Table of ContentsEgypt and Mesopotamia Comparison and Contrast: Cultural Similarities and Drastic DifferencesRoles and Status of Women in Ancient SocietiesConclusionWorks CitedIn Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia, we can find many similarities and differences between their cultures. The laws of the two countries varied greatly, their literature was relatively similar, and the way women were viewed in their respective societies contrasted dramatically. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayEgypt and Mesopotamia Compare and Contrast: Cultural Similarities and Drastic DifferencesThe laws of Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt were both applied and established in different ways. Egyptian law was less rigid than the law in Mesopotamia, with laws written after each pharaoh came to power. The main stipulation was that the laws followed the teachings and ideals of the goddess Ma'at, but that interpretation and implementation were left to the pharaoh. Law was generally "an aspect of administration, making any official a possible arbiter: it was not separated by its own exclusively judicial officials and its own exclusively judicial buildings – no judges or courts." Officials judged cases; no ancient Egyptian individual is known whose only official capacity was to hear legal cases. The same groups of individuals may meet regularly to consider a range of administrative and legal cases (the Egyptian "council"), but no special space or building appears to have been set aside for this purpose. A board of directors (Egyptian DADAt) could be established for particular short-term tasks, by royal commission, and such a task could be the adjudication of an important legal case, but it could also be the successful management of a project such as a quarry expedition. Law seemed to be more of an additional task for the government than a branch dedicated to it. The pharaoh's decrees were used along with the precedents of previous court rulings and most trials were conducted on a case-by-case basis. The Mesopotamians took a different approach to their legal system. The laws were codified so that the crimes and their respective penalties were well known to everyone. At the time, this system was considered as just as punishments, with the most famous adage from Hammurabi's legal code being: "If a man take out another man's eye, his eye shall be taken out." commonly used as the proverb “an eye for an eye”. There was an elected council of elders called an assembly that would be responsible for judging cases. They would use codified law to assign punishments and conduct trials in a fair and just manner. The assembly was also responsible for telling the king if the new laws he was trying to pass would be unjust or if the law would be offensive to the gods. Not only did they help decide the law, but they even established laws that the gods had to follow, such as how they should behave and which gods were allowed to marry. Penalties under most laws involved equal retribution, but putting to death was often more common than not. 26 of the laws of Hammurabi's code directly mention being "put to death" and 8 mention that a part of the body, such as the tongue, hands or even breasts, is cut off. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt had developed their own pictographic alphabet, Egypthaving hieroglyphics. and Mesopotamia using the more abstract cuneiform. Mesopotamian writings were usually written on a clay tablet which was then hardened, while Egyptian writings were carved on the walls of monuments and temples or were written on papyrus paper. The function of their writings appears to have been quite similar, with the most important use being for administrative and record-keeping purposes. Historical records, aside from the names of kings or pharaohs, as seen on the Palermo Stone, were not common in the early stages of these civilizations, but became more common as societies developed .progressed. Poems like the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh and the Egyptian Hymns to the Nile and Aten were also common literary forms. For religious purposes, the Mesopotamians primarily used writings to record prayers and religious ceremonies, while in Egypt it was common to record spells for protection or use in the afterlife, as shown the Book of the Dead. Egyptian hieroglyphs were used more literally, with designs used to describe what was written and letters used for names. An example of this can be seen in the False Door of Kaitep, it is described as "the lower part of a false door with five vertical lines of text on the central panel and four side panels, containing the name and titles of Kaitep . On the exterior panels on both sides are depictions of the deceased leaning on his staff. rather as the property of their husband or father. In Egypt, women and men were legally assimilated. Most of the rights that applied to men also extended to women. Women were allowed to own property and could obtain their own livestock, property, slaves, servants, and earn their own money outside the home. They could also enter into contracts or sue over her property, marriage, and work. The most common jobs held by women were weavers, hairdressers, writers, dancers, singers, musicians, treasurers, priestesses and, in the case of a woman named Nebet from the Old Kingdom, vizier of the pharaoh. An example of this equality can be seen, "in a case where a woman named Iry-nefret was accused of illegally using money and a grave belonging to a woman named Bak-Mut to help pay for the purchase of a servant. Iry-nefret was brought into court and recounted in her own words how she had acquired the girl, listing all the items she had given to the merchant as prizes for the girl and identifying the individuals from whom she had purchased certain items used during this purchase. She had to take an oath before the judges in the name of the god Amon and the sovereign. The judges then asked the complainant to produce witnesses (three men and three women) who would testify that she had used stolen goods to buy the girl. The end of the papyrus recounting the trial is lost, but it is clear that the Iry-nefret woman acted on her own initiative in purchasing the servant and was held solely responsible for her actions while the testimonies of the women and men were taken. . by the judges to also be admissible. Mesopotamia did not grant such rights to its women. The only women who acted in an individual capacity were those married to royalty or powerful men. They were considered their father's daughters and were married off after reaching puberty in an arranged marriage. After being married, she would then..