The Rule of Law in Action in Democratic Athens
Brand: OUP US
Categories: Books, New, Used & Rental Textbooks, Humanities



Dimensions: 9.3 x 1.6 x 6.3 inches
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0199899169
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Print length: 496 pages
Publication date: November 5, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0199899166
Edition: 1st
subtitle: 1st Edition
author: Edward M. Harris
review: Editorial Reviews Review "The author challenges a series of assumptions, including that Athenian law was primarily procedural, the role of private citizens in law enforcement and the law courts as a field for pursuing personal feuds. Harris presents the argument for the Athenian judges having a 'working knowledge of the law', contrary to the view serving a 'rhetorical' approach to law, that they depended on orators for the knowledge of law. As he rightly points out, Athenian dikastai were familiar both with the legislative and the judicial process to a degree far greater than a modern citizen...The book contributes to our understanding of the legal mechanisms developed to enshrine firmly the rule of law into the fibre of the Athenian democratic regime. Harris has done a great service in marshalling a mass of evidence to support his thesis." --Athina Dimopoulou, Journal of Hellenic Studies "Harris' book is a piece of excellent scholarship. It presents provocative discussion of several specific problems of Athenian law and challenges some views that have achieved almost orthodox status among contemporary scholars. Every student of Athenian law and society will profit from its reading...." -- Eirene: Studia Graeca et Latina "Did the Athenian courts render purely ad hoc judgments, paying little attention to the letter of the laws? Did ancient Athens experience the tyranny of an elite minority that used justice to satisfy their own interests? Could we even say that Athens was in fact a stateless community where justice had nothing to do with what we designate by that name in contemporary practice? In this superb book Edward Harris provides clear and well-argued answers to these and many other questions. The Rule of Law in Action in Democratic Athens will find an audience not only among specialists of the ancient world but among all those who take interest in the role of law in any ancient or modern society." --Alain Bresson, University of Chicago " The Rule of Law in Action in Democratic Athens is a real pleasure to read: bold and provocative, it confronts several views of Athenian law and justice that have achieved near-orthodox status in contemporary scholarship.... The book presents a much more complete and balanced picture of the Athenian court system and how the administration of justice actually worked in practice." --James Sickinger, University of Florida About the Author Edward M. Harris is Research Professor of Ancient History at Durham University.