Mesopotamia Stories, Part 2
Leaving Ur
By Lillian
Then Enlil entered. We were the only two girls who got a chance to become a scribe. Most of the students, including me, believed Enlil's parents had pulled a few strings to let her attend. They were nobles working for Sargon.
“Good morning class,” said our teacher, Shubure. He was dressed in royal robes of purple and white. The class sat up.
“Good morning class,” said our teacher, Shubure. He was dressed in royal robes of purple and white. The class sat up.
“Today we will determine who will become a scribe by writing down your favorite law in Hammurabi's Code. Ready, set, GO!”
Everyone started to carefully carve cuneiform into their tablets.
Horizontal, straight, zig-zag, line, curve...
He passed everyone's sitting places and snatched their tablets. He hung them up on the wall for everyone to see.
Shubure started scrutinizing everyone's laws. “Ok, the first one to be a scribe is…Warassuni!” he said excitedly. “His law is ‘a tooth for a tooth.’ Very well done, Warassuni.”
“Next to be a scribe is…Inanna! His law is ‘If a son should strike his father, his hands shall be cut off.’ Good job!”
“Next to be a scribe is…Inanna! His law is ‘If a son should strike his father, his hands shall be cut off.’ Good job!”
I heard Inanna give a sigh of relief. “The next and final scribe is...”
We held our breath. “Enlil! Her law was … er…”
Shubure looked at the tablet with Enlil’s undecipherable cuneiform. “Um… Good job Enlil!”
ᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯᕯ
“Tell me the bad news first, then the good news,” said Mar the second I got home.
“I wasn’t made a scribe,” I said flatly.“Oh,” said Mar, her face growing pale. “But we studied so hard…”
“Enlil beat me,” I grumbled.
“Oh, that pig slop? She couldn’t draw a line straight if she tried! How did she beat you?” Mar questioned.
“It was rigged,” I declared. “Rigged!”
--------------------------
Code of Honor
By Sophia
“Luga!” my cry of shock rang through the alley, “What are you doing?” My brother’s face was contorted with rage. Facing him were two scrawny boys.
“They insulted father, Inanna! You should have heard what they said!” he shouted in reply. I started running faster to stop the fight.
I was too late.
Luga’s fist had already connected to one of the boys’ mouth. A flying white object flew through the sky, glinting under the sun, and landed on the ground without a sound. Horror spread over my face as I realized the crime my brother had just committed.
“Luga!” my mother groaned, falling onto a stool, “What have you done?”
Luga’s dark cheeks flushed. “I was defending our family” he replied, weakly trying to defend himself.
“You know better than that! Oh, what will your father say? The son of the best pottery maker in Ur -- breaking Hammurabi’s Code!” she howled.
“I’m really sorry!”
“Say that to the government officers!”
Luga was silent as my mother buried her head into her arms.
I ran out of our home, and climbed down the ladder onto the ground. Maybe a sip of water would be good to mother.
The scorching sun’s heat pierced my skin as I made my way over to the canal, the key irrigation system for Ur.
Jug in hand, I walked down to the side of the canal. I plunged the jug into the water, made a scooping motion, and lifted the jug, now heavy with the weight of water.
The blue-gray water glinted underneath the burning sun’s light. My reflection seemed to be wavering with the fast-moving ripples spreading through the water.
. . .
Luga’s dark cheeks flushed. “I was defending our family” he replied, weakly trying to defend himself.
“You know better than that! Oh, what will your father say? The son of the best pottery maker in Ur -- breaking Hammurabi’s Code!” she howled.
“I’m really sorry!”
“Say that to the government officers!”
Luga was silent as my mother buried her head into her arms.
I ran out of our home, and climbed down the ladder onto the ground. Maybe a sip of water would be good to mother.
. . .
The scorching sun’s heat pierced my skin as I made my way over to the canal, the key irrigation system for Ur.
Jug in hand, I walked down to the side of the canal. I plunged the jug into the water, made a scooping motion, and lifted the jug, now heavy with the weight of water.
The blue-gray water glinted underneath the burning sun’s light. My reflection seemed to be wavering with the fast-moving ripples spreading through the water.
Oh, Luga… I thought, What have you done?
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