Love. Like all people throughout time, ancient Mesopotamians fell in love and described this kind of emotion in myths about such divine lovers as Dumuzi and Inana or Nergal and Ereshkigal. Texts also refer to depression over rejection. To make the objects of their attention return their love, men or women prayed to a god or used a magic spell. Some magic rituals promised that, if the man performed them, "this woman will speak to you whenever you meet her, she will be powerless to resist and you can make love to her." If he quarreled with his lover, a man might also resort to charms or spells, including one that promised "with this charm she will not sleep alone; she will be loved."

Marriage Contracts. Marriages were usually monogamous. Prior to a marriage, representatives of the two families, usually...