43 pages • 1-hour read
Code of Hammurabi
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EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Epilogue Summary
The first point of emphasis in the Epilogue is on Hammurabi’s character and achievements. He declares that the effects of his kingship have been a blessing to those in his land, and especially to the most downtrodden. He uses images of himself as a shepherd and a father to convey his compassion for his people: “[O]n my breast I cherish the inhabitants of the land of Sumer and Akkad; in my shelter I have let them repose in peace; in my deep wisdom I have enclosed them” (52). He regards his legal accomplishments as having provided an adequate defense of the weak against the predations of the strong, giving special protection to widows and orphans.
He even envisions a scene in which someone who would otherwise have no recourse to social stability or protection can come and appeal to Hammurabi’s Code: “Let the oppressed, who has a case at law, come and stand before this my image as king of righteousness; let him read the inscription, and understand my precious words: […] he will find out what is just, and his heart will be glad” (53). Hammurabi bequeaths his Code to the kings who will come after him, encouraging them to keep his laws without alteration, and thus to establish justice in the land.
The second point of emphasis in the Epilogue turns its attention to the possibility that the kings who succeed him will, instead of following the Code, choose instead to deny it, alter it, or claim it for their own glory. For such rulers, Hammurabi has lines upon lines of poetic invectives, inviting the gods and goddesses of Babylon to bring all the worst forms of misfortune down upon those kings. This ritualistic cursing of anyone who would misuse the text is comprehensive, engaging nearly the entire Babylonian pantheon against such miscreants. The curse-litany comprises the entire second half of the Epilogue, all the way to the text’s conclusion.
Epilogue Analysis
The Epilogue, like the Prologue, is a poetic bookend to the case laws of the Code. The Epilogue is a short text, though somewhat longer than the Prologue, and it conveys many of the same sensibilities as the Prologue. Its emphasis is twofold: First, it establishes the character and achievements of Hammurabi, and second, it unleashes a long litany of curses on any future king who might seek to alter or efface the record of Hammurabi’s laws. In both of these sections, the message of Hammurabi’s piety comes strongly to the fore once again, as nearly every clause in the text makes reference to a Babylonian god or goddess, with the greatest emphasis on Marduk and Shamash.
The Epilogue thus shares many literary features with the Prologue, and the two stand distinct from the main body of case laws both in content and form. The Prologue and Epilogue are each focused on the person of Hammurabi and include a great deal of religious content, neither of which are found within the case laws. The Prologue and Epilogue are also structured as poetry, in contrast to the terse prose of the casuistic constructions in the laws. Even on the stele itself, the Prologue and Epilogue stand out for their unique structure, encircling the case laws in a ring construction around the monument.
Though the Prologue and the Epilogue stand together as similarly-styled bookends for the main body of the text, there are differences. While the Prologue makes no reference to the laws themselves (except obliquely, in referencing Hammurabi’s role as an enlightener of the people and defender of the oppressed), the Epilogue directly refers to the laws several times. The Code is firmly in view as the object of the Epilogue’s reflections. While the Prologue included a litany of many of Hammurabi’s varied accomplishments, in the Epilogue the establishment of the Code is his singular, unsurpassable accomplishment.
Further, while both the Prologue and the Epilogue contain a long litany, the focus and tone of each is remarkably different. The Prologue’s litany is a glowing list of Hammurabi’s achievements, while the Epilogue’s litany is a chilling recitation of ritual curses to fall on the heads of any kings who would seek to undermine the establishment of Hammurabi’s Code.
The Epilogue contains some of the richest religious imagery in the entire Code, in concert with the Prologue. Hammurabi again connects his vocation as king and lawgiver to the gods Marduk and Shamash, his personal patron-deity (and the main deity of Babylon) and the sun-god of justice, respectively. While the Prologue makes it clear that the gods of the Mesopotamian pantheon can bless humanity, as they have done in Hammurabi’s case, the Epilogue underscores the theological point that they can also curse humanity if the ways of justice are not followed.
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