Mesopotamia:
The Adolescent Girl
Looking back into ancient history reveals social practices which from the modern perspective appear strange or downright bizarre. Two such practices from ancient Mesopotamia were recorded by the Greek historian Herodotus. Concerning the adolescent girl roughly in her mid-teens, these practices show us one societies' method of dealing with what Jung called the Virgin Archetype.

The Hammurabi Code
One of the decisive moments in Western history was the creation of the Hammurabi Code. It was at this moment we begin to see a movement away from the random tyrannical application of laws by a God-King and the emergence of a society ruled by law. If life was to be a game, then the rules should be firmly put forth if man was to be expected to "play" fairly. Also valuable in this set of laws is how it gives us today an ability to see what these ancient Mesopotamians valued. I've reproduced the complete list of laws with a brief index.