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Belief & Power — How Beliefs Shaped Government (Research Guide)

Studio: WH-01 · Who Should Govern? · Era: Era 1 — Emergence of Civilizations and Religions Around the Globe

The standards you are examining

Social Studies — WH.6_12.2 (primary standard)

Explain historical changes related to religions and ideologies.

In Era 1, this means: Explain how early belief systems developed and shaped civilizations — how religion and politics, religion and law, religion and daily life were often inseparable.

ELA — 9-10.R.9 · Text Analysis: Informational and Argumentative Texts

Analyze the development and interaction of informational and argumentative elements over the course of a nonfiction text and how they impact purpose using textual evidence to support the analysis.

Used when you read Hammurabi's Code and Pericles' Funeral Oration — especially the author's point of view, purpose, and possible biases, including what the author chooses not to say.

ELA — 9-10.IR.2 · Inquiry & Research: Gathering and Interpreting Sources

Gather and interpret relevant information from primary and secondary sources for a variety of purposes.

The background sections are your secondary sources; the law code and the speech are your primary sources. Your paragraph uses one quote from a primary source as evidence.

How to use this page

This page covers two ancient societies — Babylon and Athens — and one idea that connects them: the chain. In class, Mr. Reese models Babylon. For Athens, you build the first half of the chain with a partner and finish it on your own. Then you write one paragraph — your exit ticket. Everything you need in class is also printed in your packet; come back here to go deeper or when you add your paragraph to your deliverable.

Learning target

I can explain how a society's beliefs shaped its government — who held power, how decisions got made, and who was left out.

The Chain — Every Government Stands on a Belief

For both societies, build the same four links. Every arrow is a because.

BELIEF → WHO HOLDS POWER → HOW DECISIONS GET MADE → WHO'S LEFT OUT

  1. Belief — What did people believe about the gods, about people, and about the city?
  2. Who holds power — Who ruled, and what form of government was it? Why did that belief put power there?
  3. How decisions get made — Who made the laws and decided disputes? Was there a vote? A debate? An order?
  4. Who's left out — Who had no say — and because of what rule or belief?

Success Criteria — Tied to the NDSBL Proficiency Scale

Your exit-ticket paragraph is scored on this scale. Full scales: World History Proficiency Scales · ELA 9–10 Proficiency Scales.

Level What it looks like in my paragraph NDSBL proficiency scale (exact language)
2.0 Foundation I name the belief and the government with the right vocabulary and pick a quote — but I list them instead of connecting them. WH.6_12.2 (2.0): vocabulary — Ideology, Civilizations, Belief systems, Religions, Polytheism, Monotheism, Political systems; "Organize examples of the impact that religions and ideologies had on early civilizations." · IR.2 (2.0): "Determine the difference between primary and secondary sources."
3.0 Target I explain how the belief shaped who held power and how decisions were made, using because; I quote a primary source and explain it; I name who was left out. WH Era 1 (3.0): E1.2 "Describe the belief systems or religions of early civilizations." · E1.4 "Explain how political systems impacted the people in Greece and Rome and how those political systems connect to the present." · IR.2 (3.0): "Gather and interpret relevant information from primary and secondary sources for a variety of purposes."
4.0 Beyond Everything in 3.0, plus I compare Babylon and Athens and judge which belief system had the bigger impact on who got to govern — and by what measure. WH.6_12.2 (4.0): "Evaluate the impact that religions and ideologies had on early civilizations."

Sources: NDSBL 6–12 World History Social Studies Educator Scales (updated 08.2022); NDSBL 9–10 ELA Educator Scales (updated 10.2023).

The five-point checklist (your exit ticket)

  • [ ] I named the belief.
  • [ ] I named the form of government.
  • [ ] I explained how one shaped the other, using "because."
  • [ ] I quoted one piece of evidence from a primary source.
  • [ ] I named who was left out.

Part 1 — Babylon under Hammurabi (reigned c. 1792–1750 BCE)

In class: Mr. Reese models this one — the whole chain, then a model paragraph.

Stele of Hammurabi — Louvre The Stele of Hammurabi, now in the Louvre. At the top, Hammurabi stands before Shamash, the god of the sun and justice, who is seated. Look at who stands and who sits.

Who were the people of Babylon?

Babylon sat in Mesopotamia, the river valley between the Tigris and Euphrates in what is now Iraq. Before Hammurabi, the region was a patchwork of rival city-states. Hammurabi conquered his neighbors and pulled them into one empire. Most people farmed land watered by canals; there were also herders, craftspeople, merchants, scribes, priests — and enslaved people.

What did they believe?

  • Many gods (polytheism). The gods controlled the things that decided whether people lived or died — rivers, floods, storms, and harvests.
  • Every city belonged to a god. Babylon's god was Marduk. As Babylon grew powerful, Marduk was honored as king of the gods — the city's rise and its god's rise went together. Shamash, the sun god, saw everything under the sun, so he was the god of justice.
  • People were made to serve the gods. In Mesopotamian creation stories, the gods made human beings to do the gods' work — to farm, build, and feed them with offerings.
  • The temple was the center of the city. Many cities also raised a ziggurat, a huge stepped temple tower. Temples owned land, workshops, and herds.
  • Priests read the gods' will through omens — for example, by examining the liver of a sacrificed sheep before a big decision.
  • A gloomy afterlife. For almost everyone, the afterlife was a dim underworld of dust — so order and justice mattered in this life.

How did that belief shape the government?

  • Form of government: monarchy. One king, whose right to rule came from the gods. Hammurabi describes himself as the shepherd the gods chose to guard their people.
  • How decisions got made: the king made the law and sent orders to governors and judges. There was no assembly and no vote. The law was carved in stone — people could read it, but not change it.
  • Even some trials were handed to the gods. In Law 2, an accused person leaped into the river, and the river decided guilt or innocence.
  • Society was ranked. The law sorted people into the awilum (free men and nobles), the mushkenum (commoners and freed people), and the wardum (enslaved people). The same injury carried a different punishment depending on who was hurt.
Term Meaning
Polytheism Belief in many gods
Patron god The god a city belonged to — Marduk for Babylon
Ziggurat A massive stepped temple tower at the heart of a Mesopotamian city
Omen A sign believed to reveal the gods' will
Monarchy Government by one ruler — in Babylon, a king chosen by the gods
Stele A tall stone slab carved with text or images and set up as a public monument
Social hierarchy Ranking people by class or status — written directly into Hammurabi's laws

Read it

The Prologue — where Hammurabi explains why he gets to rule

When Anu the Sublime, King of the Anunaki, and Bel, the lord of Heaven and earth, who decreed the fate of the land, assigned to Marduk, the over-ruling son of Ea, God of righteousness, dominion over earthly man, and made him great among the Igigi, they called Babylon by his illustrious name, made it great on earth, and founded an everlasting kingdom in it, whose foundations are laid so solidly as those of heaven and earth; then Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak; so that I should rule over the black-headed people like Shamash, and enlighten the land, to further the well-being of mankind.

Law 2 — when the gods decide the trial

If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall take possession of his house. But if the river prove that the accused is not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall take possession of the house that had belonged to his accuser.

Law 8 — whose property matters most

If any one steal cattle or sheep, or an ass, or a pig or a goat, if it belong to a god or to the court, the thief shall pay thirtyfold therefor; if they belonged to a freed man of the king he shall pay tenfold; if the thief has nothing with which to pay he shall be put to death.

Laws 196–199 — the tiered "eye for an eye"

If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. If he break another man's bone, his bone shall be broken. If he put out the eye of a freed man, or break the bone of a freed man, he shall pay one gold mina. If he put out the eye of a man's slave, or break the bone of a man's slave, he shall pay one-half of its value.

The Epilogue — the king's claim to justice

These are the just laws which Hammurabi, the wise king, has established and by which he has directed the land aright and ruled it well. Hammurabi, the protecting king am I. I have not withdrawn myself from the men, whom Bel gave to me, the rule over whom Marduk gave to me... With the mighty weapons which Enlil and Marduk had given to me, with the keen vision with which Enlil endowed me, I rooted out the enemy above and below; I made an end of war; I promoted the welfare of the land.

L.W. King translation (1910), public domain. Full text: Hammurabi's Code in the Reading Library.

The model chain

Link Babylon
1 · Belief Many gods rule the world, and people exist to serve them. Marduk and Shamash chose Hammurabi to rule.
2 · Who holds power One king — a monarchy. He rules because the gods "called by name" him.
3 · How decisions get made The king makes the law and gives the orders; it is carved in stone. No vote. Some trials are left to the river.
4 · Who's left out Commoners and the enslaved — the law values them less: a slave's eye is worth half its price.

The model paragraph

In Babylon, people believed that many gods controlled the world and that humans existed to serve them. That belief put all power in one king, a monarchy, because Hammurabi said the gods had "called by name" him "to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land." Since the king spoke for the gods, decisions came from the top: he made the law, it was carved in stone, and no one voted on it. The gods even decided some trials, when an accused person had to leap into the river. This system left out commoners and enslaved people, because the law valued them less — a free man's eye cost an eye, but a slave's eye cost half its price.

Writing about Babylon for your exit ticket?

The model already uses the Prologue, Law 2, and Laws 196–199. Use different evidence — Law 8 or the Epilogue.

Part 2 — Athens under Pericles (5th century BCE)

In class: build links 1–2 with a partner, then finish links 3–4 on your own.

Pericles — marble bust, Vatican Museums Roman copy of a Greek bust of Pericles, who led Athens at the height of its democracy.

Who were the people of Athens?

Athens was a Greek polis — a city-state — on the coast of the Aegean Sea. In the 400s BCE, about 1,300 years after Hammurabi, Athens was rich, powerful, and ruled an empire of other Greek cities. Farmers, sailors, potters, merchants, free foreigners (metics), and many enslaved people lived there. Pericles was not a king — he was a general, elected by the citizens again and again, who led by persuading them.

What did they believe?

  • Many gods — who compete for the city. Athenians worshipped Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, Apollo and the other Olympian gods: powerful, but with human-like arguments and rivalries. In the city's founding myth, Athena and Poseidon competed to be its patron. Poseidon struck the rock and made a salt-water spring; Athena gave an olive tree. Her gift was judged better, and the city took her name. Notice the difference from Babylon: here the gods offer gifts and are judged.
  • Worship was something the whole city did together (civic religion). Worshipping Athena and belonging to Athens went together. The citizens voted to build the Parthenon on the Acropolis in her honor (447–432 BCE), paid for largely with money from the city's empire. Every year the Panathenaia festival brought the city together in a great procession to honor her.
  • The gods gave signs — but citizens argued about what they meant. Greeks asked the oracle at Delphi, Apollo's priestess, for guidance. In 480 BCE, with a Persian army coming, the oracle said a "wooden wall" would save Athens. The citizens debated in the Assembly what that meant. Themistocles argued the "wall" meant ships; the Assembly agreed, and the Athenian navy helped defeat Persia at Salamis. (The story is told by the historian Herodotus, Book 7.)
  • Civic duty and merit. Athenians believed taking part in public life was a citizen's duty — a citizen who stayed out of it was "useless" — and that positions should go to ability, not birth.

How did that belief shape the government?

  • Form of government: direct democracy — demos (people) + kratos (rule). Citizens didn't elect representatives; they voted on laws themselves.
  • The Assembly met outdoors on a hill called the Pnyx. Any citizen could speak; decisions were made by a show of hands after debate.
  • The Council of 500 prepared the Assembly's business. Its members were chosen by lot — like a lottery — for one year. Jurors were chosen by lot too.
  • But who was a citizen? Only free adult men could vote, speak in the Assembly, or hold office. In 451 BCE, Pericles himself proposed a law that a citizen needed both an Athenian father and an Athenian mother. Historians estimate that well under a quarter of the people living in Athens could actually vote.
  • Most of the city was left out. Women could serve as priestesses and take part in festivals — one of the few public roles open to them — but could not vote or hold office. Enslaved people, a large share of the population, had no political rights at all. Metics paid special taxes and served in the military but could not vote.
Term Meaning
Polis A Greek city-state — the whole political community
Civic religion Religion practiced as part of belonging to a city — worshipping the city's gods was part of being a member
Oracle A priest or priestess believed to speak for a god — at Delphi, for Apollo
Direct democracy Government in which citizens vote on laws themselves
Assembly The meeting of all citizens that debated and voted on laws
Chosen by lot Picked at random, like a lottery — how Athens filled the Council of 500 and its juries
Citizen In Athens, only free adult men with two Athenian parents
Metic A free foreigner living in Athens: taxed and drafted, but unable to vote
Merit Earning a position through ability rather than birth or wealth

Read it — Pericles' Funeral Oration (431 BCE)

In the first winter of the war with Sparta, Pericles spoke at a public funeral for Athenian soldiers. His speech became a defense of what Athens believed about itself.

On Athens and democracy

Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighbouring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves. Its administration favours the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if no social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition. The freedom which we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life. ... But all this ease in our private relations does not make us lawless as citizens. Against this fear is our chief safeguard, teaching us to obey the magistrates and the laws, particularly such as regard the protection of the injured, whether they are actually on the statute book, or belong to that code which, although unwritten, yet cannot be broken without acknowledged disgrace.

On the citizen's duty

Our public men have, besides politics, their private affairs to attend to, and our ordinary citizens, though occupied with the pursuits of industry, are still fair judges of public matters; for, unlike any other nation, regarding him who takes no part in these duties not as unambitious but as useless, we Athenians are able to judge at all events if we cannot originate, and, instead of looking on discussion as a stumbling-block in the way of action, we think it an indispensable preliminary to any wise action at all.

On Athens' right to rule others

For Athens alone of her contemporaries is found when tested to be greater than her reputation, and alone gives no occasion to her assailants to blush at the antagonist by whom they have been worsted, or to her subjects to question her title by merit to rule.

Crawley translation, public domain. Full speech: Pericles' Funeral Oration in the Reading Library.

Build the Athens chain

  • Turn-and-talk 1: In Babylon the gods chose one man. In Athens, where does the right to govern come from?
  • Turn-and-talk 2: Pericles says discussion comes before "any wise action." How is that different from a law carved in stone?
  • On your own: How did citizens make decisions — the Assembly? the Council? the lot? And who was not a citizen — because of what rule? Pericles says "the many" govern. Who is missing from "the many"? Notice who he never mentions.
Link Athens — your answers
1 · Belief with your partner
2 · Who holds power with your partner — because…
3 · How decisions get made on your own
4 · Who's left out on your own — because…

Go deeper (optional)

  • Pericles says Athens' subjects have no reason "to question her title by merit to rule." Athens ruled an empire of other Greek cities. Read the Melian Dialogue — what did that "title to rule" look like from the outside?
  • Pericles praised a democracy open to "the many" — and proposed a law that made citizenship harder to get. Is that a contradiction? Argue it either way.

Compare the Two Chains

Link Babylon · c. 1750 BCE Athens · 400s BCE
Belief Gods command; humans serve. The gods chose the king. Your research
Who holds power One king (monarchy) Your research
How decisions get made The king's law, carved in stone. No vote. Your research
Who's left out Commoners, the enslaved, women — everyone but the king had no say Your research

Think: Athens gave power to more people than Babylon did. What stayed the same in both societies?

Your Paragraph — the Exit Ticket

Prompt: Write one paragraph explaining how a society's beliefs shaped its government — who held power, how decisions got made, and who was left out.

Write about Athens — or Babylon using different evidence than the model. Pick your support:

In __, people believed _. Their government was a , where held power. This happened because . For example, said, "." Decisions were made by . However, this system left out , because ___.

Word bank: polytheism · the gods chose the king · serve the gods · patron goddess Athena · civic religion · civic duty · merit · "the many" · monarchy · direct democracy · citizens · the Assembly · Council of 500 · by lot · carved in stone · no vote · debate, then vote · commoners · the enslaved · women · metics · two Athenian parents · as a result · therefore

  • Belief: The people of ______ believed that…
  • Who holds power: Because of this belief, power belonged to… which made their government a…
  • How decisions get made: Decisions were made by… This shows that…
  • Evidence: As ______ said, "…" This shows…
  • Who's left out: However, this system left out… because…

Write it your way and hit all five checks. 4.0 push: add 2–3 sentences comparing both societies — which belief system had the bigger impact on who got to govern, and by what measure?

Friday: your paragraph goes into your deliverable and/or demonstration — a new slide, a new essay paragraph, a new infographic panel, or a new talking point. Connect it to your essential question with one sentence.

See Also

Research Guide · WH-01 · SDA Commons Wiki · South High School