What to do?

Should a country's system of justice try to "give to each what he deserves," or should the justice system primarily try to reform wrongdoers? Why?

I kind of agree with both, but at the same time I don't really know. Some people are victims of circumstance while others chose to do their wrong actions. Reform should be given to all, but also people do need to learn from mistakes, and some do need to be punished. This question is very complex, and I cannot choose one side.

Gilgamesh "episodes"

 Prologue:   An introduction to Gilgamesh, his character, and his rule.

1). Meeting Enkidu:   The creation and taming of Enkidu.

2).The Forces Unite:   Enkidu and Gilgamesh meet, fight, and then unite.

3).Into the woods:   Enkidu and Gilgamesh go to the forest, and slay the Humbaba

4).Ishtar's proposal:   Ishtar proposes to Gilgamesh, he declines making Ishtar angry, so she sends down the bull of heaven to kill Gilgamesh, but Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the bull

5).Haunting dreams:   The gods are upset because Enkidu and Gilgamesh killed the bull of heaven, and because the power of Gilgamesh and Enkidu rivals their own, so they decide to kill Enkidu. Enkidu receives dreams of his death and later dies.

6).At the death of a brother:   After Enkidu's death Gilgamesh wanders about mourning the death of his friend. He then begins to search for immortality.

7). Mission failed:   Gilgamesh attempts to complete the tasks for immortality, but sadly fails them all.

Side story:  Gilgamesh drops his "pukku" into the underworld and Enkidu volunteers to retrieve it. Gilgamesh gives Enkidu directions on what not to do in the underworld, which Enkidu ignores resulting in him getting trapped. Gilgamesh calls out to the gods for help, but his pleas are ignored by all of them except for Ea, who gets Enkidu out of the Underworld.

Written Law or Spoken Word

Is it better to be governed by fixed written laws, with little discretion on the part of the rulers, or to be governed by the best rulers we can find, using their discretion to try to achieve justice?

I think that it is better to have written laws, mainly because humans, no matter how hard we try, are very opinionated. So without a written law the leader can change the law to fit his own wants or desires anytime, but with a written law everyone is subject to that law, no exceptions. For example, Gilgamesh as king had to answer to none save the gods., he was free to do whatever he wanted, and he did (Myths of Mesopotamia pg. 51-52). the people were forced to take the matter to the gods since they were the only ones with power over Gilgamesh. So yes, a written law is much better than being at the mercy of the ruler's word, which can change at any given time.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

1). How and to what extent can the various versions of the Mesopotamian Epic help us to understand the history and cultures which produced them?

With most stories, they are generally not rewritten in various versions, mainly because that would be plagiarism, but also because it is just one story. Apparently not for the Mesopotamians, The Epic of Gilgamesh is obviously more than just a story, we may not know exactly what it stood for, but we do know that stories like this one are more important than just normal stories. Also these stories were passed down from generation to generation, meaning that the people had to memorize these tales. So we know that stories like this one were upheld, and that the Mesopotamian culture was one that would rely on memory.

4). How does studying these ancient texts challenge our contemporary understanding of authorship, authenticity and originality.

When we think about a book, there is one author or at most two, but in the ancient texts there are many "authors", and with the stories they tell, some come from other stories, while others are practically the same just with different deities. So that gets rid of the modern idea of originality.And as for authenticity, the myths are very similar, and some are even similar to the Bible. Some of these ancient texts are contradictions to our ideas of authorship, authenticity, and originality.

Ancient Sumer

1. What would a person looking at a modern city see as the largest and most important building or buildings? What does this suggest about the priorities of modern culture, as opposed to ancient culture?

Most people today would, when looking at our cities, see skyscrapers and huge industries giving the idea that our society is mainly about work and gaining money. Sadly, that is not far from the truth. In the ancient civilizations more temples would be seen, letting us know that those cultures revolved around their gods.

2. What is or are the most valid criteria if whether a culture should be regarded as a civilization? What qualities ought to be present in a society for it to be considered "civilized"?

There are three main qualifications that determine whether or not a society can or should be considered "civilized". The first criteria is that the society must have a writing system. The second is that they must have a devoloped social complexity and specialization of functions. Which means it must have the characteristics of a city. And the third and final qualification is the ability to work with metals.

Ice Cream of the gods

What ice cream flavor can best describe two Mesopotamian gods and two Greek gods, that is the question. Now what is the answer (in my opinion of course)?

For Tiamat, the saltwater seas and mother of all other gods, I chose Vanilla. Not because of her personality but because from her comes all other gods, and from vanilla you can get multiple flavors.

For Apsu I have chosen French Vanilla ice cream with chopped nuts and peanut butter chips as a topping. French Vanilla is a very sweet ice cream representing the Fresh Water seas or the Sweet Water seas, and the nutty toppings represent Apsu's annoyance with his children when they got too loud.

For Athena, the pale of grey-eyed goddess I have chosen an Earl Grey ice cream because the type of ice cream gives a common description, or epithet of Athena.

For Persephone I have chosen a Pomegranate ice cream or gelato representing the pomegranate seed that Hades tricked Persephone into eating.

Enuma Elish Vs. Theogany

In the Enuma Elish and the Theogany  there are the stories of the gods, who are in some ways similar and in some ways different. In both stories there is the overthrowing of the older Gods by the younger gods. in the Theogany,  Zeus and his brothers overthrow the Titans, and in the Enuma Elish, Marduk overthrows Tiamat and takes over the universe.
One of the differences between the two stories is that the gods in the Theogany act according to their own will, while in the Enuma Elish they take counsel with each other and actually have advisers or viziers.