Despite these strict laws, it seems as though their code was either never
followed very closely or the Mesopotamians didn’t care much for the code, since
a large amount of evidence of dispute over these laws and their subsequent
punishments exists. There are laws about stealing, divorce, adultery, and
negligence, just to name a few. The Egyptians did not have a written form of
law, at least that we know of, even though there is evidence that they did have
laws. When an Egyptian died and was buried they were typically buried with a
tablet that had their declaration of innocence on it. This shows us that they
understood the difference between what was right and what was wrong. A portion
of the declaration reads: “Hail, Fentiu, who come forth from Khemennu, I have
not stolen. “Hail, you Flame, which comes and goes, I have spoken no lies.
“Hail, you two-headed serpent, who come forth from the torture chamber, I have
not defiled the wife of any man. “Hail, you who caused mankind to flourish, who
come forth from Sais, I have never cursed God.” (Declaration of Innocence, ARC
9) This shows that the Ancient Egyptians knew that if they stole, lied, cursed
the God, ect. they would not be let into the afterlife. The civilizations of
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia also had many differences. One major difference
was the theory of the great flood. The Mesopotamians thought that the great
flood was put there to kill mankind. They thought that the gods were angry with
them because they were too loud and the gods could not rest with all of their
noise. Then Enlil said to the gods “
The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by
reason of the babel.” (The Babylonian Account of the Flood, HD #3). The
Babylonians knew that the gods were angry with them and wanted to kill them
because Ea came down to one the Babylonians and told him of the gods’ plan to
destroy their civilization with the great flood. With that, the Babylonian
started building a gigantic ship. “For six days and six nights the winds blew,
torrents and tempest and flood overwhelmed the world, tempest and flood raged
together like warring hosts. When the seventh day dawned the storm from the
south subsided, the sea grew calm, the flood was stilled.” (The Babylonian
Account of the Flood, HD #3). The Egyptians had a different attitude toward the
annual flooding of the River Nile. They realized that the flooding made their
land more fertile for farming, which is how the Egyptians grew their food to
keep them alive. The Egyptians believed that the gods rewarded them by flooding
the Nile each year. They thought that the Nile was “The bringer of all food,
rich in provisions, creator of all food, lord of majesty, sweet of fragrance.” (SPV
21) Another major difference was in medicine. The Mesopotamians made little
mention of doctors or medical practices. However, the Ancient Egyptians had
specific treatments for different medical problems. An example from The Edwin
Smith Surgical Papyrus states that in a case with a wound to the head
penetrating to the bone the and the examination shows a wound penetrating to the
bone, but does not has a gash he should “bind it with fresh meat the first day
and treat afterward with grease, honey and line every day until he recovers.”
(The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, HD #6). In conclusion, the ancient
civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia had many similarities and differences.
They were similar by the fact that they had systems of education, theories about
their own creations and their codes of law, whether it be written or implied.
Their similarities makes one wonder how these two civilizations had limited
contact with each other. Their similarities are also a part of the differences
between the two cultures. From their similar educational systems came their very
different means of discipline in the schools, each created for different
purposes, one was for the good of society and the other was for the pride and
honor of the family. There are obvious patterns of similarities that could be
common amongst all early civilizations.
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