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Dikastes

(179 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (δικαστής; dikastḗs). In the Greek city states lay persons rather than professional judges were appointed to the   dikastḗrion . Dikastes is therefore best translated as ‘juror’. Any male citizen of more than 30 years of age and of blameless reputation could register in Athens as a dikastes. As an ‘identification’ he was given a small tablet that bore his name and each year he had to swear the ‘Heliastic oath’ that he would vote according to the law (Dem. Or. 24, 149-151). The dikastes was paid for the day that he was in court (  dikastikòs misthós ). Whoeve…

Enepiskepsis

(102 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐνεπίσκηψις; Enepískēpsis). In Athens, when property was confiscated (  dḗmeusis ,   dēmióprata ) a third party was able to claim that a particular part of the assets belonged to him or was mortgaged to him. If he objected, by using the form of an enepiskepsis, there would be a   diadikasía between him and the person initiating the confiscation (  apographé ) in which it was determined if the state debtor ‘owed’ cession of the asset parts to the third party (Dem. Or. 49,45ff.; Hesperia 10, 1941, 14). Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography A. R. W. Harrison, The Law of Athens II…

Katachorizein

(114 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (καταχωρίζειν; katachōrízein). Generally ‘classify’, also military, in official Hellenistic language specifically ‘register, enter in a list’. Thus, for example, in the Greek motherland, simple popular decisions (esp. honours) were protected against repeal by ‘entering’ them formally among the laws. In Roman Egypt, katachorizein might describe any entry in a list, especially important being the incorporation of a copy of the document in the bibliothḗkē enktḗseōn ( Land register). Katachorizein could also signify a legal action against unknown offe…

Oath

(846 words)

Author(s): Neumann, Hans (Berlin) | Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] I. Ancient Orient Since the second half of the 3rd millennium BC [1. 63-98; 2. 345-365], a distinction was made in Mesopotamia between promissory (assuring) oaths in contract law and assertory (confirming) oaths taking effect in lawsuits. A promissory oath served as an absolute assurance of a renunciation or intended action and was performed by invoking the king or a god, or both. An assertory oath had probative force as an oath for witnesses or parties, e.g. an oath of purification …

Gnome

(3,863 words)

Author(s): Gärtner, Hans Armin (Heidelberg) | Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[1] Literary history I. Greek [German version] A. Meaning of the word As a nomen actionis the noun γνώμη (not found in Homer or Hesiod), with its originally extraordinary comprehensive range of meaning must be considered together with the verb γιγνώσκω ( gignṓskō) [11; 37. 491; 27. 32 (also with regard to etymology)]. The verb with its meanings ‘to recognize’, ‘to form an opinion’, ‘to decide’ and ‘to judge’ falls between two poles: ‘the ability to recognize a state of affairs’ and ‘the consequences of this recognition’ [40. 20-39, esp.…

Cheirographon

(108 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (χειρόγραφον; cheirógraphon), literally ‘handwriting’ (handwritten note). Along with the   syngraphe the most common form of private document in the Egyptian papyri. Entering the Roman world from the 3rd/2nd cents. BC onwards, the cheirographon tends towards the style of the private letter, and is not restricted to any particular type of transaction. Witnesses were a customary feature. The cheirographon would usually be in the hands of the person authorized by it. In the Roman period, the cheirographon could by δημοσίωσις ( dēmosíōsis: incorporation in an offi…

Katalysis

(183 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (κατάλυσις; katálysis). Literally the ‘dissolving’ of the constitution (τοῦ δήμου, toû dḗmou), meaning high treason, which could be persecuted by any citizen in Athens either through graphḗ or eisangelía . It is contested whether an eisangelía of this sort goes back to Solon (6th cent. BC) and was judged by the Areopagus (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 8,4). According to the council's oath transmitted in Dem. Or. 24,144, the boulḗ had the right to intervene in the katalysis. After the law on eisangelía was revoked in 411 BC (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 29,4), katalysis was regulated in det…

Prorrhesis

(120 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (πρόρρησις/ prórrhēsis, literally 'proclamation'). Prorrhesis is originally a means of blood feud against somebody accused of a bloody deed. If somebody is addressed publicly as a murderer (Homicide) by somebody who according to Draco's Law is justified in blood feud (IG I3 104,20-33; Dem. Or. 42,57), he has to stay away from the Agora and all sacred sites until the case ( phónos ). In all there were three occasions for prorrhesis: at the grave of the victim, in the Agora and by way of the basileus (C.) (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 57,2). Only the last had t…

Timetos agon

(222 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (τιμητὸς ἀγών/ timētòs agṓn, 'legal action with assessment'). In Athens every case to be decided by a dikastḗrion was either 'non-assessable' or 'assessable'. In the first case ( atímētos agṓn ), by statute a particular sanction, whether the death penalty, banishment or a fixed fine, was linked to the verdict; in the second case ( timētaì díkai ) after deciding the verdict, if it was ìaffirmed the jury had to agree again, i.e. on the extent of the punishment or on the amount of the sum adjudicated. In their 'assessment' (τίμησις/ tímēsis) the jury could only side with o…

Antigraphe, -eus

(319 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
(ἀντιγραφή, -εύς; antigraphḗ, -eús) The expression, like all litigation terms in Greek law not formulated by jurists, is imprecise [1]. It can mean: [German version] 1. Counterplea a) in the sense of a defendant's written counterplea, submitted by the defendant to the authorities responsible for the preliminary examination. He had to swear to the accuracy of the allegations contained in it right at the beginning of the ἀνάκρισις ( Anakrisis) (Poll. 8,58; Demosth. 45,46; 45,87, therefore the expression ἀντωμοσία ( Antomosi…

Menysis

(199 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (μήνυσις; mḗnysis). A ‘charge’ or ‘application’ in certain criminal proceedings The Greek polis functioned on initiatives of private citizens. In criminal law, too, the principle for accusations was considered to be 'no plaintiff, no judge'. In cases of high treason and blasphemy, which endangered the state, the Athenians nevertheless found ways of compensating for the lack of an official public prosecutor. Thus, in special cases state investigative commissioners (ζητηταί, zētētaí) were appointed and in others a reward was offered to encourage the lodging of a men…

Katengyan

(142 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (κατεγγυᾶν; kateggyân). ‘To require guarantors from defendant for his appearance at court’. In Athens, this was possible in private cases against non-citizens (Dem. Or. 32,29; Isoc. Or. 17,12; Lys. 23,9) brought before the árchōn polémarchos. Otherwise, the defendant was arrested. Citizens could be subject to the same in proceedings opened by apagōgḗ , ephḗgēsis (request before a magistrate for the arrest of a delinquent) or éndeixis . In cases of freedom, the person claiming the contested person as a slave could demand katengyan from his opponent who was in de…

Phonos

(410 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (φόνος; phónos). Homicide. In Greek law the nearest relatives could originally carry out a blood fued as a result of phonos. Due to the strengthening of the polis and in Athens, in any case since Draco (end of 7th cent. BC), they were limited to a private lawsuit ( díkē ) as a result of phonos. This lawsuit was brought before the basileús (I.C.), solemn oaths ( diōmosía ) were sworn in three pre-hearings by the parties and witnesses. The adjudication, according to the severity of the crime, was made in the court sessions which met on various cult sites ( dikastḗrion A.I.). Draco …

Kadiskoi

(127 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (καδίσκοι; kadískoi). Urns used in the courts of Athens ( dikasterion) to receive the votes of the jury, referred to as ἀμφορεῖς ( amphoreís) by Aristot. Ath. Pol. 68,3. In the 4th cent. BC, each judge had two bronze voting stones (ψῆφοι; psḗphoi), one with a hollow bore for a verdict of guilty, the other solid for a verdict of not guilty (ibid. 68,4). He declared his decision by throwing one psêphos into the ‘valid’ bronze urn, the other into the wooden urn. The vote in inheritance cases ( diadikasia ) was probably not secret as it was in other case…

Epibole

(113 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐπιβολή; epibolḗ) Any office-bearer in Athens (  Archaí , to which the   boulḗ also belonged) was entitled by law to impose within his sphere of responsibility an epibole, a small sum up to a legally determined level by way of a fine; the epibole was subject to   éphesis . The epibole in P.Zen. 51,15 (3rd cent. BC) is also to be understood in this sense. In papyri of the Roman period, epibole (or ἐπιμερισμός, epimerismós) denotes the allocation of uncultivated land to individual farmers or communities for purposes of taxation. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography A. R. W. Harr…

Tyrannidos graphe

(206 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (τυραννίδος γραφή; tyrannídos graphḗ). Popular action for tyranny ( tyrannis ). Plutarch's report of the amnesty law of Solon [1] provides evidence that atimia (cf. also time (1)) for tyranny was already current before Solon (Plut. Solon 19). Those supporters of Cylon [1] who fled into exile after the attempted coup were probably excepted from the amnesty (on their condemnation by the Areios Pagos , [4. 1806]). Solon sanctioned the attempt to set up a tyrannis, with heritable atimia (Aristot. Ath. pol. 16,10; [5. fr. 37a]). Forfeiture of assets is first at…

Syntheke

(271 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (συνθήκη; synthḗkē). Something 'fixed in common' by a number of parties, often recorded in epigraphic or documentary form (usually in the plural: synthḗkai). In Greek philosophy, nómos [1] and the synthēkē (as positive rules) are contrasted with nature (φύσις, phýsis) [3. 1168]. The term syntheke is used as a (document of) treaty or contract in the inter-state law of the Greek poleis and in private relationships. According to the content (alliance, friendship) or stage of the arrangement, various synonyms are used for synthēke as an inter-state agreement ([3. …

Prasis epi lysei

(385 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (πρᾶσις ἐπὶ λύσει; prâsis epì lýsei). In Greek in general, the noun prasis refers to the act of selling, the addition epì lýsei (which in the sources is never connected with the noun, but only with the verb λύειν/ lýein) means 'upon redemption'. The phrase indicated a transaction, similar to the later ōnḕ en pístei (there also on the terminology of purchase in Greek), serving to safeguard a loan. The borrower (cf. dáneion ) sold some property to the lender; as soon as the loan amount was paid out, the creditor became owner of the pro…

Paragraphe

(303 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (παραγραφή/ paragraphḗ, derived from παραγράφειν ( paragráphein, 'write beside') describes various institutions in Greek legal language. Specifically in the law of Athens, those accused, who claimed that they had been proceeded against in contravention of the 403/02 BC amnesty (see Triákonta ), had, on the basis of a law introduced by Archinus, the opportunity of adding to the statement of claim, that the díkē [2] ' was not maintainable' (μὴ εἰσαγώγιμον εἶναι, mḕ eisagṓgimon eînai; Isocr. 18,2f.). Subsequently, in separate proceedings, the dikastḗrion [2] had t…

Enechyrasia

(154 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (Ἐνεχυρασία; Enechyrasía). In Greek law the enforcement of a demand for money or the release of goods. It was used against movable and immovable assets (outside of Athens also against the person) of the debtor after the expiry of a term that is not precisely known. It was based on a judgement or an enforceable document and took the form of the creditor personally taking a colleratal. In Athens the dḗmarchos ( Demarchoi) of the debtor's community of residence gave him access to the collateral. The creditor was free to choose the collateral objects (h…

Ephetai

(99 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐφέται; ephétai). There were in classical Athens, besides the court of  Areopagus, three further collegiate courts for capital cases; these sat at the Palladion, at the Delphinion and in Phreatto ( Dikasterion), and comprised 51 ephetai (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 57,3f.). These colleges of jurors ( Dikastes) were small in comparison with the other dikasteria. It is now believed that, prior to Solon, ephetai also sat at the court on the Hill of Ares, but at that time not all citizens could yet be appointed. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography R. W. Wallace, The Areopagos Cou…

Demioprata

(235 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
(δημιόπρατα; dēmióprata). [German version] [1] Public auction of goods for the benefit of the Athenian state treasury The public auction of goods for the benefit of the Athenian state treasury. They were initially submitted for confiscation in the course of the   dḗmeusis mostly by the plaintiffs in the main proceeding. After the index (the   apographḗ ) of the goods to be confiscated had been read to the public assembly, ‘to notify everyone of the dispossessed property’ (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 43,4), it was forwarded to the Eleven, …

Epikleros

(215 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐπίκληρος; epíklēros). Not quite correctly translated as ‘heiress’. If an Athenian citizen or   métoikos was survived only by daughters, they were not entitled to the inheritance in their own right, but their legitimate sons were, and so the inheritance (  klḗros ) could in some circumstances benefit a different family. Because of that danger the law allowed the nearest male collateral relative of the testator ( Anchisteia), to obtain at the same time from the archon or polemarch ( Archontes I), by a process of   epidikasía , the immediate assignment of the klḗros and e…

Blabes dike

(171 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (βλάβης δίκη; blábēs díkē). In Greek law, a private action for damage to property. In the case of intentional damage, the guilty party had to pay compensation to the tune of twice the value of the damage caused, as assessed by the plaintiff in his petition. The blabes dike may originally have been legally applicable only as regards violation of the law relating to neighbours. It may only have been by virtue of case law that this restricted profile of action was extended to include other cases of damage to property. Prevailing o…

Kategoros

(139 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (κατήγορος; katḗgoros). The prosecutor in Athens. Athenian public criminal law was based on the principle of popular complaint ( graphḗ ), a special office for public prosecution did not exist. Nonetheless, in cases that threatened the state directly, the council or the public assembly could nominate citizens to represent the interests of the state without holding an office. They were called kategoros, or, more frequently, synḗgoros (‘attorney’) (representation of the demes: Aristot. Ath. Pol. 42,1; IG II2 1196; 1205). In such cases, the public assembly c…

Engyesis

(117 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐγγύησις; engýēsis). In Greece a festive legal act concluded between the bridegroom and the   kýrios of the bride in the presence of witnesses on which the husband's rights are founded (also called ἐγγύη, engýē), formerly wrongly interpreted as ‘engagement’. It only became fully effective with the transfer of the bride to the husband (  ékdosis ). In Gortyn the engýēsis is never mentioned but it is by Plato (Leg. 774e). In the papyri engýēsis is a synonym of   engýē . Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography H. J. Wolff, Beiträge zur Rechtsgesch. Altgriechenlands, 1961, 1…

Lipomartyriou dike

(315 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (λιπομαρτυρίου δίκη; lipomartyríou díkē). Law suit on account of failure to provide a witness statement. The procedural testimony ( martyría ) consisted in the Greek poleis of a statement pre-formulated by the plaintiff or the defendant that was pronounced to the witness in the procedure and which the latter confirmed by his very appearance before the court. When a witness was summoned privately by a procedural party (καλεῖν, kaleîn, Pl. Leg. 937a, PHalensis 1,222f., IPArk 17,12; προσκαλεῖν, proskaleîn, Dem. Or. 49,19), he had two options: either he refuse…

Poine

(201 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ποινή; poinḗ). Used in Homer quite concretely for blood money (Hom. Il. 18,498; aídesis ), but also generally for revenge, retribution, later extended to any monetary penalty a private person could demand for a tort ([4. 10, 35]; cf. Latin poena ; however, the extension to fines to be paid to the state or to corporal punishment entered Greek only by way of back-translation of the Latin term). The connexion with blood money (also ἄποινα, ápoina; cf. ἀποινᾶν, apoinân, demand poine, Dem. Or. 23,28 and 33; IPArk 7,14) lives on in the negative νηποινεὶ τεθνάναι ( nēpoineì tethn…

Paramone

(255 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (παραμονή; paramonḗ). Noun formed from the verb παραμένειν ( paraménein, 'to stay with someone') used throughout Greece to denote a number of legal relationships. In Egyptian and Mesopotamian papyri the word paramone regularly occurs as a civil-law obligation whereby the debtor subjected himself or a dependant of his, to the power of the creditor to repay the capital sum or the interest ( antíchrēsis [6. 127]). Contracts for the letting of services or the completion of a task ( místhōsis ) often contained a paramone-clause, however, these did not entail civil-la…

Anchisteia

(156 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἀγχιστεία; anchisteía). In Athens the closest collateral relatives were combined as anchisteia. In the event of  murder of a member of their family they had a duty to bring an action against the perpetrator and the right to grant pardon ( Aidesis) to an unintentional perpetrator (IG I3 104,13-25). The anchisteia also referred to the circle of those with inheritance rights if there were no direct descendants (blood or adopted   eispoiesis ). The anchisteia comprised 1) the brothers of the deceased coming from the same father and their descendants, 2) c…

Land register

(298 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] One can only speak of a land register (LR) in the legal sense when a complete, comprehensive register of property - either of all inhabitants (personal property system) or of all plots of land in a precinct (real property system) - is generally acknowledged, thus guaranteeing the right of ownership of the registered purchaser. In antiquity, there were numerous simple property registers ( Estate register), which, however, mostly served as the basis for tax assessment (examples and literature [1]). Institutions for the control of legal transactions regarding p…

Proklesis

(214 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (πρόκλησις; próklēsis), literally 'challenge'. The concentration in cases before the Athenian courts of justice ( d ikastḗrion ) on a single time-limited trial created a need for careful preparation of material before the case, or in a preliminary trial before the relevant court magistrate ( anákrisis , diaitētaí ). Próklēsis was an opportunity to provoke the opponent to make binding statements before the trial. This means both the act, before witnesses, of making a deposition aimed at the opponent and its content  and the fixin…

Parakatatheke

(462 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (παρακαταθήκη; parakatathḗkē). derived from the verb παρακατατίθεσθαι ( para-kata-títhesthai, to deposit) the noun parakatatheke, also parathḗkē, is employed in the entire Greek sphere to denote a range of legal relationships in which objects of persons were entrusted to someone under a duty of care. Although the term was used in Byzantine legal literature as a Greek translation for the Roman term depositum , Greek parakatatheke had a more wide-ranging application. For example the person to whom it was entrusted was entitled to use or consume …

Apagoge

(135 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἀπαγωγή; apagōgḗ). ‘Taking away’ was a drastic, speedy procedure in criminal cases in Athens. In its original form it permitted two categories of criminals (κακοῦργοι and ἄτιμοι, kakoûrgoi and átimoi), if caught in the act, later also where the facts of the case were obvious, to be taken away to prison and if they confessed to be punished immediately, or otherwise to be kept in custody and handed over to the court. Responsibility lay partially with the Eleven and partially with the thesmothetai. The penalty was death. Later written charges of the same name cou…

Parabolon

(116 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (παράβολον; parábolon). Literally payment, a sum of money that according to Poll. 8,63, had to be deposited in Athens as security payment when lodging an éphesis , however, it was probably indentical to the parakatabolḗ (cf. also Aristot. Oec. 1348b 13). Further expressions for payment in the context of a legal procedure: ἀπάρβολος ( apárbolos, i.e. 'without parábolon': IG IV 175, 8f. and 197, 21-27; SGDI 3206,117); παρβάλλειν ( parbállein, to pay: IPArk 17,65f.) In the papyri the words παραβολή ( parabolḗ; as also in OGIS 41) and παραβόλιον ( parabólion) are used as …

Exomosia

(177 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐξωμοσία), literally ‘denial on oath of knowledge’. 1) In the procedural law of Athens, witnesses could avoid the obligation to appear in court (and confirm evidence which had been pre-formulated by one of the two parties in the case) by swearing ceremonial oaths out of court to the effect that they ‘did not know’ the facts in question. The exōmosía did not entail any legal sanctions, only positive testimony in court could be sued for (  pseudomartyríōn díkē ). There is evidence of a similar system recorded as apōmosía in the indemnity contract of Stymphalus (IPArk …

Balantiotomoi

(34 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (βαλαντιοτόμοι; balantiotómoi). ‘Cutpurses’ (pickpockets) were pursued in Athens on the basis of the νόμος τῶν κακούργων ( nómos tôn kakoúrgōn) with   apagōgḗ (‘leading away’) and punished with death. Thür, Gerhard (Graz)

Paratilmos

(199 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (παρατιλμός/ paratilmós, literally the removal of hair), a measure employed against an adulterer ( moicheía ) caught in the act, whereby the hair around the anus was plucked out whilst rubbing in hot ashes. Generally it was accompanied by inserting a radish into the anus (ῥαφανίδωσις, rhaphanídōsis; Aristoph. Plut. 168 with scholia.; Aristoph. Nub. 1083). This degrading self-help measure could occur in Attic law instead of legally permitted killing, but it could also be avoided by paying a ransom. Presumably the paratilmos is referred to by the legal rule, tha…

Epiorkia

(104 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐπιορκία; epiorkía) means ‘perjury’, ever since Homer and throughout (with the exception of a single incidence in Solon's Laws as ‘oath’, Lys. 10,17). It was common practice for every  oath to conclude with a curse for a potential perjurer. As epiorkia was not a secular offence, its punishment ─ which was not limited to the offender himself, but could extend to his entire household ─ was in the remit of the gods, who were witnesses and guarantors of the oath (Xen. An. 2,5,21; Dem. Or. 23,68; 19,220; Lys. 32,13).  Oath Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography K. Latte, s.v. Meine…

Synegoros

(252 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (συνήγορος; synḗgoros), literally 'co-speaker'. Person who speaks in court with - not instead of - one of the parties in a case; a term not always distinguished from sýndikos . In principle, the Greek view was that each party should present their own case in person. In ancient Athens synēgoroi claiming either a close relationship to the party they supported or enmity to the party they opposed could be allowed in private and public actions; only accepting money was forbidden to a synegoros (Dem. Or. 47,26). Since joint action in court was, from a more recent poi…

Martyria

(455 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (μαρτυρία, martyría). In Greek law, the deposition in court of a testimony, its content or a document drawn up for this purpose. Witnesses (μάρτυρες, mártyres; synonyms [2. 2032f.]) were formally invited to be present at business transactions, and witnesses to wrongful acts were called by the injured or avenging party. At the time of the Attic orators (5th/4th centuries BC) they were not sworn in but affirmed that they were ‘acquainted with’ a formulaic phrase drawn up by the person presenting the case o…

Dikaspolos

(74 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (δικάσπολος; dikáspolos). In the Homeric epics this term applied to a king or geron (member of the council of elders) in the role of judge or magistrate (Il. 1,238). Wielding a sceptre he would deliver the judgement (θέμιστες, thémistes) coming from Zeus. It depends on one's theory about the course of a lawsuit (  dikázein) how this is to be imagined in practice. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography M. Schmidt, LFE 2, 1991, 302.

Heliaia

(302 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἡλιαία; hēliaía). 1. Derived from ἁλίζω ( halízō, ‘assemble’), heliaia originally means simply ‘assembly’. In the Doric area this expression survived for the public assembly [1. 32ff.] and in Arcadia for a committee, of probably fifty people, which made political and legal decisions (IG V 2,6A 24 and 27; 3,20 = IPArc nos. 2 and 3, both from Tegea [2. 36f]). 2. In Athens, according to Aristot. Ath. Pol. 9,1 (cf. on this [3. 160]), in opposition to judicial decisions by the archons, Solon introduced the   éphesis to the heliaia, at that time either the entire public…

Epobelia

(108 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐπωβελία; epōbelía). Athenian law stipulated that in some private law proceedings, the losing plaintiff had to pay a fine equivalent to a sixth of the sum in dispute ─ i.e. an   obolos to the drachma (hence epobelia) to the defendant for wilful litigation. The same applied to litigants who were unsuccessful in a   paragraphḗ or who lost an appeal against a   diamartyría , but in this instance only if they had not even succeeded in securing the support of one fifth of the judges' votes for their case (Isoc. Or. 18,12). Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography A. R. W. Harrison, The Law…

Kataballein

(46 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (καταβάλλειν; katabállein). Any method of making a monetary payment, or paying for other services. Plentiful evidence from public life in [1]. Payment of legal fees in IPArk 17,42 (=IG V 2,357). Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography 1 J. Oehler, s.v. K., RE 10, 2357f..

Antomosia

(95 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἀντωμοσία; antōmosía) was in Greece, in particular in Athens, an oath, which both parties had to make in the preliminary examination or in the main proceedings, probably a relic from archaic legal procedure. By means of the antomosia the truth of the plaint and the answer to the plaint was substantiated in advance. Therefore the name also extended to the pleas ( Antigraphe). The antomosia was not adopted by Plato (Leg. 948d). Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography A. R. W. Harrison, The Law of Athens I, 1971, 99 f. G. Thür, Greek Law, ed. by L. Foxhall, 1996, 63 f.

Kakourgoi

(134 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (κακοῦργοι; kakoûrgoi). Generally ‘malefactors’ but in Athens criminal offenders listed in a specific law: night thieves, thieves of clothing, kidnappers, burglars, and pickpockets. When they were caught in the act, anybody could take action against these mostly lower-class criminals through private arrests ( apagoge ), and could bring them before the Eleven ( Hendeka ). The latter immediately ordered the execution of the criminal if he confessed. Anybody who could plausibly deny the crime was brought before the co…

Epitropos

(765 words)

Author(s): Rathbone, Dominic (London) | Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
(ἐπίτροπος; epítropos). [German version] [1] Alongside a great number of other titles, this was the term generally used for a steward who supervised the management of an estate on behalf of the (generally absent) owner. The duties of an epitropos as well as the degree of independence in decision-making varied from case to case, but, as a rule, it was his duty to supervise the workforce, to purchase supplies required for the estate, to sell surplus agricultural produce, and to be accountable to the estate owner. For that reason, he ha…

Dekasmou graphe

(155 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (δεκασμοῦ γραφή; dekasmoû graphḗ). In Athens the charge of active corruption of judges (Dem. Or. 46,26; see also Poll. 8,42; Harpocr. s.v. Δ. γ.). It concerned the offering of inducements to the chairman of a court, a member of a jury committee, the council or the people's assembly in the context of a legal case before them, to manipulate or decide the case to the advantage or disadvantage of a participant. The offence of dekasmou graphe was more precise than that of passive corruption (  dṓrōn graphḗ ), to which bearers of office were exposed irr…

Dikastikos misthos

(308 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (δικαστικὸς μισθός; dikastikòs misthós). Daily payment for Athenian jurors from the mid 5th cent. BC (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 2,2). In early Athenian democracy the principle of democratic equality of all citizens applied. Increasing economic and social inequality resulted in only the economically independent citizens, i.e. the wealthy part of the population, being able to participate in courts while the less wealthy and poor citizens, especially the rural population, could not abandon the…

Loidoria

(67 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (λοιδορία; loidoría). Greek ‘invective’, originally perhaps ‘blasphemy’ (Pind. Ol. 9,37). Solon already made ‘speaking badly’ a punishable offence (fr. 32f. Ruschenbusch); in the 4th cent. BC this element of an offence included insult through the use of certain enumeratively listed words ( kakēgoría ). Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography R. W. Wallace, The Athenian Law against Slander, in: G. Thür (ed.), Symposion 1993, 1994, 109-124.

Hemiolion

(148 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἡμιόλιον; hēmiólion), literally ‘one and a half times’. Hemiolion refers to a supplementary charge of 50% of a monetary or goods service (calculated by multiplying the basic amount by one and a half). In the Hellenistic and Roman periods the hemiolion stereotypically appeared in the penalty clauses of private contracts as a fine for non-fulfilment (frequently in addition to interest), both in the papyri of Egypt and in the few documents extant elsewhere. The hemiolion had replaced the diploûn (διπλοῦν, double) of the older contractual clauses, as is well i…

Blood feud

(326 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz) | Schiemann, Gottfried (Tübingen)
[German version] A. Greek law According to the oldest Greek traditions, the relative of someone who had been killed had a religious duty to obtain revenge with the blood of the killer. As the polis grew stronger, in Athens at any rate from the time of  Dracon (7th cent. BC), the relatives were limited to judicial pursuit of the killer through a δίκη φόνου ( díkē phónou: action for homicide). Even in the Classical Period this remained a private action. In Dracon's time the blood feud (BF) could be brought to an end by payment of monetary compensation (ποινή, poinḗ: wergeld) if those seeking re…

Exhaireseos dike

(170 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐξαιρέσεως δίκη; ex(h)airéseōs díkē). In Athens, anyone who claimed that someone else was his slave needed no special authority in order to ‘lead away’ (ἄγειν, ágein) the person concerned. A third party could then intervene and ‘free’ (ἐξαιρεῖσθαι or ἀφαιρεῖσθαι εἰς ἐλευθερίαν, ex(h)aireîsthai / aphaireîsthai eis eleutherían; Aeschin. in Timarchum 62; Demosth. Or. 59,40; Lys. 23,9) the captive with an act of formalized violence. The captor then had to free the captive, although only on receipt of surety, and could then proceed against the third party arguing exhair…

Hypeuthynos

(93 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ὑπεύθυνος; hypeúthynos) is used in the penal provisions of Greek decrees to mean ‘liable, owing’ (context: payment of monetary fines, e.g. IPArk 11,37), in Athens specifically for ‘accountable’. Every Athenian holding an office had to submit to an accountability process when his term had expired (εὔθυναι,   eúthynai ) before the completion of which he could not leave the country or dispose of his assets. In the Egyptian papyri, hypeuthynos simply means ‘required to make payment’. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography A. R. W. Harrison, The Law of Athens 2, 1971, 208-211 I…

Timetai dikai

(211 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (τιμηταὶ δίκαι/ timētaì díkai). Legal processes at Athens which, having completed the ballot on the issue of conviction, had to undergo a further 'assessment procedure' ( timetos agon ). In private cases concerning money ( dike [2]), it was the rule, in public cases ( eisangelia , graphe [1]) the exception. Recorded as TD are: the dike epitropes ( epitropos [2]), dike klopes ( klope ), aikeias dike , exhaireseos dike , pseudomartyrion dike , lipomartyriou dike , kakotechnion dike , biaion dike , exoules dike , blabes dike ([4. 98 f.] assumes fixed …

Gortyn

(1,324 words)

Author(s): Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) | Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Christianity | Dark Ages | Grain Trade, Grain Import | Hellenistic states | Hellenistic states | Crete | Apollo | Limes | Macedonia, Macedones | Pompeius | Rome | Rome | Education / Culture [German version] I. Location One of the biggest and most important cities of Crete, in the Mesara plain on the river Lethaeus, between the villages of Agi Deka and Mitropolis, 16 km (Str. 10,4,7: 90 stadia) from the Libyan Sea, also transmitted as Gortyna and Gortyne. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) [German version] II. Historical development The earli…

Laographia, Laographos

(156 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (λαογραφία, λαογράφος; laographía, laográphos). From the Ptolemaic period onwards, censuses were conducted in Egypt ( laographíai: the people were ‘written down’). These took place from Augustus onwards on a 7-year cycle, and from Tiberius onwards every 14 years. In the Roman period, laographía also referred to the list compiled in the process of those liable for poll tax and the poll tax itself ( Taxes). Men between the ages of 14 and 60 were subject to it unless they were Roman citizens or citizens of privileged Greek p…

Amnestia

(252 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἀμνηστία; amnēstía). Legally established relinquishment of accusation, reopening of proceedings, execution of judgement and carrying out of punishment as means of reconciling the contending parties after internal or external wars. Plutarch (Mor. 814b) mentions the Athenian amnesty decree of 403 BC τὸ ψήφισμα τὸ τῆς ἀμνηστίας ἐπὶ τοῖς τριάκοντα, while Aristotle (Ath. Pol. 39,6) and the orators Andocides (1,90), Isocrates (18,3) and Aeschines (2,176; 3,208) use the original phrasing ‘not to think badly’, μὴ μνη…

Ekecheiria

(64 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐκεχειρία; ekecheiría). Technical term for ‘armistice’, ‘court rest’, and the ‘divine peace’ as agreed upon by Iphitus of Elis and Lycurgus of Sparta for the games in Olympia (Plut. Lycurgus 1,2; Paus. 5,20,1), claimed by the other great festival locations as well. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography StV II no. 185; III S. 414 (II A6)  L. Robert, Études Anatoliennes 2, 1937, 177ff.

Emporikai dikai

(109 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐμπορικαὶ δίκαι; emporikaì díkai). Commercial suits in Athens involving maritime imports and exports. Traders and shipowners were the parties but also foreigners and   métoikoi . The emporikai dikai could be brought on only in winter months when maritime traffic was resting. First they came under the jurisdiction of the nautodíkai, then the   eisagogeís and finally (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 59,5) under that of the   thesmothétai . Under the jurisdiction of the eisagogeís they had to be completed speedily within one month. Execution of the judgement was assu…

Enklema

(172 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἔγκλημα; énklēma). In general Greek usage ‘reproach’, in the laws of Athens ‘suit’ in civil trials, in the criminal law of Egyptian papyri ‘charge’. Before the law, which in Athens required written form for the court file (presumably 378/7 BC), the enklema was a verbal application to the head of the court (  dikastḗrion 3.) to open the trial, which included the name of the parties, the suit and, if provided, (in the   tímētos agṓn ), an estimate of the judgement sum. Written enklḗmata are preserved in Dem. Or. 37,22-32; 45,46, and imprecisely called   graphḗ

Prodosia

(172 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (προδοσία; prodosía). There is evidence of constant efforts to punish 'treason' ( prodosía) and 'high treason' ( katálysis toû dḗmou) in Athens. Prodosía is the infringement on the external security of the state, which could extend to the failure of recovering the corpses of the fallen or saving the shipwrecked (Battle of Arginusae, 406 BC; Xen. Hell. 1,7,22 and 32, where a law against temple-robbers and traitors is referred to). Later prodosía fell under the law on eisangelía , but often ad hoc decisions on prodosía were enacted (thus after the Battle of Chaero…

Apographe

(109 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἀπογραφή; apographḗ) was in Athens any written statement in respect of an authority, especially the submission of a list of goods to be confiscated by the state. Subsequently the application for confiscation of the listed stock and the whole confiscation process were also called apographe [1]. Trial by jury, normally presided over by the Eleven Men, was responsible for the proceedings. In Egypt apographe meant a written notice to a public authority on property or personal status as well as an entry in the public land registry [2]. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography 1 A. …

Codex Hermopolis

(329 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] This name has been given to a papyrus scroll of 2 m in length discovered by S. Gabra in Tuna-el-Gebel, which contains 10 columns of a legal text in the Demotic language. The text dates from the 1st half of the 3rd cent. BC, but individual regulations could reach back to the time of the pharaohs; in POxy 46,3285 two fragments of a Greek version have survived, dating to the 2nd half of the 2nd cent. AD. Viewed in today's terms, the content can be divided into four sections: 1. Land …

Hybris

(516 words)

Author(s): Heinze, Theodor (Geneva) | Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
(ὕβρις; hýbris). Ethical term for a behaviour that is deliberately dishonouring, including humiliating bodily infringements such as rape (authoritative definition: Aristotle Rh. 1378 b; Latin superbia). Etymologically, hybris is probably derived from Hittite huwap-: ‘to abuse’, the noun being * huwappar > * huppar [1]. Positive opposites:   aidṓs ,   díkē ,   eunomía ,   sōphrosýnē . [German version] I. General In early Greek literature, hybris appears within the much varied terminological chain of ólbos - kóros - hýbris - átē (‘wealth’ - ‘fullness’ - ‘arrogance’ - ‘ruin’; e.…

Kakogamion

(71 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (κακογάμιον; kakogámion, literally ‘marrying badly’) was a punishable offence in Sparta (Stob. 66,16), or ‘it appears’ (Plut. Lysander 30,7) to have been prosecuted through dike , although clearly this did not entail a private complaint as in agamíou díke . It is unknown what offences committed by the husband counted as kakogámion or what punishments were imposed. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography D. M. MacDowell, Spartan Law, 1986, 73f.

Aikeias dike

(101 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (αἰκείας δίκη; aikeías díkē). In Athens a private charge of assault and battery. It presupposed that the physical mistreatment had been perpetrated without intention of insult and that the defendant had attacked first (Demosth. 47,40; cf. PEnteuxeis 74; 79; PHalensis 1,115; 203 f.). The penalty, estimated by the plaintiff himself, was awarded to him if he succeeded in the proceedings. It was the only private action in Athens in which there were no court fees to pay. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography A. R. W. Harrison, The Law of Athens II, 1971, 93 f. G. Thür, Beweisf…

Andrapodistes

(132 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἀνδραποδιστής; andrapodistḗs). A person who made another person into a slave (ἀνδράποδον, andrápodon) was an andrapodistes (Aristoph. Equ. 1030; Lys. 10,10). The criminal act ἀνδραποδισμός ( andrapodismós) comprised two different criminal deeds. One consisted in that the perpetrator took possession of a free man by force or trickery (cf. for this Pl. Leg. 879a) to sell him into slavery (delict of freedom) and the other was directed against the owner of a slave and consisted in the theft of this slave for …

Asebeia

(112 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἀσέβεια; asébeia). The Greeks punished violations of the reverence due to the gods. Theft from temples ( Hierosylia) was subject to particular sanction; desecration and mockery of divine objects were together treated as asebeia. In Athens, as a political measure, accusations of asebeia for irreverence towards the state gods were particularly levelled against natural philosophers and sophists. Their project of explaining the world and putting in question all traditional assumptions seemed to threaten the order of the sta…

Engye

(340 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐγγύη; engýē). Surety or bail, later also termed   engýēsis . Its oldest form, the hostage surety, can be seen in Hom. Od. 8,266-366. Therefore, the engye was a guarantee in case the main debtor did not fulfil his duty of repayment. The security consisted of access to the hostage, the ἔγγυος ( éngyos), provided to the creditor. Like a pawn, he became the creditor's who proceeded on his own if the guaranteed success did not materialize, hence also the post-verbal expression engye from ἐγγυάω ( engyáō) ‘to hand over’ as pledge [1]. In classical Greek law there was a…

Epikrisis

(121 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐπίκρισις; epíkrisis). The term was unknown in Athens. Epicrisis was used in inscriptions as a judicial control on penalties imposed by the authorities (IPArk. 3, 19,50: Tegea; Syll.3 1075, 6: Epidaurus) or as an objective third party's assent to a settlement reached by the contesting parties [1. 190ff.]. The verb ἐπικρίνεσθαι ( epikrínesthai) is found in Hellenistic court language meaning ‘to resolve’ (Sherk 194f.), in IPArk. 31 B 22 meaning decernere ( decretum) of a Roman authority. In Roman Egypt epikrisis was the procedure for establishing membership o…

Agraphiou graphe

(157 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz) | Mannzmann, Anneliese (Münster)
[German version] (ἀγραφίου γραφή; agraphíou graphḗ). In Athens a written charge of ‘not writing down’ by a debtor (and therefore annulment of his debt), counted by Aristotle (Ath. Pol. 59,3) as one of the public actions which came into the area of competence of the thesmothetai. According to Demosthenes (58,51) these are state debtors who had carried out deletion of their names from the publicly drawn-up list, even though the debt had not been paid (Harpocration, dependent on Demosthenes, who also quotes Lycurgus and Pytheas as sources, al…

Hypallagma

(127 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ὑπάλλαγμα; Hypállagma). Literally ‘exchange’, a credit security law in Roman Egypt stipulated through contractual clauses. Unlike the   hypothḗkē , the H. guaranteed the creditor no proprietary rights over securities in the possession of the debtor, as a rule a piece of real estate, but only required the debtor to keep ready certain objects to satisfy the creditor by way of enforcement. Contracts contained no forfeiture clause, but the debtor, as with the hypothḗkē, was subject to certain restrictions in respect of disposal of the objects in his possession.  Debt Thür…

Katadike

(37 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (καταδίκη; katadíkē). Verdict of guilty from a trial by jury, including defined penalties, or fines imposed by the authorities (used synonymously with díkē ). Egyptian papyri also contractually established penances. Thür, Gerhard (Graz)

Nothos

(428 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (νόθος/ nóthos) designates, in all Greek legal systems, a free person who was born out of wedlock or into a marriage that was not legally recognised. In Homer (Hom. Il. 13,693; 2,726), sons of a free man and a slave could rise to become military leaders. According to Hom. Od. 14,208ff., the nóthos was entitled to a portion of property assets, like legitimate sons, in the distribution of the paternal legacy (cf. the νοθεία/ notheía, bequests to a nóthos, often even made while the testator was still alive; Harpocr. s.v.). According to IPArk 1,17, after the de…

Aeiphygia

(95 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἀειφυγία; aeiphygía). Permanent banishment; in Athens archaic punishment for φόνος ( phónos, homicide), τραῦμα ( traûma, bodily harm) and τυραννίς ( tyrannís), pronounced by the Areopagus as a ‘special court’ (not by the Heliaia in normal dikasteria). There was a family liability, so the living members of a house went into exile, the dead were torn from their graves and property was confiscated (Demosth. 21,43 on IG I3 104; 20,2. Plut. Sol. 12). Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography U. Kahrstedt, Staatsgebiet und Staatsangehörige in Athen, 1934, 97 ff. P. J. Rhodes, …

Phasis

(683 words)

Author(s): von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) | Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
(Φάσις; Phásis). [German version] [1] River in the southwestern Caucasus River in the southwestern Caucasus that flowed into the Pontos Euxeinos near Ph. [2], present-day Rioni. Its estuary shifted several times, resulting in the growth of the mainland (cf. Str. 1,3,7). An ocean bay at the estuary of the P. is mentioned by Ptol. 5,10,1. The P. is first mentioned by Hesiod (Hes. Theog. 337-344). It was navigable over a course of 180 stadia (Ps.-Scyl. 81). The river's upper course was a rapid mountain strea…

Politeuma

(125 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (πολίτευμα/ políteuma). As well as meaning 'government' and 'form or constitution of a state', politeuma denoted, particularly in the Seleucid kingdom and Ptolemaic Egypt, affiliations among compatriots, e.g. the minority populations of Macedonians, Greeks, Persians and Jews, who had some degree of self-government and independent jurisdiction. After the disappearance of the ethnic components, politeuma still denoted an elite of the privileged classes. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography M. Th. Lenger, Corpus des Ordonnances des Ptolémées, 21980, XVIIIf.  J.…

Ephesis

(261 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἔφεσις; éphesis). Derived from the verb ἐφίεσθαι ( ephíesthai, to turn to someone), in Athens ephesis denoted a series of legal actions in which a person turned to the competent authority for a decision after a provisional decision had been reached. One certainly cannot speak of a uniform institution comparable to today's ‘appeal’. Solon (around 600 BC) is said to have allowed the ephesis for decisions of the  archontes at the  Heliaea (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 9,1). In the classical period there was the ephesis to a   dikastḗrion against an   epibolḗ impo…

Diadikasia

(279 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (διαδικασία; diadikasía). In Athens a judicial procedure aimed at organizing the legal situation without plaintiffs and defendants. It was not introduced as part of the usual civil action (δίκη, díkē) and took place in two main groups of cases, namely in disputes in which two or more opponents asserted a better claim to a private or public right, or in those cases in which it was a matter of exemption from a duty under public law. In the first group the most common case involved a claim by several persons to a legacy in an inheritance dispute [1. 159ff.]. The object of the cla…

Palindikia

(270 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (παλινδικία; palindikía). 'Once more raising a legal action in the same matter', cf. anadikía and the underlying words (ἀνὰ/ anà and πάλιν δικάζειν/ pálin dikázein). The criticism levelled against advocates ( logográphos), to have obtained a palindikía through trickery (Plut. Demosthenes 61; Poll. 8,26), did not always have to take a rupturing of material legal power ( paragraphḗ ) into account, but could also relate to the fact that that a legal claim was prosecuted with a variety of actions, as was permissible in Ath…

Mesengyema

(95 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (μεσεγγύημα; mesengýēma), the ‘thing entrusted’: an item or money, which was entrusted jointly by several individuals to a third party. The mesengyema was then to be returned to one or to all depositors as agreed (Harpocr. s.v.). The procedure was suitable for safe-keeping during disputes, for stakes in bets and for secure keeping of documents (cf. Isocr. Or. 12,13; IG VII 3172,69: Boeotia; BGU 592 II 9 and Mitteis/Wilcken 88,13: both 2nd cent. AD; PAntinoopolis 35 II 14, 4th cent. AD: Egypt). Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography J. Partsch, Griechisches Bürgschaftsrec…

Epangelia

(114 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐπαγγελία; epangelía). In Athens the legally prescribed announcement of the submission of a   dokimasía against a speaker who put forward a motion in the public assembly. It could be submitted by any citizen against the applicant who had incriminated himself of an action that removed his right to speak, but who had not yet been convicted in court (Aeschin. In Tim. 28ff. 81). Epangelia means the announcement of a complaint against the obligor in the Egyptian papyri. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography A. R. W. Harrison, The Law of Athens II, 1971, 204 M. H. Hansen, The Athe…

Demeusis

(201 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (Δήμευσις; Dḗmeusis). Confiscation of assets by the state. 1. Demeusis is encountered in Greek criminal law together with capital punishment, lifelong exile or penalties for severe crimes but the term demeusis is not always used. Occasionally, demeusis occurred in Athens on its own (cf. Dem. Or. 47,44). Plato (Leg. 855a) radically rejected confiscation, apparently because of the injustice to innocent heirs [1]. The property was always confiscated for the benefit of the community even though the sum wholly or partial…

Katapontismos

(130 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (καταποντισμός; katapontismós). To throw into the sea - the killing of a person by drowning, or the cultic sinking of objects. If the sea was distant, the katapontismos could be performed at a river. Already in myth, katapontismos is attested as a special act of cruelty, or as a capital punishment with the mark of an ordeal (the gods could save the condemned) in cases when the right to a burial and death cult had been forfeited. In historical times, tyrants or cruel rulers were punished with katapontismos, although sometimes only their corpse or even their statue wa…

Xenias graphe

(360 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ξενίας γραφή; xenías graphḗ), literally a 'charge/claim of (the status of) foreigner'. Public action for arrogation of Athenian citizenship. A Greek polis was constituted as an association of persons; despite their right to personal freedom, outsiders ( xénoi ,  cf. [1. 1442-1447; 4. 18-27]) had no fundamental participation in family or citizen status, or in the protection of the law. The rights of  a citizen (πολίτης/ polítēs; presumably to be distinguished from an  ἀστός/ astós  [3. 49-78]) could be exercised in Athens only by somebody who had been…

Anakrisis

(134 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἀνάκρισις; anákrisis). After bringing an action the parties in the proceedings met in the anakrisis, a preliminary process before the magistrate of the court. Just like the official   diaita in Athens, this appointment was used for conciliation procedures or preparation for the main proceedings before the   dikasterion . In the anakrisis the parties were obliged to answer one another's questions. This part of the proceedings can be referred to as the ‘dialectic’, as opposed to the ‘rhetorical’ part of the main proceedings. All the…

Laokritai

(182 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (λαοκρίται; laokrítai). Authorized by the king in Ptolemaic Egypt, consisting in each case of three judges of Egyptian ethnic origin taken from the priestly class, before whom the Egyptians (λαός/ laós, the people) could resolve their civil law disputes according to their hereditary law and in the Demotic language. A building ( laokrísion) designated for the laokritai is attested from the Fayûm (PTebtunis 795,9; 2nd cent. BC). An official of Greek nationality ( eisagogeús ) appointed by the central administration acted as the chairman…

Kakotechnion dike

(119 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (κακοτεχνιῶν δίκη; kakotechniôn díkē). Action against ‘wheeling and dealing’, in Athens specifically against a legal opponent whose witness had been condemned for giving false testimony ( pseudomartyrias dike ) (Dem. Or. 47,1; 49,56). The proceedings were conducted by the same official who had also conducted the main trial. The person who had called the witness had to pay a fine to the plaintiff. Since, however, the plaintiff had usually already been awarded damages in the lawsuit, it is rather improbable that he was entitled to the kakotechnion dike without further…

Embateuein

(95 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἐμβατεύειν; embateúein). In Athens the seizure of immovable objects (even ships, Dem. Or. 33,6) by ‘stepping upon’ them, due to a claim of ownership (law of succession of the son of the house, right of distraint, court judgement). In Egyptian papyri ἐμβαδεία ( embadeía) signified official seizure as the third stage of compulsory acquisition in real estate matters.  Succession, law of Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography A. Kränzlein, Eigentum und Besitz im griech. Recht, 1963, 94ff.  A. R. W. Harrison, The Law of Athens I, 1968, 156; 272; 283  H.-A. Rupprecht, Einfüh…

Synchoresis

(101 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (συγχώρησις/ synchṓrēsis). No later than the end of the 1st cent. BC, the synchoresis had developed as a notarial legal document in Ptolemaic Egypt, originating from the voluntary jurisdiction of the chrematistai and a conciliation of parties in a dispute before the court of chrematistai. It was issued as a regular form of document by the katalogeîon in Alexandria [1] during the Roman period. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography S. Allam, Zum Aufkommen der notariellen Urkunde (Syngraphe und Synchoresis) im griechisch-römischen Ägypten, in: Studien zur…

Oikos

(1,354 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz) | Osborne, Robin (Oxford)
[German version] (οἶκος/ oîkos; “house, household”). The Greek terms oîkos and oikía (οἰκία) were often used synonymously; however, in Attic Greek, oîkos was generally no longer used to denote the house as a building, but for the household, while oikía as a rule meant the building. The work oîkos encompassed the entire possessions of the household as well as the family (although in Athenian law the term seems never to have been applied to the family). In Aristotle, the oîkos to which the married couple, their children and slaves belonged became the most important element o…

Atimetos agon

(88 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἀτίμητος ἀγών; atímētos agṓn). Primarily in Athens, a trial in which the accused could make no counterplea ( Antitimesis) regarding the severity of the penalty. After a guilty finding no further decision was necessary as to the degree of the punishment: the trial was ἀτίμητος, ‘beyond judgement’. The severity of the penalty was already established by the relevant law: in public trials for serious offences it often entailed death or banishment. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography A. R. W. Harrison, The Law of Athens II, 1971, 81f.

Pseudomartyrion dike

(513 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ψευδομαρτυριῶν δίκη; pseudomartyriôn díkē), recorded in several Greek legal systems as an 'action for perjury'. Only a person was liable to such an action who had confirmed (generally not on oath) a pre-formulated statement of a litigant before a court ( martyría ), but not one who had denied knowledge of something out of court ( exōmosía ). The opponent in the case was entitled to undertake this private action ( díkē ); the respondent found guilty or the unsuccessful plaintiff in the original trial demanded a financial penalty proportionate to the damages ( blábēs díkē

Horoi

(269 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ὅροι; hóroi). Boundary stones marking the boundaries (also called horoi) of political territories, temple districts and properties, public places and private land throughout the entire Greek world. They bore only the inscription hóros, sometimes with more precise additions, and were under the protection of Zeus Horios. Following inter-state arbitration in border disputes [4] and revision of leased temple land [8], commissions of ὁρισταί ( horistaí) often appeared to set the horoi in the site. As the Greek poleis did not have a  land register, horoi also function…

Hierosylia

(114 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἱεροσυλία; hierosylía). In many Greek poleis ‘temple robbery’, removal from a sanctuary of objects consecrated to gods, which has been very broadly construed (e.g. also embezzlement of silver in state minting of coins, Syll.3 530, Dyme in Achaea, soon after 190 BC. [2]). In Athens hierosylia was probably prosecuted in the 5th cent. by   eisangelía , later by a coming under the jurisdiction of the  thesmothetai ἱεροσυλίας γραφή ( hierosylías graphḗ), involving the threat of the death penalty with denial of burial in Attica and financial ruin. Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibli…

Apeniautismos

(86 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (ἀπενιαυτισμός; apeniautismós). Absence for a year, penalty of exile, usually for one year, for certain crimes or misdemeanours, in particular manslaughter by criminal negligence (Bekker anecdota 421,20; Suda), which, pronounced by the court, could be in force as φυγή ( phygḗ) for a fixed time, if it was not taken in the strict legal sense, but as a pseudo- phyge (suspension of citizens' rights and duties and automatic reinstatement at the end of the term). Thür, Gerhard (Graz) Bibliography D. M. MacDowell, Athenian Homicide Law, 1963, 122 f.

Katenechyrasia

(226 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (κατενεχυρασία; katenechyrasía). Derived from ‘security’ (ἐνέχυρον/ enéchyron, Hypotheke [1] A). The compulsory execution usually carried out privately by the creditor was called katenechyrasia, but more frequently enechyrasía . The most common term, however, was prā́xis (in rare cases eisprā́xis ). In Greece, execution always meant the confiscation and sale of different pieces of the debtor's property, never the entire estate, but (especially in Egypt) it could include the person as well. While the creditor had to proceed privately in the poleis, in Egypt it…

Phyge

(164 words)

Author(s): Thür, Gerhard (Graz)
[German version] (φυγή; phygḗ). Literally 'flight' out of the legal community because of the threat of blood feud, which leads to the condition of 'banishment'. Dracon already intended it for homicide in Athens (end of 7th cent. BC; IG I3 104,11). Later in Greek law it was often tolerated in place of the death sentence (Dem. Or. 23,69) or imposed as a sanction for political crimes, either lifelong ( aeiphygía ) or for set periods of time ( apeniautismós ), in the case of ostrakismos for 10 years; it could be recalled by a popular decision or aídesis (agreement of penance…
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