The Rule of Law in Action in Democratic Athens

The Rule of Law in Action in Democratic Athens examines how the Athenians attempted to enforce and apply the law when judging disputes in court. Recent scholarship has paid considerable attention to the practice and execution of Greek law. However, much of this work has left several flawed assumptions unchallenged, such as that Athenian law was primarily concerned with procedure; that the main task of enforcement lay in the hands of private citizens; that the Athenians used the courts not to uphold the law but to pursue personal feuds; and that the Athenian courts rendered ad hoc judgments and paid little attention to the letter of the law. Drawing on modern legal theory, the author examines the nature of "open texture" in Athenian law and reveals that the Athenians were much more sophisticated in their approach to law than many modern scholars have assumed, and thus breaks considerable new ground in the field. At the same time, the book studies the weaknesses of the Athenian legal system and how they contributed to Athens' defeat in the Peloponnesian War. By reexamining the available evidence, Edward Harris provides a much needed corrective to long-held views and places the Athenian administration of justice in its broad political and social context.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction Part I - The Political And Social Contexts of Athenian Law Chapter 1 - Was Athens a State or a Stateless Community? The Political Context of Athenian Law Chapter 2 - Feuding or the Rule of Law? An Essay in Legal Sociology Part II - Applying the Law Chapter 3 - The Judicial Oath Chapter 4 - What are Athenian Laws about? Substance and Procedure in Athenian Statutes Chapter 5 - Open Texture in Athenian Law: The Approach of the Litigants Chapter 6 - Open Texture in Athenian Law: The Response of the Courts Chapter 7 - Did the Athenian Courts Attempt to Achieve Consistency? The use of Precedents in Forensic Orator Chapter 8 - How Strictly did the Athenian Courts Apply the Law? The Role of Epieikeia Part III - The Breakdown of the Rule of Law Chapter 9 - Cleon and the Defeat of Athens Appendix 1 - Hunter on Citizens Enforcing the Law Appendix 2 - Magistrates Enforcing Laws and Decrees in the Fifth Century BCE Appendix 3 - Quotations or Allusions to Judicial Oath in Attic Orators Appendix 4 - Organization of the Gortyn Lawcode Appendix 5 - Laws in the Attic Orators Appendix 6 - Categories of atimoi listed in the decree of Patrocleides Appendix 7 - Issues in the Orators Appendix 8 - Public Service in the Attic Orators Appendix 9 - The Authorship of the Speeches in the Demosthenic Corpus Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Edward M. Harris is Research Professor of Ancient History at Durham University.

Review :
"The author challenges a series of assumptions, including that Athenian law was primarily procedural, the role of private citizens in law enforcement and the law courts as a field for pursuing personal feuds. Harris presents the argument for the Athenian judges having a 'working knowledge of the law', contrary to the view serving a 'rhetorical' approach to law, that they depended on orators for the knowledge of law. As he rightly points out, Athenian dikastai were familiar both with the legislative and the judicial process to a degree far greater than a modern citizen...The book contributes to our understanding of the legal mechanisms developed to enshrine firmly the rule of law into the fibre of the Athenian democratic regime. Harris has done a great service in marshalling a mass of evidence to support his thesis." --Athina Dimopoulou, Journal of Hellenic Studies "Harris' book is a piece of excellent scholarship. It presents provocative discussion of several specific problems of Athenian law and challenges some views that have achieved almost orthodox status among contemporary scholars. Every student of Athenian law and society will profit from its reading...." --Eirene: Studia Graeca et Latina "Did the Athenian courts render purely ad hoc judgments, paying little attention to the letter of the laws? Did ancient Athens experience the tyranny of an elite minority that used justice to satisfy their own interests? Could we even say that Athens was in fact a stateless community where justice had nothing to do with what we designate by that name in contemporary practice? In this superb book Edward Harris provides clear and well-argued answers to these and many other questions. The Rule of Law in Action in Democratic Athens will find an audience not only among specialists of the ancient world but among all those who take interest in the role of law in any ancient or modern society." --Alain Bresson, University of Chicago "The Rule of Law in Action in Democratic Athens is a real pleasure to read: bold and provocative, it confronts several views of Athenian law and justice that have achieved near-orthodox status in contemporary scholarship.... The book presents a much more complete and balanced picture of the Athenian court system and how the administration of justice actually worked in practice." --James Sickinger, University of Florida