LEGAL106-THE LAWS OF ANCIENT GREECE

What is the significance of Greek Law?

It is not in the multitude of the detail but in the ideas that they have behind them

Who is Themis? (Greek)

Wife of Zeus

one of the gods of justice and the mopther of Dike

Who is Dike? (Greek)

The daughter of Themis

Greek god of justice, the first modern god or goddess of law

She is also a mortal

What is the importance of Dike?

That she was mortal and symbolises that the Greeks were moving away from the idea of law and justice being seen as coming from the Gods, nd moving towards law and justice being seen as something that comes from the people.

What does Dike give us?

The scales of justice which we also still have today

What do the scales of justice represent?

That there is a balance to be reached when trying to find out a correct legal decision

In Greece what was justice and law seen as?

The basis of civilisation

Who is the centre of Greek philosophy?

Socrates

When was Socrates around from?

470-399 BCE

What are the most important things to note about Socrates?

“Question everything”

“You do not need the Gods to work out what a good life is”

“Know thyself, but to understand yourself, you have to understand the world”

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

What are the four virtues that Socrates says to pursue as the purpose of life?

Wisdom, courage, moderation and justice

What is Socrates opinion on Love?

With love that kind of total love that you can feel, you are tapping into forms and the forms is sort of like an intermediary between where we are now and something which is perfect and unchanging and abstract. He is talking about the idea of beauty and the principle that if you find that other person that you are completely in love with, you make a hole. But that hole and love is timeless and universal and unchanging.

What assumption does Socrates make about for most of our thinking, how we exist?

We exist in shadows

What does we exist in shadows by Socrates actually mean?

That the leaders keep us in the dark and entertain and manipulates us through the use of shadows. However, if you enter into the light and escape the cave where you are seeing these shadows and you sue your human reason, you will see a brave new world, even if it is a bit colder and scarier.

It is possible for each of us to make our own pathway in the world if we just use human reason and wisdom

What did Palto beleive was the purpose of law?

To help citizens flourish and help them develop virtue.

What did Aristotle believe was the purpose of law and how did it compare to Plato’s?

Aristotle had a more practical apporach compared to Plato

That the value of law is order and good law is good order

What was written law seen to do away with?

Arbitrary power

What is arbitrary power?

When someone does whatever they want without being restrained

What is a tyrant?

When there are no public rules and one man or woman has complete control of the law for themself

What was the first written law of Athens?

Draco’s Laws (620 BCE)

Why did the Athenians write down Draco’s laws?

Because the oral law at the time was being manipulated by the aristocrats in power

What was the importance of Draco’s laws?

1. they were written down

2. they were made public for everyone to see, available to everyone

3. they were designed to bring stability and order and also control private revenge

4. it helped to introduce a council of 400 who were elected by free men who could afford miliatry equipment. The council were there for the purpose of carrying out the laws

5. Draco believed that serious crimes and small crimes should have the same penalty. Stealing food=death penalty, debts not paid= slavery

6. We don’t have acces to most of the laws they are all gone

What was the main prinicple of Draco’s Laws?

Keeping and maintaining order

When did Solon’s Laws come in?

638-558BCE

What did Solon’s laws do and why were they important?

1. most of Draco’s laws were ended by Solon apart form that on homicide and the differences between unintentional and intentional death

2. all debts were cancelled and anyone who had been enslaved for debt was freed

3. brought about social reform and led to the ending of slavery of Athenians by Athenians

4. all male citizens were allowed to the assembly and had access to the courts. The law now applied to all people and started the idea of ewuality before the law. All aathenians could bring a lawsuit

5. right of appeal was created, above magistrates, to a court of citizens at large

6. moved away from oaths being a cases definign feature

7. there was an economic reform, foreign artisans and merchants were encouraged to come live in Athens

8. standardisation of weights

9. olive oil trade was expanded but trade in foodstuffs controlled

When were the Laws of Gortyn?

600-525 BCE

What are the laws of Gortyn? (Not the actual laws)

the most complete set of Greek Laws from antiquity

What are the important parts about the Laws of Gortyn?

1. people are free before trial

2. rape is a crime that is punished by financial penalties, but this depends on the status of the person

3. adultery is a private crime rather than a public one, but men do pay financial penalties but this depends on his status, how many time it has occurred and where

4. divorced women are entitled to retain their dowry and a portion of the household property

5. male children within the marriage trump all other claimants, only men are allowed to adopt children

6. if a male slave marries a free women their children shall be free, but if a femal slave marries a free man the children remain slaves

How does pericles explain democracy?

as a political organisation where the power is held by all of the people not just a minority.

All are equal and merit not status will mean that you get positioned in society

Who was considered equal in Athenian society?

men

women, slaves, children and foreigners were not considered to be equal and they were not entitled to citizenship

What was not in the Athenians democratic society?

There was no consititution, second chamber, bill of rights or clear individual freedoms

What was ostracism in Athenian society?

Where citizens would get together once a year a could expel citizens from Athens for up to 10 years if there was 6,000 positive votes.

*We don’t have ostracism in our own political system but we do still have the idea of democracy and equality

How does democracy look in New Zealand at the moment?

Realy good but freedom is not in the acsent elsewhere

What did being a citizen of Athens include?

were to be engaged in terms of the legal processs and the politics. you were also expected to join the debate and your voice would be heard. You had to fight and participate in both politics and justice

What did free speech include or not include in Athenian democratic society?

It allows the rich and poor to be heard but cannot be used for impiety or slander.

It was used in comedy and theater and it is seen as a good citizenship thing to attack politicians with free speech

Whjat is Aristotles view on women?

That they were inferior to men

What was socrates’ view on women?

women could achieve all the philosophical virutes that he said made up a good life, so therefore most likley thought that wome could be equal

What was plato’s view on women?

he agreed with what socrates said and thought that by not utilising women’s experience, knowledge and excellence than you are only using 50% of society and its resources

Did women have the right to vote in Athens?

No

Did women have the right to vote in Sparta?

Yes

What could women do in Athens?

• Get an education

• hold property

• get a divorce if approved by their father and the dowry was dealt with

• the dowry size depended on the fathers wealth

• they were always under guardianship of a male

How was slavery in Greece?

• It was very common and most familes had between 3 to 4 slaves

• slaves were considered property

• they could be forced to work anywhere from mines to brothels

• you could not murder slaves

• manumission was possible

Why was Greek law decidely rational?

Because it relied up on free decision making on the part of judges and jurors. They didn’t rely on irrational sources such as the ‘hand of god’

They used the oath but they didn’t rely on it

witnesses became a lot more important

trial by ordel was unknown

There were no lawyers but they had good orators who were called ‘friends’ who worked for free

there was independent judgment, no standing judiciaries and juries were sat in hundreds (for serious matters like murder)

Jury decisions were made by majority through a secret ballot and there was no formal opportunity to discuss the case

What were Greek societies ideas on punishment?

Lex talionis was no longer a thing. they now beleived that punishment inflicted should be there to improve or benefit the subject or make him an example to those in society. This is because they would not want to be punished themselves if they saw what would happen if they did that hting

Why did the Athenians want to execute Socrates?

Because he was a pain in the ass, and he was alwasy making people think about things and always making them feel dumb and stupid. He soemtimes also helped the worn gpeople that were leading towards being dictators.

the main charge was that he had corrupted the youth of Athens by making them think to much adnt urning them away from the gods

What did the Atheninas decide would be Socrates punishment after they found him guilty?

He would be executed by Hemlock after being given the option to choose his punishment

What led Plato to write The Republic?

Socrate Trial and the unfairness of democracy and this mob rules mentality

In The Republic what does Plato believe Justice is?

temperance, wisdom, and courage

Justice is beyond the individual and it needs to be found on a larger (social) scale

it is related to order and individuals place in society

Justice is proportionate to position- not all citizens are equal and everyone has a natural positoon they fit into such as producer, warrior or guardian

Guardians should be appointed by merit, not popularity

The troubles of the state will only end when philsophers become kings or those who are kings and rulers become philsophers. Philosophy and political power must be in the same hands