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Stele of Hammurabi

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Submitted By kristanpw
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I have chosen the Stele of Hammurabi sculpture, along with the story of Aeneid to complete my final project. A piece of diorite, standing over 7 ft. tall, the “Stele of Hammurabi” was created by the Babylonian king Hammurabi in 1800 BCE. Aeneid is a story of Aeneas, who was known as the leader of the Trojans and their travels from Troy to create the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, Charles Virgil did not complete this manuscript prior to his death in 19 BC.
The Stele of Hammurabi stands tall and assertive. Hammurabi, the Babylon king expresses justice and laws in this powerful statement. In this sculptures top half, Hammurabi is receiving the code from Shamash, who was known as a god. The bottom consists of the spoken code. This was a great accomplishment for Hammurabi, but the sculpture tells me that he was not intimidated by Shamash, as they are equal size. This sculpture is carved on all sides and is one of the top relief sculptures in history.
The story of Aeneid tells how a group of people that have been defeated can push forward and create something special with desire. The fact that this story was told in no particular order and was never completed leads you to believe that the writer put much thought into the story. It is a story of heroism, love and destiny, which is what, caught my attention. This dramatic story and prominent characters are sure to keep my attention.
The one thing that is similar in both pieces of art is the desire for humanity. Each symbolizes a long hard struggle to achieve different goals. No matter what the situation, the amount of effort put into it makes all the difference. Stele represents success of authority and power, where Aeneid is a story of feelings, power and defeat.

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