Democracy and the Rule of Law in Classical Athens: Essays on Law, Society, and Politics

499 Pages·2010·5.298 MB·English

by  Edward M. Harris

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DEMOCRACY AND
THE RULE OF LAW
IN CLASSICAL ATHENS
Essays on Law, Society,
and Politics
(cid:1)(cid:2)
Edward M. Harris
university of durham
iii
cambridge university press
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Cambridge University Press
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Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
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©EdwardM.Harris2006
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexceptionandtotheprovisionof
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without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
Firstpublishedinprintformat 2006
isbn-13 978-0-511-22062-3 eBook (MyiLibrary)
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To Arielle
v
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Contents
(cid:1)(cid:2)
Preface page ix
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations xiii
Introduction xvii
I Law and Constitutional History
1
1. SolonandtheSpiritoftheLawinArchaicandClassicalGreece 3
2. Pericles’PraiseofAthenianDemocracy 29
3. AntigonetheLawyer,ortheAmbiguitiesofNomos 41
4. HowOftenDidtheAthenianAssemblyMeet? 81
5. WhenDidtheAthenianAssemblyMeet?Some
NewEvidence 103
6. DemosthenesandtheTheoricFund 121
II Law and Economy
141
1. LawandEconomyinClassicalAthens:[Demosthenes]Against
Dionysodorus 143
2. WhenIsaSaleNotaSale?TheRiddleofAthenian
TerminologyforRealSecurityRevisited 163
3. Apotimema:AthenianTerminologyforRealSecurityinLeases
andDowryAgreements 207
4. TheLiabilityofBusinessPartnersinAthenianLaw:TheDispute
betweenLyconandMegacleides([Dem.]52.20–1) 241
5. DidSolonAbolishDebt-Bondage? 249
6. NotesonaLeadLetterfromtheAthenianAgora 271
vii
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viii contents
III Law and the Family
281
1. DidtheAtheniansRegardSeductionasaWorseCrime
thanRape? 283
2. DidRapeExistinClassicalAthens?FurtherReflections
ontheLawsaboutSexualViolence 297
3A. WomenandLendinginAthenianSociety:AHoros
Re-Examined 333
3B. NotesonaHorosfromtheAthenianAgora 347
4. TheDateofApollodorus’SpeechagainstTimotheusandIts
ImplicationsforAthenianHistoryandLegalProcedure 355
5. ANoteonAdoptionandDemeRegistration 365
IV Aspects of Procedure
371
1. “IntheAct”or“Red-Handed”?ApagogetotheEleven
andFurtumManifestum 373
2. HowtoKillinAtticGreek:TheSemanticsoftheVerb
((cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3))(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:6)(cid:9)(cid:8)andTheirImplicationsforAthenian
HomicideLaw 391
3. ThePenaltyforFrivolousProsecutioninAthenianLaw 405
V Envoi
423
1. PheidippidestheLegislator:ANoteonAristophanes’Clouds 425
Bibliography 431
Index Locorum 451
Subject Index 477
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Preface
(cid:1)(cid:2)
several years ago corey brennan suggested that i collect a number of
my essays on Athenian Law and publish them in a single volume. With his
encouragement, I submitted a proposal to Cambridge University Press, which
agreedtopublishthisvolume.IhavenotincludedeveryarticlethatIhavepublished
onthesubjectofAthenianLaw,butonlythosethatfallintooneoffourgeneral
categories: Constitutional Law, Law and Economy, Law and the Family, and
Aspects of Procedure. In general, these essays focus on specific laws and legal
procedures and attempt to place them in their political, social, and economic
contexts. They therefore pay less attention to the ways in which the Athenians
interpreted,applied,andenforcedthelawintheircourts.Thistopicwillbethe
subjectofanotherbookonTheRuleofLawinAction:TheNatureofLitigationinClassical
Athens. Aside from a few minor stylistic changes, I have not revised the essays. I
havetriedtotakeaccountofrecentworkonAthenianLawinthesectionsentitled
“Afterthoughts”thatfollowmostoftheessays.
IamwritingthesewordsattheUniversityofDurhamintheUnitedKingdom,
buttheworkontheseessayswasdonewhileIwasamemberoftheDepartment
ofClassicsatBrooklynCollegeandtheGraduateSchooloftheCityUniversity
ofNewYork.Icouldneverhavedonethisworkwithouttheencouragementand
supportofmyformercolleaguesinNewYork,forwhichIamdeeplygrateful.I
wishtoexpressmythankstoDeeClayman,RogerDunkle,HardyHansen,Ellen
Koven, Gail Smith, Philip Thibodeau, John van Sickle, Craig Williams, Donna
Wilson,HowardWolman,andPeterZaneteas.
Several scholars who helped me by reading over drafts of these essays and
offeringadvicearethankedinthenotes,butIwouldliketosingleouttwopeople
who were especially supportive during the past decade: Fred Naiden and Lene
Rubinstein.
I have been very fortunate to work with Beatrice Rehl at Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, Katie Greczylo at TechBooks, and Brian Bowles. I deeply appreciate
theirkindness,efficiency,andpatience.Thisvolumehasalsobenefitedfromthe
perceptivecommentsofthetwoanonymousreadersforthePress.
ix
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x preface
The work on this book was completed while I was an NEH Fellow at the
AmericanSchoolofClassicalStudiesinAthens.IwouldliketothanktheNEH
for its support and Steven Tracy, the Director of the School, and his staff for
makingmystayinAthensbothproductiveandenjoyable.
I would also like to express my gratitude to my family for their support and
understandingoverthepasttwodecades.
Myinterestinlawhasbeenpartofafamilytradition:mygreat-grandfatherand
grandfatheronmymother’ssidewerelawyers,andmyfatherwasGeneralCounsel
atPitneyBowesuntilhisretirementin1988.Ithinktherewasanexpectationthat
I too would go to law school, but something seems to have gone wrong, and I
endedupteachingClassicsandAncientHistory.Butthefamilytraditionpersists:
mydaughterisnowstudyingtobecomealawyer.Thisbookisdedicatedtoher.
Durham,November2005
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Acknowledgments
(cid:1)(cid:2)
I.1) “SolonandtheSpiritoftheLawinArchaicandClassicalGreece”
was originally published in J. Blok and A. Lardinois, eds. Solon of
Athens:NewHistoricalandPhilologicalApproaches.Leiden:Brill,2006.
I.2) “Pericles’PraiseofAthenianDemocracy”wasoriginallypublished
inHarvardStudiesinClassicalPhilology94(1992)57–67.
I.3) “AntigonetheLawyer,ortheAmbiguitiesofNomos”wasoriginally
publishedinE.M.HarrisandL.Rubinstein,eds.TheLawandthe
CourtsinAncientGreece.London:Duckworth,2004:19–56.
I.4) “How Often Did the Athenian Assembly Meet?” was originally
publishedinClassicalQuarterly36(1986)363–77.
I.5) “WhenDidtheAthenianAssemblyMeet?SomeNewEvidence”
was originally published in American Journal of Philology 112 (1991)
329–45.
I.6) “Demosthenes and the Theoric Fund” was originally published
in R. Wallace and E. M. Harris, eds. Transitions to Empire: Essays in
Greco-Roman History, 360–146 B.C. in Honor of E. Badian. University
ofOklahomaPress:Norman,OK,andLondon,1996:57–76.
II.1) “Law and Economy in Classical Athens: [Demosthenes]
Against Dionysodorus” was originally published at the Web site
www.stoa.org/projects/demos/home.
II.2) “WhenIsaSaleNotaSale?TheRiddleofAthenianTerminology
for Real Security Revisited” was originally published in Classical
Quarterly38(1988)351–81.
II.3) “Apotimema:AthenianTerminologyforRealSecurityinLeasesand
DowryArrangements”wasoriginallypublishedinClassicalQuarterly
43(1993)73–95.
II.4) “TheLiabilityofBusinessPartnersinAthenianLaw”wasoriginally
publishedinClassicalQuarterly39(1989)339–43.
II.5) “Did Solon Abolish Debt-Bondage?” was originally published in
ClassicalQuarterly52(2002)415–30.
xi
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xii acknowledgments
II.6) “NotesonaLeadLetterfromtheAthenianAgora”istobepub-
lishedinHarvardStudiesinClassicalPhilology102(forthcoming).
III.1) “Did the Athenians Regard Seduction as a Worse Crime than
Rape?” was originally published in Classical Quarterly 40 (1990)
370–7.
III.2) “Did Rape Exist in Classical Athens? Further Reflections on the
LawsaboutSexualViolence”wasoriginallypublishedinDIKE7
(2004)41–83.
III.3A) “WomenandLendinginAthenianSociety:AHorosRe-Examined”
wasoriginallypublishedinPhoenix4(1992)309–21.
III.3B) “NotesonaHorosfromtheAthenianAgora”wasoriginallypub-
lishedinZeitschriftfu¨rPapyrologieundEpigraphik131(2000)101–5.
III.4) “The Date of Apollodorus’ Speech against Timotheus and Its
ImplicationsforAthenianHistoryandLegalProcedure”wasorig-
inallypublishedinAmericanJournalofPhilology109(1988)44–52.
III.5) “ANoteonAdoptionandDemeRegistration”wasoriginallypub-
lishedinTyche11(1996)123–7.
IV.1) “‘In the Act’ or ‘Red-Handed’? Apagoge to the Eleven and Furtum
Manifestum”wasoriginallypublishedinG.Thu¨r,ed.Symposion1993:
Vortra¨gezurgriechischenundhellenistischenRechtsgeschichte.Boehlau:Cologne,
Weimar,andVienna,1994:129–46.
IV.2) “How to Kill in Attic Greek: The Semantics of the Verb
((cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3))(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:6)(cid:9)(cid:8) and Their Implications for Athenian Homicide
Law”wasoriginallypublishedinE.CantarellaandG.Thu¨r,eds.
Symposion 1997: Vortra¨ge zur griechischen und hellenistischen Rechtsgeschichte.
Boehlau:Cologne,Weimar,andVienna,2001:75–88.
IV.3) “The Penalty for Frivolous Prosecution in Athenian Law” was
originallypublishedinDIKE2(1999)123–42.
V.1) “Pheidippides the Legislator: A Note on Aristophanes’ Clouds”
wasoriginallypublishedinZeitschriftfu¨rPapyrologieundEpigraphik140
(2002)3–5.
Iwouldliketothankthepublishersofthesebooksandjournalsforpermission
toreprinttheseessaysinthepresentvolume.