus, 2018). Her demeanor is similar to the man in Sappho’s poetry. She is also not a deity but a statue, similar to the physicality given to the man and thus fulfills the humanism and naturalism nature of Sappho’s poem.

Topic 4

Based on the excerpts from his speech, how does Perikles evoke both arête and eudaimonia? Based on your readings, was this greatness available to everyone in Athens? How does the Parthenon, built under Perikles’ supervision, represent the virtues he celebrates in his “Funeral Speech?”

Arete means human excellence, and eudaimonia means happiness or good living. Perikles demonstrates Athens’ ability to achieve arete and eudaimonia by its social, political and cultural life. Their government was a successful democracy where power resided with the many as opposed to the few. Similarly, their government did not conflict with other governments and instead acted as an example to others (Sayre, 2018).

The social and cultural life of the Athenians was also extremely dignified. The Athenian people abstained from wrongdoing due to their respect for the law. The people also interacted peacefully by not being suspicious of others or judging people’s way of life (Sayre, 2018). Perikles acknowledged that the Athenian’s way of life was good since they loved the beautiful but were keen on growing their information (Sayre, 2018). They could easily adapt to situations and even credited the greatness of Athens to these qualities of the Athenians.

This greatness was available to all the people of Athens. As Perikles stated, those who rose to public service did so based on merit, and the government provided equal justice to all Athenians (Sayre, 2018). Similarly, everyone was allowed to participate in political affairs. Perikles stated that those who were not concerned with public affairs were useless and were an impediment to the greatness of Athens. Perikles commissioned the Parthenon as a temple to the goddess Athena. The Parthenon was a physical representation of Athenian greatness (Martin & Jacobus, 2018). The Parthenon was a majestic temple, much bigger than any other temple built at the time. It towered over the Greek skyline and demonstrated Athenian dominance over other nations (Martin & Jacobus, 2018). Within the temple was a gigantic statue of the goddess Athena made of gold and ivory holding a statue of Nike. The temple was also made of marble. This showed the wealth of Athens and its military prowess over other nations.