Gavin Howe
Ancient Greece featured diverse legal systems across its many city-states, with each state possessing and administering its own set of laws. Despite this, the various legal systems shared certain legal terminology and basic approaches to legal problems. The most well-known Greek judicial system is that of 4th-century classical Athens, which is traditionally associated with the birth of democracy. The Athenian law codes set forth by Draco were completely reformed by Solon, who was the archon of Athens around 593 BCE. Solon's reforms included changes to land ownership, the cancellation of debts, and the abolition of slavery for native Athenians.
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What You'll Learn
Ancient Greece had no unified legal code
Ancient Greece lacked a unified legal code, with each city-state (polis) possessing and administering its own set of laws. While there were certain shared basic approaches to legal problems, methods for producing legal effects, and a common legal terminology, there was no overarching system of institutions recognised and observed by the nation as a whole.
The Athenian law codes set forth by Draco were completely reformed by Solon, who was the archon of Athens around 593 BC. Solon's reforms included changes to land ownership, the cancellation of debts, and the abolition of slavery for native Athenians. However, attributing specific legal innovations and reforms to Solon and his successors is challenging, as there was a tendency in ancient Athens to ascribe laws to Solon regardless of their true enactment date.
Athens is typically the model provided for Greek law, and its legal system is the best known. The laws of Plato, for example, provide incidental illustrations of Athenian law, although he did not influence its actual practice. Aristotle, meanwhile, criticised Plato's Laws in his Politics, reviewing the work of early Greek lawgivers. Solon of Athens is considered the best-known lawgiver, preceded by Draco, with other outstanding lawgivers including Zaleucus of Locri Epizephyrii and Charondas of Catana.
Sparta also developed a lasting legal code, attributed to Lycurgus, although there is controversy about his existence. Lycurgus established two bodies in Spartan law: the gerousia (council of elders) and the apella (citizen-body of men over 30). The gerousia held significant power over the judicial system, especially regarding the death penalty, while the apella voted on proposals submitted by the gerousia and discussed matters of foreign policy and military powers.
Ancient Greek courts were cheap and run by laypeople, with most trials completed within a day. There were no lawyers or official judges, and juries decided on guilt and determined punishment. Juries were made up of men over 30, selected from a panel of 6,000 volunteers, and were paid a small fee. In Athenian courts, the jury tended to be from the common people, while litigants were mostly from the elite.
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The influence of Draconian law
Ancient Greece lacked a codified law code used across the country. Instead, it existed as a collection of city-states or poleis, each with its own set of laws. While there was no unified legal system, there were shared basic approaches to legal problems, methods for producing legal effects, and a common legal terminology.
Draconian law, or Draco's code, was a written law code enforced in Athens by Draco near the end of the 7th century BCE. It was written in response to the unjust interpretation and modification of oral law by Athenian aristocrats. Draconian law was commissioned by the people of Athens to replace the oral law, which was being manipulated by the aristocracy.
Draco's code was noteworthy for its harshness, with death prescribed for almost all criminal offenses, including minor ones such as stealing an apple or fruit. The laws were said to be written in blood instead of ink, and the adjective "Draconian" is still used today to refer to unusually harsh punishment or rules. The Draconian constitution also introduced the concepts of intentional and unintentional homicide, with both crimes adjudicated at the Areopagus.
Draco's code was completely reformed by Solon, who was the archon of Athens around 594 BCE. Solon's reforms included changes to land ownership, the cancellation of debts, and the abolition of slavery for native Athenians. However, Solon retained Draco's homicide statutes, and some of Draco's laws remained in place for over a century.
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Solon's reforms
Solon of Athens, who lived around 594 BCE, is perhaps the most well-known of ancient Greece's lawgivers. Solon is credited with a number of important reforms, which are collectively known as the Solonian Constitution.
Solon divided citizens into four classes based on their land production: pentacosiomedimnoi, hippeis, zeugitae, and thetes. The pentacosiomedimnoi were the top class, consisting of those whose property could produce at least 500 medimnoi of goods per year. They could also serve as generals in the Athenian army. The hippeis, or 'Knights', were the second-highest class, consisting of those with at least 300 medimnoi per year. The zeugitae were granted the right to hold certain minor political offices, and their status rose over time. The thetes were the lowest social class, consisting of wage workers or those with less than 200 medimnoi per year. Despite these divisions, Solon believed that all classes were connected as one and that an injustice against one member of society was an indirect disservice to every member.
Solon also established a system of two assemblies, a lower and a higher one, to decrease the power of the Areopagus, the aristocratic council. The lower assembly was given the right to hear appeals, and all citizens, including thetes, could participate in it and serve as jurors in the law court.
Overall, Solon's reforms were a significant step towards democracy in Athens, reducing the power of the aristocracy and increasing the rights and representation of citizens, regardless of their social class.
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The role of the Assembly and Council
Ancient Greece was not a state but a collection of city-states known as poleis, each with its own laws and government systems. While there was no codified law code used across the country, there were certain common approaches to legal problems, methods used in producing legal effects, and a shared legal terminology.
Athens is typically the model provided for Greek law, and it is the state we know most about. Athenian democracy was direct, rather than representative: any adult male citizen over the age of 20 could take part in the assembly, and it was their duty to do so. The assembly met approximately 40 times a year on a hill known as the Pnyx, and any citizen had the right to speak and propose legislation. Decisions were made by a show of hands. The assembly's agenda was set by the Boule, a council of 500 citizens chosen by lot and serving limited terms. The Boule acted as a kind of executive committee of the assembly, and similar bodies existed in other Greek states.
The assembly's responsibilities were extensive and included the election of officials, the declaration of wars and acceptance of peace treaties, and the introduction of new laws. In times of crisis and war, the Boule could also take decisions without the assembly meeting. The assembly's judicial functions were largely curtailed by the mid-4th century, though it always kept a role in the initiation of various kinds of political trials.
The central events of Athenian democracy were the meetings of the assembly, and the assembly was foundational to the concept of democracy. As democracy matured in Athens, the assembly's functions expanded. By the 5th century BCE, the assembly could enact laws, decide on war, and oversee public officials.
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The judicial system of Athens
Ancient Greece was not a state but a collection of city-states or poleis, each with its own set of laws. While there were no codified laws used across the country, there were certain commonalities across the legal systems of the various poleis. For example, the existence of certain general principles of law in ancient Greece is implied by the custom of settling a difference between two Greek states, or between members of a single state, by resorting to external arbitration.
Athens is typically the model provided for Greek law. The Athenian law codes set forth by Draco were completely reformed by Solon, who was the archon of Athens around 593 BC. Solon's reforms included reforms to land ownership, the cancellation of debts, and the abolition of slavery for those born in Athens. Solon divided Athenians into four classes based on wealth, with each class allowed to be jurors and bring lawsuits against others. Under Solon, participation in law courts was further democratized, and the court system was expanded.
In the Athenian legal system, there were no professional lawyers. However, well-known speechwriters such as Demosthenes composed speeches that were delivered by or on behalf of others. These speechwriters have been described as being as close as a function of a modern lawyer as the Athenian legal system would permit. Litigants pretended to be speaking extemporaneously, demonstrating their skill at rhetoric with the goal of persuading the jury. Athenian courts around the late 4th century were legally accessible to free Athenian men, regardless of social class. In public cases, any adult male citizen could bring a lawsuit. Athenian courts were almost completely inaccessible to women, non-Athenians, and enslaved people.
There were five courts for specific crimes: Areopagus, Palladion, Delphinion, Phreatto, and Prytaneion. These courts dealt with homicide, arson, and poisoning; involuntary injuries and killing of enslaved people and non-Athenians; lawful killings; homicide or injury after committing a pardonable offense; and murder from either animals, inanimate objects, or unknown killers, respectively. The Prytaneion court was responsible for trying unknown people, animals, and inanimate objects for homicide, to ensure that Athens was free of blood-guilt for the crime. There were also maritime courts, which provided predictable outcomes to facilitate commerce.
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Frequently asked questions
Ancient Greece featured diverse legal systems across its many city-states, or poleis, each with its own set of laws. There was no unified system of law across the country.
However, there were some shared basic approaches to legal problems, certain methods used in producing legal effects, and a shared legal terminology.
Draco created the first set of written laws in Ancient Greece around 620 BCE. His laws are known as Draconian Law and followed the principle of a "tooth for a tooth, eye for an eye".
Solon of Athens, who came after Draco in 594 BCE, is the best-known lawgiver after Draco. He reformed the Athenian law codes set forth by Draco, changing the punishments for various crimes and abolishing slavery for those born in Athens.
Other notable lawgivers include Zaleucus of Locri Epizephyrii (south Italy), Charondas of Catana, and Lycurgus of Sparta.
There were four specific sets of Greek law: tort, family, public, and procedural laws.
