Early Greek Law
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Introduction: Law In Human Society
The recognition that law is a basic feature of human society distinguishing men from animals is at least as old as the Greek poet Hesiod, who says in the Works and Days (lines 276-80): "Zeus established the following way of life [nomos ] for men: whereas for fish and beasts and winged birds it is the custom to eat one another, since there is no law [dike ] among them, to men he gave law, which is by far the best thing."1 In the following chapters I shall explore how law came into existence in ancient Greece, where the rule of law was one of the most important creations of the newly developing polis, or city-state. Before examining the emergence of law during the archaic period, however, it may be helpful to clarify what I mean by "law." The following remarks are not intended to serve as a general introduction to legal theory or legal anthropology.2 They are simply an attempt to clarify my own thinking on certain issues that will arise in subsequent chapters.
In seeking to delineate precisely the boundaries of law in a society, we may begin with the useful ( ... read full excerpt from Early Greek Law ebook
