Ancient societies codified their norms about sex, both in formal laws and social practices. Hammurabi, ruler of Ancient Babylon, gave his people a code of laws around 1700 BC; the code of Mosaic Law for the ancient Jews was followed around 1200 BC. Although the ancient Greek philosopher Plato's Symposium (c. 385 BC) introduces no legal restrictions on sex, his dialogue attempts to define love. These documents illustrate how each civilization viewed sex. This article explores sexual relationships that were community-positive in three ancient societies: ancient Babylon, nomadic Jews, and Greece. Using the Code of Hammurabi, the biblical books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, and the Symposium, each society's concept of community-beneficial sex can be determined. In Ancient Babylon, the idea of ​​sex being good for the community extended to the economy: sex could be a means of commerce. A woman with children received “half of the field, orchard and goods” if a man decided to “send away his concubine who had borne him children or his wife.” While the law states that a woman received financial support if she bore children to a man, it also demonstrates that society had and condoned concubines, women who received compensation for sexual services. Furthermore, the law indicates that being a concubine could be a profitable business; not only did she likely receive payment for her services, but she also received a reward comparable to a man's wife if he chose to end the relationship once she gave birth. Given the concubine's position in the law code, she was probably not ostracized, meaning her money could be spent in the community. Additionally, the Code of Hammurabi emphasizes the importance of having...... middle of paper .. ....is a theme present in sexual relationships discussed in Symposium: The Ancient Greek View of Beneficial Sexual Relationships Centered on Triumphs individual: in love, friendship and intellect. The community as a whole benefited from the collective sum of all these individual gains. Despite the punitive function of law codes and the philosophical nature of the Symposium, these documents illustrate ancient views of sex as beneficial to the community. The immediately practical population and economic gains seen in the Code of Hammurabi mirror the equally intended property-based benefits in the Jewish texts of Exodus and Deuteronomy. These views contrast with the sometimes theoretical and individual benefits of sex seen by the ancient Greeks, making it clear that each ancient society had its own vision of what constituted beneficial sex for the community..