Crash Course Ancient Greek Law
First of all before we can get to know about Ancient Greek Law we need to learn about what Ancient Greece is and what the Law is so here we go.
1. Greek, the term we use that refers to Greek people or items, as in people or things that originated from Greece. Such as Greek food, Greek people, and Greek attractions.
- Ancient Greece was the Greek civilization belonging to a period of Greek history. It lasted from the archaic period of the 8th-6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity.
- And just in case you don’t know the archaic period was the name for the time from 620 to 480 B.C., while antiquity is the period in history before the Middle Ages.
- The law is a system of rules that a particular community recognizes to regulate its members as it enforces authority through penalties such as death.
So now we get to the fun part.
There are 3 stages that most legal system progresses go through.
1. A Prelegal society, where there is no established regulations and punishments
2. A Protolegal society, it has rules and procedures but unlike laws the rules...
In Gortyn rape was illegal, whereas in the city state of Sparta during a similar period the rape of an individual women was not a crime and the rape of women by young men was even encouraged . Under Draconian law in Ancient Greece rape was similar to that of Sparta in that it wasn’t illegal. However, the consent of women during sex was irrelevant to Draconian law who saw it was a man’s responsibility to take what he could if he was in the position of power . However, as time passed in certain societies, such as Athens and Gortyn, rape was made illegal, the punishments for this crime did differ between societies and social classes. In Gortyn rape was punished by fines. The fine of slaves for committing a rape was double that of rape committed by a free person, whereas the punishment for rape committed by a free person on a slave or apetairoi was one tenth what it would be for raping a free person . Athenian law punished rape far more seriously, with both Plato and Aristotle both mention any man who violates a women may be killed by the women, her father, brother or son . This one example helps show the differing social and political rights of both male and female citizens in different social classes in Gortyn. It also aids to display a crucial social custom in Ancient Greece that is acceptable, and expected for close male relatives to protect and seek
"A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture [Paperback]." Amazon.com: A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture (9780195156812): Sarah B. Pomeroy, Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, Jennifer Tolbert Roberts: Books. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.
Classical civilization was the period centered on the Mediterranean Sea, relevant to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
500 B.C. is known as the Height of Greece. This is the time frame when distinctive European culture had emerged in Greece. It is also known as the Axis Date because the fundamental's of the great world cultures are being defined. During this period of time, Alexander the Great conquered the Persia and became the Great King of Persiah Empire. After his death from a fever, his empire break into pieces almost immediately. As his followers divided and began to argue for power, classical Hellenism was modified by Asian influences and they became Hellenism.
When The Aegean period arose in Greece, three cultures originated with three different art forms. They created distinct types of art, yet left limited proof of their existence. During 2800-1100 BCE the Egyptians stood out with their afterlife related art, while the Mesopotamian’s introduced religion and a written language. In the mean time, near the Aegean Sea, the Aegeans came into view around the same time these two civilizations developed.
The southernmost tip of Greece reaches into the Mediterranean Sea. Mountains cover nearly ¾’s of mainland Greece. It is surrounded by about 2,000 islands. Greece has a dry climate and poor soil farmers planted crops well suited for barley, wheat, olives, and grapes. The sea is especially powerful during the winter when the winds are high and the seas are rough. . Ancient Greece existed over 2000 years ago. It was made up of a collection of similar city-states such as Athens, Sparta, Olympia and Corinth. They each had their own laws and rulers. The city-state Polis became central to the development of classical civilization in Greece. By 750 B.C., the polis became the focus of Greek life. The polis was a town that served as the center of the polis where people could meet for political, social, and religious activities. The central meeting place in the polis was usually a hill. At the top of the hill was a fortified area called an Acropolis that served as both a fortress and religious center? Below the Acropolis was an open area that served both as a place where people could assemble and as a market. Cities varied greatly in size a population. Athens had a population of more than 300,000 by the fifth century B.C., but most cities were much smaller, consisting of only a few hundred to several thousand people. The polis was a community of people who shared a common identity and common goals. As a
that Ancient Greece was in its time considered the beginning of the of a new era
Archibald, Zofia. Discovering the World of the Ancient Greeks. New York: Facts On File, 1991. Print.
The Daily Life of Ancient Greeks Life in Greece in ancient times will remind you of your own life in many ways. There were school, family, athletic competitions, and social gatherings. Knowing that participants in their sporting events competed nude or that you rarely knew your husband/wife until the wedding day does however, make you grateful for the society that you live in today. Babies Life for the Greeks in Athens began in their home. Babies were delivered by the women of the family, and only in cases of serious complications was a mid-wife called.
The Classical Greece era dates back to 500-323 BCE and was considered to be the period of maturity, discovery and achievement. During this era Athens was governed by a democratic government, there came a more rational approach to exploring and explaining the world and the Greeks took art to a more realistic and humanistic approach for the first time. (Sakoulas, 2002) During the Classical era the culture was based on a blend of their old culture and the new. The old is based upon religious beliefs while the new happens largely in part due to trade routes.
The Archaic period in Greece the first know coinage was mined in Lydia. This was around the time of 700 BC. (Coinage) The coins were used for personal use. There was also a very important reason this coinage existed. They were believed to be a mercenary payment. Mercenaries would collect the coinage as opposed to collecting an item as a sign of their services. These coins were made of electrum, an
When you think about law you think about justice, rules, and government. Law can easily be defined as people who regulate their actions as well as actions of other parties to enforce authority. Within the law, there are many rules that are enforced and should be followed. Laws are set in place to in a sense mold he public and their opinion so that how society functions can be positively changed. However, not every person will follow these “laws” especially if they do not believe in them or they do not fit so well in a functioning society. There are two main ways to categorize laws; civil and criminal laws. Criminal laws stop actions that harm public safety and welfare (such as child neglect/abuse). Criminal laws make sure that the punishment
Ancient Greece was made up of individual city states, known as a Polis, which relied heavily on citizen participation in politics. The idea of self-rule was an entirely new way of governing. Citizenship was unheard of at the time. Although still considered citizens not everybody was allowed to participate. In Athens only adult males who had military training were allowed to vote. The majority of the population, namely slaves, children, metics (free noncitizens) and women were excluded from participation in politics. “[Metics] and women were not citizens and did not enjoy any of the privileges of citizenship.”(Sayre, 137) Athenian citizens had to be descended from citizens, excluding the children of Athenian men and foreign women. Individuals could be granted citizenship in to Athens by the assembly this was usually as a reward for some service to the state. Ancient Greece paved the way for the representative democratic style of government that is practiced by many countries today. Much like how voting rights started out in America, originally only the wealthy land owners were allowed to vote and call themselves citizens, but soon all men were allowed to have a vote and a voice in their states politics. Essentially the Greeks were the first to introduce citizen rights and freedom similar to what’s seen today.
At the beginning of Athens, there were no set of laws or rules. They would generally have the injured person injure the one who injured them. For example, if someone was murdered, the family members of the one killed got to kill the one who killed him. Fate was often left up to those in charge, during the time of an oligarchy.
From early times, the Greeks lived in independet settlements, and they were isolated from one another. Later, this settelments grew up into “poles” or city-states.