The Law and the Courts in Ancient Greece [Hardcover]

How successful were the Athenians and other Greeks in bringing about the rule of law? What did the Greeks recognise as 'law' both in the 'polis' and internationally? How did the courts attempt to implement this ideal, and how successful were they?

This collection of essays sets out to answer these questions, focussing on the following themes: law, religion and the sources of legitimacy; substance and procedure; legal arguments in court; documents and witnesses; and law in an international context. There is much here to interest not only specialists in Greek law, but also those concerned more generally with both Greek history and the history of law.

Edward Harrisis Professor of Classics at Brooklyn College and the Graduate School, City University of New York.

Lene Rubinsteinis Lecturer in Classics at Royal Holloway College, University of London.

How successful were the Greeks in bringing about the rule of law? What did the Greeks recognise as 'law' both in the 'polis' and internationally? How did the courts attempt to implement this ideal, and how successful were they? This collection of essays sets out to answer these questions.