Law
In every facet of society , the ideas of the classical world persist . The concepts of government and law , our views of justice , and our mechanisms that protect it , for example , come from the Babylonians , Greeks , Romans , and other ancient civilizations .
From the Babylonians , we derive some of our foundations to modern law . Composed in 1755 BCE by King Hammurabi of Babylon ,
Hammurabi ' s Code was one of the first written laws known to man , and it remains among the longest and bestpreserved legal texts . The original champion of suspected criminals as “ innocent until proven guilty ,” Hammurabi ’ s code advocated for “ an eye for an eye ” justice ideals in both positive and negative scenarios .
For example , builders were compensated handsomely for successful home constructions but were put to death if their construction collapsed and killed the homeowner .
From the Greeks , and more specifically Athens , we find the foundations of democracy . In
Athens ’ direct democracy , all citizens , regardless of age , wealth , or rank , received one vote on all proposed laws , as opposed to current representative voting systems in America . Athenians met once every ten days to run the city ’ s affairs by voting usually by a show of hands .