Amongst other things, Athens was an early adopter of the rule of law. Emeritus Professor Edward M. Harris, Durham University, joins the show to explain how law functioned in Classical Athens.
Some topics explored
- What the period of Classical Athens is
- When the rule of law begins in Athens
- Early creators of Athenian law: Solon and Draco
- How the court process worked including starting a claim, summoning, procedure, magistrate responsibilities, jurors, questioning period, court day, judges involved
- The concept of 500 judges who act as jurors as we know it contemporarily
- Socrates’ famous trial
- After a guilty verdict the concept of the guilty party making a recommendation on what the penalty should be
- The water clock
- How law conducted in Classical Athens influenced future law directly and indirectly
Listen to the episode
The episode is available on major podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Show Notes
- Dr Harris has written many publications including co-editing the book The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Law (Oxford University Press, 2015) and The Rule of Law in Action in Democratic Athens (Oxford University Press, 2013)
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