Stele Of Hammurabi Essay

The Stele of Hammurabi containing the law code can be depicted as a work of art that conveys power and authority. Created within the Babylonian culture the artwork, “Stele with Law Code of Hammurabi” was created by the Babylonian king, King Hammurabi. This stele was created throughout 1792 – 1750 BCE out of basalt stele, a hard, black volcanic slab of stone. King Hammurabi was looking towards the Babylonian society that he ruled as his audience because this stele also included the law code that he wanted people to start following. With the historical content shown on the Stele of Hammurabi, power and authority is projected through it one reason because it depicts King Hammurabi along with the god Shamash. In the upper portion there are two people with great significance, a king and a god together. The god Shamash had given to Hammurabi rod and coiled rope so King Hammurabi could officially start his social order. Another idea from the upper part of the “Stele with Law Code of Hammurabi” shows Hammurabi praying towards Shamash while Shamash was giving him significant advice about power and …show more content…
As you can tell, on the stele King Hammurabi and Shamash are the same height; however, the god Shamash is also sitting down while King Hammurabi is respectfully kneeling prayerfully towards Shamash. This depicts how Shamash is of more importance because he’s the same height as King Hammurabi but if he were standing he would be taller than Hammurabi. Also, Shamash is wearing a headdress with four pairs of horns, depicting power and authority while also giving attributions to the sun god and god of justice, creating a prime example of power over nature. The lower portion visually reflects power and authority because it’s the written law code right on the stele. It gives power to the creator (Hammurabi) because the set of laws written down was now going to be followed by