Cultivating a Collective Past

So we have been looking at laws, the code of Hammurabi, and the Egyptian book of the dead.  I recently went to the Rosicrucian museum in San Jose which has a replica of the code of Hammurabi.  I found it quite fascinating to see basic human precepts and laws that are over 4,000 years old.  I recommend that everyone spend a few hours at this museum.

http://www.egyptianmuseum.org

I think it's really interesting how these laws are reflected in Moses' tablets of the ten commandments. I wonder if there is a deeper human truth reflected here.

This got me thinking about how laws reflect the values and ethics of a society.  I think that the Greek philosophers and law makers looked to a deep view about how the universe came to be (Plato, Socrates).  But I am also looking forward to Roman laws and religious positions, and how they reflect a bit of a twisted society that has become dominated by war and money.   For example, what is up with the whole Flamen Dialis position that Julias Ceasar inherited as a young man, where he could not name or pet a dog?  His bedposts had to be covered in clay.  He could not have any knots in his garb (how did he hold his toga together, I wonder?).   Where did all that come from?   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamen_Dialis

Supposedly this built him a foundation for his move into politics.