26 - Violence, Law and Community in Classical Athens

Summary

This chapter explores the role of violence in classical Athens and its relationship to Greek society and politics from the later archaic age to the classical period. It focuses closely on both Athenian democracy and Athenian law, especially in the literature and forensic speeches. It begins by analysing the changing relationship of the state to the individual alongside the declining place of violent retribution in solving what increasingly became legal disputes. It then moves on to assess the significance of Athenian law and the role of the law courts in meditating violent encounters. Finally, the chapter examines the role of violence in Athenian politics in the fifth century BCE, especially with regards to the oligarchic revolutions at the end of the Peloponnesian War.