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...
"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.
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.
Ancient Greek culture first emerged around 1600 B.C. in Mycenae. This developed a powerful military and participated in a wide trading network. Over the next thousand years, Greek society organized itself into city-states. The most famous ones were Athens and Sparta. They served as centers of political, religious, and cultural life.
Throughout ancient history, civilizations have offered historians an outlook into their accomplishments and achievements. Ancient Greece in particular, gives historians a closer look on that time period through their different polis’ that came together in unity through similar ideas and concepts of what makes a civilization great. Law and government structure is an idea that remained congruent throughout ancient Greek culture. This remained true specifically in regard to their ideas of democracy which remained highly important through the entirety of their existence. As well, Ancient Greece is renowned for their innovations that changed the quality of life by making it more efficient and bringing an understanding of how the world works. Furthermore, the arts were vital to ancient Greek culture as it helped individuals understand the way the world
Archibald, Zofia. Discovering the World of the Ancient Greeks. New York: Facts On File, 1991. Print.
that Ancient Greece was in its time considered the beginning of the of a new era
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
Classical civilization was the period centered on the Mediterranean Sea, relevant to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
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.
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
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.
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.
However, law is a set of rules, regulations and limitations that govern the individuals in a society in order to function fluidly. Therefore, laws are vital to changing and shaping society. As laws change, the customs, values of a society and ways in which a society practices those values change. To begin, many scholars have sought to explain society and law. However, the two phenomena cannot be separated.