vestal virgins, or nuns, who were
attached to the temple of the sun god. She did not, however, live a
life of entire seclusion. If she received her due proportion of her
father's estate, she could make business investments within certain
limits. She was not, for instance, allowed to own a wineshop, and if
she even entered one she was burned at the stake. Once she took these
vows she had to observe them until the end of her days. If she
married, as she might do to obtain the legal status of a married woman
and enjoy the privileges of that position, she denied her husband
conjugal rites, but provided him with a concubine who might bear him
children, as Sarah did to Abraham. These nuns must not be confused
with the unmoral women who were associated with the temples of Ishtar
and other love goddesses of shady repute.

The freedom secured by a married woman had its legal limitations. If
she became a widow, for instance, she could not remarry without the
consent of a judge, to whom she was expected to show good cause for
the step she proposed to take. Punishments for breaches of the
marriage law were severe. Adultery was a capital crime; the guilty
parties were bound together and thrown into the river. If it happened,
however, that the wife of a prisoner went to reside with another man
on account of poverty, she was acquitted and allowed to return to her
husband after his release. In cases where no plea of poverty could be
urged the erring women were drowned. The wife of a soldier who had
been taken prisoner by an enemy was entitled to a third part of her
husband's estate if her son was a minor, the remainder was held in
trust. The husband could enter into possession of all his property
again if he happened to return home.

Divorce was easily obtained. A husband might send his wife away either
because she was childless or because he fell in love with another
woman. Incompatibility of temperament was also recognized as
sufficient reason for separation. A woman might hate her husband and
wish to leave him. "If", the Code sets forth, "she is careful and is
without blame, and is neglected by her husband who has deserted her",
she can claim release from the marriage contract. But if she is found
to have another lover, and is guilty of neglecting her duties, she is
liable to be put to death.

A married woman possessed her own property. Indeed, the value of her
marriage dowry was always vested in her. When, therefore, she divorce