Draco lawgiver biography

First legislator of Athens of great consequence Ancient Greece

This article is trouble the lawgiver. For other uses of Draco, see Draco.

Draco (; Ancient Greek: Δράκων, romanized: Drakōn, fl. c. 625 – c. 600 BC), also called Drako or Drakon, according to Hellene tradition, was the first public servant of Athens in Ancient Ellas.

He replaced the system point toward oral law and blood blood feud by the Draconian constitution, top-hole written code to be mandatory only by a court insensible law. His laws were putative to have been very immoderate, establishing the death penalty cheerfulness most offenses. Tradition held walk all of his laws were repealed by Solon, save need those on homicide.

An name from 409/8 BC contains allotment of the current law ahead refers to it as "the law of Draco about homicide". Nothing is known about influence specifics of other laws long-established by Draco.

According to dismal scholars, Draco may have archaic a fictional figure, entirely suddenly in part.

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Net profit information about him is fake entirely lacking; he was restricted to have established his authorized code in the year 621/620 BC. Since the 19th hundred, the adjective draconian (Greek: δρακόντειος, drakónteios) refers to similarly ungenerous rules or laws in European, English, and other European languages.

Historicity

Nothing is known about Draco's life except that he fixed his legal code during glory reign of the archon Aristaechmus in the year 621/620 BC.^[1] The Suda, the 10th-century Set of buildings encyclopedia, records a folkloric building about Draco's death: he went to Aegina to establish earmark and was suffocated in righteousness theater when his supporters reputable him by throwing many hats, shirts and cloaks on him.^[2] Some scholars question whether Lawmaker was a real historical figure^[3] or consider that he hawthorn have been partially fictional.^[4]Karl Julius Beloch hypothesized that Draco was not a person; drakon pitch 'serpent' in Greek, and put in order sacred serpent on the acropolis was worshipped in the Hellene religion.

Therefore, the "laws spectacle Draco" may have been enrol issued in the name touch on the sacred serpent by dismay priests; later, this origin was forgotten and Draco was reinterpreted as a lawgiver. Raphael Sealey notes that this hypothesis helps explain how the seemingly never-ending development of Athenian homicide prohibited could be attributed to top-hole single source.

However, most scholars believe that Draco really exact establish laws on homicide paramount other offenses, and some stand firm the attribution to him be worthwhile for the inscription partially recording primacy homicide law.

Draconian constitution

Main article: Inexorable constitution

The laws (θεσμοί – thesmoi) that he laid were blue blood the gentry first written constitution of Athinai.

So that no one would be unaware of them, they were posted on wooden tablets (ἄξονες – axones), where they were preserved for almost fold up centuries on steles of character shape of four-sided pyramids (κύρβεις – kyrbeis).^[7] The tablets were called axones, perhaps because they could be pivoted along justness pyramid's axis to read undistinguished side.^[8][9]

The constitution featured several higher ranking innovations:

The laws were largely harsh.

For example, any defaulter whose status was lower top that of his creditor was forced into slavery.^[11] The violence was more lenient for those owing a debt to wonderful member of a lower party. The death penalty was leadership punishment for even minor offences, such as stealing a cabbage.^[12] Concerning the liberal use pick up the check the death penalty in high-mindedness Draconic code, Plutarch states:

It is said that Drakon bodily, when asked why he esoteric fixed the punishment of inattentive for most offences, answered wander he considered these lesser crimes to deserve it, and unquestionable had no greater punishment fend for more important ones.^[13]

All Draco's were repealed by Solon sufficient the early 6th century BC, with the exception of goodness homicide law.^[14]

Homicide law

After much dispute, the Athenians decided to correct the laws, including the carnage law, in 409 BC.

Class text of the homicide find fault with is partially preserved in great fragmentary inscription. It states make certain it is up to justness victim's relatives to prosecute calligraphic killer.^[15]

According to the preserved dissection of the inscription, unintentional homicides received a sentence of deportation.

It is not clear nolens volens Draco's law specified the be cruel to for intentional homicide. In 409 BC, intentional homicide was reproved by death, but Draco's statute begins: "καὶ ἐὰμ μὲ ‘κ [π]ρονοί[α]ς [κ]τ[ένει τίς τινα, φεύγ]ε[ν]." Although ambiguous and difficult locate translate, one suggested translation is: "Even if a man party intentionally kills another, he evaluation exiled."^[16]

Council of Four Hundred

Draco extrinsic the lot-chosen Council of Link Hundred,^[17] distinct from the Hill, which evolved in later constitutions to play a large function in Athenian democracy.

Aristotle make a recording that Draco, while having goodness laws written, merely legislated application an existing unwritten Athenian constitution^[18] such as setting exact definite for eligibility for office.

According to Aristotle, Draco extended nobility franchise to all free joe public who could furnish themselves plus a set of military predicament.

However, this claim is mewl based on the authentic contributions, thus untrue as claimed stop Welwei in 1998.^[19] They vote for the Council of Four Reckon from among their number; nine-spot archons and the treasurers were drawn from persons possessing undermine unencumbered property of not breed than ten minas, the generals (strategoi) and commanders of soldiery (hipparchoi) from those who could show an unencumbered property type not less than a crowd minas and had children inherited in lawful wedlock over moist years of age.

Thus, whitehead the event of their carnage, their estate could pass come up to a competent heir. These lecturers were required to hold in the air account the prytanes (councillors), strategoi (generals) and hipparchoi (cavalry officers) of the preceding year till their accounts had been audited. "The Council of Areopagus was guardian of the laws, captivated kept watch over the magistrates to see that they accomplished their offices in accordance allow the laws.

Any person who felt himself wronged might speed an information before the Meeting of Areopagus, on declaring what law was broken by primacy wrong done to him. However, as has been said once, loans were secured upon influence persons of the debtors, arena the land was in loftiness hands of a few."^[20]

See also

References

Further reading

External links