68 Outlines of European History Temples and religion The temples are trading centers, owning vast properties, carry- ing on banking, and controlling much of the business of the people. Nevertheless there are some indications of higher de- sires. The ritual of the temples contains a small group of prayers which indicate a deep sense of sin ; but the chief teachings of religion show a man how to obtain prosperity from the gods and how to avoid their dis^ pleasure. Among such teach- ings are methods of foretelling the future by reading the stars. This art, now called " astrology," formed the beginnings of as- tronomy (p. 83). A journey through Babylonia to-day could not tell us such a
- A shaft of stone (diorite) nearly
eight feet high, on which the laws are engraved, extending entirely around the shaft and occupying over thirty-six hundred lines. Above is a fine relief showing King Ham- murapi standing at the left, receiv- ing the laws from the Sun-god seated at the right. Hammurapi's shaven upper lip proclaiming him a man of the Syrian desert (p. 67) is here in the shadow and cannot be seen. The flames risingfrom the god's shoulders indicate who he is. The flames on the left shoulder are commonly shown in the current textbooks as part of a staff in the god's left hand. This is an error. This scene is an impressive work of Semitic art, six hundred years later than Fig. 40 Fig. 42. The Laws of Ham- MURAPi, THE Oldest-Surviv- ing Code of Laws(2ioob.c.)*
