Engineering the Rule of Law in Ancient Athens
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Comparative Law: Ancient Law Fall 2016 Course
Lanni, Adrian Comparative Law: Ancient Law Fall 2016 course Comparative Law: Ancient Law Fall 2016 Thurs.-Fri. 10-11:30 Hauser Hall rm. 102 Adriaan Lanni Griswold 500 Assistant: Jennifer Minnich, [email protected]; (617) 384-5428 Email: [email protected] Office hours: Fridays 12-2. There is a link to a sign-up sheet on my HLS website. Sign up for a slot by 5pm on Thursday for the following day’s office hours. General: This course examines topics in ancient law of interest to modern lawyers, including ancient approaches to crime and punishment, the regulation of sexuality (rape, adultery, prostitution, homosexuality), constitutional law, the trial jury, court procedure, international law, and commercial law. The focus will be on the legal systems of classical Athens and Rome. We will also look at other ancient legal systems where relevant to a particular topic. The broader goal will be to explore the role of law in a democratic society. Prior knowledge of ancient history or ancient languages is not required; all readings are in translation and the course is designed to be of interest to those without a background in the ancient world. The focus of the class will be on comparing various ancient and modern approaches to problems faced by all legal systems. Readings and Handouts: The required text is Carey, Trials from Classical Athens (2nd Edition), which should be available at the coop. Two additional required readings-- Aeschylus, Eumenides, and Brickhouse & Smith, The Trial and Execution of Socrates —are on reserve in the library, and can be purchased from amazon or ordered from the COOP if you would like to own them (any translation of Aeschylus will do for our purposes). -
Introduction: Oratory and Law at Athens
Introduction: Oratory and Law at Athens One of the many intriguing (and unique) aspects of Athenian law is that our information about it comes very largely from speeches composed for delivery in court. These date to the period 420-320,1 and reflect in part the high value the Greeks in all periods placed on effective speaking. Even Achilles, whose fame rested primarily on his martial superiority, was brought up to be “a speaker of words and a doer of deeds” (Iliad 9.443). Great Athenian leaders like Themistocles and Pericles were accomplished public speakers; and epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, and history all made frequent use of set speeches. The formal pleadings of the envoys to Achilles in Iliad Book Nine, the messenger speeches in tragedy reporting events like the battle of Salamis in Aeschylus’ Persians, and Pericles’ funeral oration in Thucydides’ History are but a few indications of the Greeks’ never-ending fascination with the spoken word, and with formal public speaking in particular, which reached its height in the public oratory of the fifth and fourth centuries. I. Oratory2 Originally, oratory was not a specialized subject of study but was learned by practice and example. The formal study of rhetoric as an “art” (technē) began, we are told, in the middle of the fifth century in Sicily with Corax and his pupil Tisias.3 These two are scarcely more than names to us, but another Sicilian, Gorgias of Leontini (c. 490-390), developed a dazzling new style of speech and argument. Gorgias initiated the practice, which continued into the early fourth century, of composing speeches for mythical or imaginary occasions. -
Law and Community in Ancient Athens, and the Prosecution of Sokrates
Revista 20 10/10/17 12:29 Página 249 Ivs Fvgit, 20, 2017, pp. 249-263 ISSN: 1132-8975 LAW AND COMMUNITY IN ANCIENT ATHENS, AND THE PROSECUTION OF SOKRATES Robert WALLACE Northwestern University (Estados Unidos) [email protected] R E S U M E N : Los griegos arcaicos inventaron la ley escrita para proporcionar justicia igual para la ciudadanía (dêmos), sobre todo contra aristócratas abusivos. De allí en adelante, los jurados fueron extraídos de los dêmos, los magistrados de élite tenían poderes limitados, y los casos se decidieron por mayoría de votos (una invención griega). Las leyes eran tomadas en serio, y los expertos (abogados) eran limitados. Como jurados, los ciudadanos comunes y corrientes decidieron lo que significa- ban las leyes. En contraste con el estado de derecho, los discursos de los tribunales a menu- do incluyen consideraciones extra-legales como el servicio militar de un litigante o antepasados patrióticos. En los ensayos de homicidio se excluyó dicho material, y en otros casos los litigantes a menudo se oponen a él. Algunos estudiosos sugie- ren que tales argumentos son relevantes para «el cuadro más amplio» de un caso. Otros creen que los hechos eran de importancia secundaria en los litigios. Sostengo que la mayoría de los argumentos extraños en los discursos legales pertenecen al bienestar comunitario, el objetivo último de la ley griega, mucho más importante que el bienestar de los individuos. Uno de los objetivos principales de la ley estadounidense es proteger a los individuos contra el poder abusivo del estado. Los griegos no tenían «estados pesados» sino sólo comunidades, que las leyes defendían. -
Rethinking Athenian Democracy.Pdf
Rethinking Athenian Democracy A dissertation presented by Daniela Louise Cammack to The Department of Government in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Political Science Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts January 2013 © 2013 Daniela Cammack All rights reserved. Professor Richard Tuck Daniela Cammack Abstract Conventional accounts of classical Athenian democracy represent the assembly as the primary democratic institution in the Athenian political system. This looks reasonable in the light of modern democracy, which has typically developed through the democratization of legislative assemblies. Yet it conflicts with the evidence at our disposal. Our ancient sources suggest that the most significant and distinctively democratic institution in Athens was the courts, where decisions were made by large panels of randomly selected ordinary citizens with no possibility of appeal. This dissertation reinterprets Athenian democracy as “dikastic democracy” (from the Greek dikastēs, “judge”), defined as a mode of government in which ordinary citizens rule principally through their control of the administration of justice. It begins by casting doubt on two major planks in the modern interpretation of Athenian democracy: first, that it rested on a conception of the “wisdom of the multitude” akin to that advanced by epistemic democrats today, and second that it was “deliberative,” meaning that mass discussion of political matters played a defining role. The first plank rests largely on an argument made by Aristotle in support of mass political participation, which I show has been comprehensively misunderstood. The second rests on the interpretation of the verb “bouleuomai” as indicating speech, but I suggest that it meant internal reflection in both the courts and the assembly. -
Why Does Plato's Laws Exist?
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2017 Why Does Plato's Laws Exist? Harold Parker University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Parker, Harold, "Why Does Plato's Laws Exist?" (2017). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 2515. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2515 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2515 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Why Does Plato's Laws Exist? Abstract If the ideal city described at length in Plato’s Republic is a perfect and philosophically attractive encapsulation of Plato’s political philosophy, why does Plato go on to write the Laws – which also describes an ideal city, albeit one very different from the Republic? The fundamental challenge of scholarship concerning the Laws is to supply a comprehensive account of the dialogue that explains all aspects of it while also distinguishing the Laws from the Republic in a way that does not devalue the Laws as a mere afterthought to the Republic. Past attempts at meeting this challenge, I argue, can be classified under the headings of the democratic, legal, and demiurgic approaches. Although each is prima facie plausible, each also faces its own set of problems. Furthermore, none are truly capable of explaining the Laws in its full specificity; the intricate array of customs, regulations, and practices making up the life of the city described form a complex totality not reducible to the concept of democracy, the rule of law, or demiurgy. -
Cambridge Companions Online
Cambridge Companions Online http://universitypublishingonline.org/cambridge/companions/ The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek Law Edited by Michael Gagarin, David Cohen Book DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521818400 Online ISBN: 9781139000758 Hardback ISBN: 9780521818407 Paperback ISBN: 9780521521598 Chapter 20 - Greek Tragedy and Law pp. 374-393 Chapter DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521818400.021 Cambridge University Press P1: JYD 0521818400c20.xml CB840/Gagarin 0521818400 June 8, 2005 18:52 20: Greek Tragedy and Law Danielle Allen S Method reek tragedy abounds with political crises – struggles over wrongdoing and punishment, efforts to overturn or found G regimes, contention about the rights of strangers and the weak. Clearly, punishment, constitutions, and asylum were all real legal is- sues in Athens, and the city had extensive institutions for dealing with them, some of which even work their ways into the plays as instru- ments available to the protagonists for resolving (or trying to resolve) their problems. Most famously in the Oresteia the Areopagus Court, with Athena’s expert help, decides the fate of Orestes (Eum. 470–752) as does the Argive Assembly in Euripides’ Orestes (866–956). Some form of conceptual continuum links tragedy and Athenian legal and political thought. But, because the political and legal crises of drama exist en- tirely in the realm of the imagination, what can be learned from them about the historical reality of law in Athens? Scholars working on English-language literary texts have recently refined techniques for analyzing law and literature together.1 Follow- ing the lead of eminent legal historian F. -
Drakon's Homicide
I. ARCHAIC AND CLASSICAL GREEK LAW RAYMOND WESTBROOK (BALTIMORE) DRAKON’S HOMICIDE LAW Introduction1 In 409/8 B.C. the Athenian government commissioned the transcription of Drakon’s law of homicide onto a marble stele, to be erected in the Agora. The original, dating from the seventh century, had been inscribed on axones, which appear to have been four-sided rectangular wooden beamsset horizontally in an oblong frame that could be rotated in order to read each surface (Stroud 1979: 41). The axones have of courselong since perished, but a part of the marble stele that had survivedin secondary use was recovered in 1843. It containsapreamble describing the commission to copy the law, the heading “first axon”and the first 60 or so lines of thetext, although only the firstthird thereof is more than fragmentary and much of that is heavily restored. The heading “second axon” has been deciphered towards the end of theextanttext (Stroud 1968: 16-18, 58-60). Themain body of the recoverable text reads as follows (lines 1-20): Secretary: Diognetes of the Deme Phrearrioi Archon: Diokles Decree of theCouncil and thePeople, the prytany of Akamantis, Secretary: Diognetes, Chair: Euthydikos, motion of ... Letthe Registrars of the Laws transcribe the law of Drakon regarding homicide, after receivingit from the Basileus, with (the assistance of) the Secretary of the Council, on a marble stele, and let them place it before the Stoa Basileia. Letthe Poletai subcontract in accordance with the law. Let the Hellenotamiai pay the money. First Axon And if without premeditation someone kills somebody, he is to be exiled. -
Collins Magic in the Ancient Greek World.Pdf
9781405132381_1_pre.qxd 30/10/2007 12:09 Page i Magic in the Ancient Greek World 9781405132381_1_pre.qxd 30/10/2007 12:09 Page ii Blackwell Ancient Religions Ancient religious practice and belief are at once fascinating and alien for twenty-first-century readers. There was no Bible, no creed, no fixed set of beliefs. Rather, ancient religion was characterized by extraordinary diversity in belief and ritual. This distance means that modern readers need a guide to ancient religious experience. Written by experts, the books in this series provide accessible introductions to this central aspect of the ancient world. Published Magic in the Ancient Greek World Derek Collins Religion in the Roman Empire James B. Rives Ancient Greek Religion Jon D. Mikalson Forthcoming Religion of the Roman Republic Christopher McDonough and Lora Holland Death, Burial and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt Steven Snape Ancient Greek Divination Sarah Iles Johnston 9781405132381_1_pre.qxd 30/10/2007 12:09 Page iii Magic in the Ancient Greek World Derek Collins 9781405132381_1_pre.qxd 30/10/2007 12:09 Page iv © 2008 by Derek Collins blackwell publishing 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Derek Collins to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. -
The Prosecution and Punishment of Animals and Lifeless Things in the Middle Ages and Modern Times
THE PROSECUTION AND PUNISHMENT OF ANIMALS AND LIFELESS THINGS IN THE MIDDLE AGES AND MODERN TIMES. The Prytaneum was the Hotel de Ville of Athens as of every Greek town. In it was the common hearth of the city, which represented the unity and vitality of the community. From its perpetual fire, colonists, like the American Indians, would carry sparks to their new homes, as a symbol of fealty to the mother city, and here in very early times the prytanis or chief- tain probably dwvelt. In the Prytaneum at Athens the statues of Eirene (Peace) and Hestia (Ilearth) stood; foreign ambassa- dors, famous citizens, athletes, and strangers were entertained there at the public expense; the laws of the great law-giver Solon were displayed within it and before his day the chief archon made it his home. One of the important features of the Prytaneum at Athens were the curious murder trials held in its immediate vicinity. Many Greek writers mention these trials, which appear to have comprehended three kinds of cases. In the first place, if a murderer was unknown or could not be found, he was never- theless tri'ed at this court.' Then inanimate things-such as stones, beams, pliece of iron, ctc.,-which had caused the death of a man by falling upon him-were put on trial at the Pry- tancuni ;2 and lastly animals, which had similarly been the cause 3 of death. Though all these trials were of a ceremonial character, they were carried on with due process of law. Thus, as in all murder trials at Athens, because of 'the religious feeling back of them that such crimes were against the gods as much as against men, they took place in the open air, that the judges might not be contaminated by the pollution supposed to exhale from the 'Aristotle, Constitulion (if :thens, 57, 4; Pollux, Vill, x2o; cf. -
The Bible in Spain - George Borrow
THE BIBLE IN SPAIN - GEORGE BORROW AUTHOR'S PREFACE It is very seldom that the preface of a work is read; indeed, of late years, most books have been sent into the world without any. I deem it, however, advisable to write a preface, and to this I humbly call the attention of the courteous reader, as its perusal will not a little tend to the proper understanding and appreciation of these volumes. The work now offered to the public, and which is styled THE BIBLE IN SPAIN, consists of a narrative of what occurred to me during a residence in that country, to which I was sent by the Bible Society, as its agent for the purpose of printing and circulating the Scriptures. It comprehends, however, certain journeys and adventures in Portugal, and leaves me at last in "the land of the Corahai," to which region, after having undergone considerable buffeting in Spain, I found it expedient to retire for a season. It is very probable that had I visited Spain from mere curiosity, or with a view of passing a year or two agreeably, I should never have attempted to give any detailed account of my proceedings, or of what I heard and saw. I am no tourist, no writer of books of travels; but I went there on a somewhat remarkable errand, which necessarily led me into strange situations and positions, involved me in difficulties and perplexities, and brought me into contact with people of all descriptions and grades; so that, upon the whole, I flatter myself that a narrative of such a pilgrimage may not be wholly uninteresting to the public, more especially as the subject is not trite; for though various books have been published about Spain, I believe that the present is the only one in existence which treats of missionary labour in that country. -
Prostituting Female Kin (Plut
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO FACOLTÀ DI GIURISPRUDENZA DIKE Rivista di storia del diritto greco ed ellenistico 8 2006 INDICE ATENE Delfim F. Leão Sólon e a legislação em matéria de direito familiar 5 Allison Glazebrook Prostituting Female Kin (Plut. Sol. 23.1-2) 33 Richard V. Cudjoe The Purpose of the «epidikasia» for an «epikleros» in Classical Athens 55 CHIO Michele Faraguna Terra pubblica e vendite di immobili confiscati a Chio nel V secolo a.C. 89 LOCRI EPIZEFIRI Vania Ghezzi I Locresi e la legge del laccio 101 RASSEGNA CRITICA Martin Dreher Bürgerstaat und Basisdemokratie («Ideologische Begriffe in der Geschichtswissenschaft», 1) 115 LETTURE Ilias N. Arnaoutoglou Panayotis D. Dimakis: in memoriam 163 Alberto Maffi Nuove pubblicazioni 171 Allison Glazebrook PROSTITUTING FEMALE KIN (Plut. Sol. 23.1-2) Although Solon’s reforms seem to have averted a crisis in Athens, brought greater protection to the people, and recognized «Athenian» as an identity 1, it is commonly acknowledged that his nÒmoi 2 relat- ing to women had few benefits for women themselves (Blundell 1995, p. 75; Fantham et al. 1994, pp. 74-76; Just 1989, pp. 22-23; Arthur 1973, p. 36). They restricted the number of garments women could wear in public to three, calculated the amount of food and drink they could carry on their person to one obol’s worth, lim- ited their movements at night, and reduced women’s involvement in funerary ritual (Plut. Sol. 21; Dem. 43.62-63). The laws relating to marriage customs limited the amount of their dowry and trous- seau (Sol. -
Problem Fathers in Shakespeare and Renaissance Drama Tom Macfaul Index More Information
Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02894-4 - Problem Fathers in Shakespeare and Renaissance Drama Tom Macfaul Index More information Index Note: Plays which receive frequent mention or detailed analysis are indexed by title; works receiving only passing reference appear as subheadings under the author’s name (where known). Addled Parliament 157 Bacon, Francis, In Felicem Memoriam Adelman, Janet 224 Elizabethae 46 Aeschylus 149 Bamber, Linda 4 Agamemnon 92 Barnes, Barnabe see The Devil’s Charter Eumenides 8 Barry, Lording see Ram Alley, or Merry Tricks The Libation Bearers 8, 236 bastardy Alexander, Peter 112 false allegations of 148–9, 202–3, Alexander VI, Pope (Rodrigo Borgia) 209–10 129–30 invoked/suspected in response to unfilial allegory 14–15 behaviour 50, 135 moral 30 role in plot/characterization 55, 77–8, 79, political 28–9 115–16, 140–1, 147 Alphonsus, Emperor of Germany (anon.) 109 Bayley, John 149 Alphonsus King of Aragon (Greene) 51–2 Beaumont, Francis see Beaumont and Fletcher; amorality 52–4 The Knight of the Burning Pestle anagnorisis see recognition Beaumont and Fletcher Anne, Queen (wife of James I) 157 Cupid’s Revenge 114, 231 Antonio’s Revenge (Marston) 110–11 Love’s Care 233 Anything for a Quiet Life (Middleton/Webster) see also A King and No King 187–8 Beggar’s Bush (Fletcher) 176–7 Apius and Virginia (‘R.B.’) 25, 56, 160 confusions of plot 176–7 Appius and Virginia (Webster) 17, Belsey, Catherine 4, 70–1 208–11 Berger, Harry 16, 236 father–daughter relationship 208–9 Beza, The´odore, Abraham’s Sacrifice Ariosto, Ludovico 29–30 I Suppositi 31 Bible Orlando Furioso 220 referencing of episodes from 196 Aristotle 5 tragedies based on 29–30 Armin, Robert see The Two Maids of biological theory 12, 40, 227 More-Clacke The Birth of Merlin (Rowley) 153–5, 237 As You Like It (Shakespeare) 103–7, 108, 146, blessing, paternal 6, 74, 154, 176, 222 174, 231 problematic nature 72–3 recognition scene 105–6, 167 The Blind Beggar of Bednall Green (anon., poss.