Legal Evidence

Greece

Bibliographic Data

ID23440757
AuthorsSelina Todd (University of Manchester, corresponding author), S C Todd (Ancient History, University of Manchester)
Year2023
Publication date2023-07-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueThe Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Slaveries (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199575251.013.46
OpenAlexW4384666307
ISBN9780199575251
LanguageEN
References cited11

Legal evidence from the classical Greek world is significantly more disparate than for Roman law. This is partly a function of the political independence of Greek city states, each in principle forming its own jurisdiction. Perhaps more important, however, is the absence of a tightly defined corpus of legal writings of the type found in Roman law, which therefore raises additional questions about what counts as Greek legal evidence. Geographically, the sources discussed in this chapter come mainly from Athens and from the Cretan city of Gortyn, with some mention also of Sparta. The juridical scope includes not just ‘laws’ in the sense of legal statutes or statements about their content, but also records and reports of activities such as litigation, and of transactions or behaviours designed to have legal force. The material context comprises a range both of literary texts (particularly but not only oratory) and of inscriptions, though not papyri.

Archaeology · Context (archaeology) · Independence (probability theory) · Jurisdiction · Legal history · Political science · Politics · Scope (computer science) · Statute · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Classical Antiquity Studies · History · Law · Law, logistics, and international trade · Mathematics

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