Law, Violence, and Community in Classical Athens [Paperback]

This book examines the legal regulation of violence and the role of litigation in Athenian society.Using comparative anthropological and historical perspectives, this analysis of the legal regulation of violence in Athenian society challenges traditional accounts of the development of the legal process. It examines theories of social conflict and the rule of law as well as actual litigation.Using comparative anthropological and historical perspectives, this analysis of the legal regulation of violence in Athenian society challenges traditional accounts of the development of the legal process. It examines theories of social conflict and the rule of law as well as actual litigation.This book examines the legal regulation of violence and the role of litigation in Athenian society. Using comparative anthropological and historical perspectives, David Cohen challenges traditional evolutionary and functionalist accounts of the development of legal process. Examining Athenian theories of social conflict and the rule of law, as well as actual litigation involving the regulation of violence, the book emphasizes the way in which the judicial process operates in an agonistic society.Preface; Part I. The Realm of Theory: 1. Law and order; 2. Theorising Athenian society: the problem of stability; 3. Theorising Athenian society: the rule of law; Part II. The Realm of the Courts: 4. Rhetoric, litigation and the values of an agonistic society; 5. Litigation as feud; 6. Violence and litigation; 7. Hubris and the legal regulation of sexual violence; 8. Litigation and the family; Conclusion: litigation, democracy and the courts; Bibliographical essay; Bibliography; Index. This is a challenging and rewarding book that further breaks the traditional mold. Instead of studying ancient law as largely an adjunct of the history of politics, by paying greater attention to the agency, interests and values of the individual, the family, and the community, Cohen's contribution marks a shift of lcF