The Epic of Gilgamesh skirts around the subject of a life
after death. The two people Gilgamesh speaks to in order to find out about the
afterlife don’t give him a straight answer on what it will be like. Instead,
they both focus on telling Gilgamesh to live the life he has been given by the
gods. His mortality is mentioned repeatedly so that it is palpable and is
described so it seems like the natural way of things. Nothing lasts forever.
Life should be no exception. Gilgamesh is encouraged to live life to the
fullest and stop worrying about death. It will get him nowhere.
In contrast, the afterlife depicted by the Egyptians is very
sunny and pleasant. The deceased are welcomed home by the gods as long lost
family members. Then, in the Negative Confession, this bright hope of an
afterlife is extended to the rest of the population. The royals are considered
god-like, so it makes sense for them to be greeted and honored in the afterlife
with the gods. The only reason this blessing is extended to the common peoples
is if they prove that they are good people, that they have not committed any crimes.
In a way, they can become god-like by being virtuous in their lives. For the
Egyptians, life is about preparing for the beauty of the afterlife, for the
Mesopotamians, life is about living to the fullest.
Hammurabi’s Code relies heavily on capital punishment. Most
of the offenses listed end in death for the first offense. Those that do not,
tend to involve mutilation or heavy fines. It clearly favors the upper classes
and males. This is a very blunt form of justice that works with the idea that
life isn’t fair and the strong can legally kill the weak.
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