7. What is Lex talonis?

Lex talionis is the Latin word for "Law as retaliation." The most popular saying for lex talionis is "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," which means that if someone pokes out your eye, you poke out their eye, and if someone pulls out a tooth of yours, you pull out a tooth of theirs. This type of law system was most likely formed around the time of early civilizations when a means of punishment was not established. Another example of lex talionis is the Code of Hammurabi in which many of the 282 laws reflected lex talionis. Often those who were more important, like a priest or nobleman, were punished harsher, yet if someone committed a crime against nobleman or priest instead of a pauper, they too would be punished harsher.

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