Law, Violence, and Community in Classical Athens (Key Themes in Ancient History)

By David Cohen

Book Overview

The theme of this book is the legal regulation of violence and the role of litigation in Athenian society. Using comparative anthropological and historical perspectives, David Cohen challenges traditional evolutionary and functionalist accounts of the development of legal process. Examining Athenian theories of social conflict and the rule of law, as well as actual litigation involving the regulation of violence, he emphasises the way in which the judicial process operates in an agonistic social field. This perspective illuminates the social dimensions of litigation and the legal regulation of violence, and helps to explain otherwise puzzling features of Athenian litigation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521388376
• ISBN13: 9780521388375
• Release Date: October 1995
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An Important book

An important book for those attempting to understand ancient culture. Cohen uses insights from classical law and anthropological data that helps one to better understand the nature of legal proceedings in ancient Greece. A must for any Classics or Biblical studies student.