Book contents
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- The Cambridge History of Violence
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Contributors to Volume i
- General Introduction: Violence in World History
- Introduction to Volume I
- Part I The Origins of Conflict
- Part II Prehistoric and Ancient Warfare
- Part III Intimate and Collective Violence
- Part IV Religion, Ritual and Violence
- Part V Violence, Crime and the State
- 26 Violence, Law and Community in Classical Athens
- 27 Roman Violence: Attitudes and Practice
- 28 Suicide and Martyrdom among Christians and Jews
- Part VI Representations and Constructions of Violence
- Index
- References
26 - Violence, Law and Community in Classical Athens
from Part V - Violence, Crime and the State
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 March 2020
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- The Cambridge History of Violence
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Contributors to Volume i
- General Introduction: Violence in World History
- Introduction to Volume I
- Part I The Origins of Conflict
- Part II Prehistoric and Ancient Warfare
- Part III Intimate and Collective Violence
- Part IV Religion, Ritual and Violence
- Part V Violence, Crime and the State
- 26 Violence, Law and Community in Classical Athens
- 27 Roman Violence: Attitudes and Practice
- 28 Suicide and Martyrdom among Christians and Jews
- Part VI Representations and Constructions of Violence
- Index
- References
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.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge World History of Violence , pp. 533 - 549Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020