Chapters 6 and 7 are devoted to the written laws and public documents of Gortyn of the fifth century. Chapter 6 («Writing Laws in Fifth-Century Gortyn») examines the structural and stylistic features of certain fifth-century laws and decrees, while Chapter 7 («Writing the Gortyn Code») examines the structure and organization of the so-called Gortyn Law Code (= GLC). In Chapter 6 on written laws and decrees other than the GLC, Gagarin shows the ability of fifth-century Gortynian legislators to organize and present laws in a clear and coherent manner. Furthermore, the author repeatedly points out that the documents in question were in all likelihood issued by citizens and were easily accessible and widely disseminated by most members of the community. There is little doubt that the written Gortyn laws were practical and functional texts (especially in relation to some Middle Eastern laws) intended to provide guidance on dispute settlement in the context of the civil legal system. However, the extent and ease with which an average Gortynian without much prior legal experience could make use of civil rights can easily be overstated. The frequent cross-references to «what is written» in some laws, which have also been studied by Gagarin, underscore the practical difficulties of accessibility, at the very least, in a city with hundreds of laws and legal inscriptions. How easily could a citizen, who is largely inexperienced in legal matters, find and use the inscription with the legal provision relevant to his case when referring to «what is written»? The role of the Mnamones has been crucial in promoting the accessibility and usefulness of written legislation. A typical example is the GLC, the longest surviving Greek inscription. Was this extensive set of substantive and procedural rules accessible to the Gortynians? In Chapter Ten, Gagarin cites his physical appearance and internal organization as evidence that the GLC was primarily a practical document to guide disputes. In this regard, the GLC and other archaic and early classical Greek laws stand in stark contrast to the legal texts of the ancient Near East (e.g., the Hammurabi Code, which Gagarin discusses at length to highlight its qualitative differences from the GLC) and even to medieval and modern legal systems. Gagarin also suggests that «an individual legislator most likely drafted the full text of GC, relying on previous laws and customs, the results of previous litigation, including his own sense of fairness, reasonableness and practicality» (p.
170). Solon`s third great contribution to the future well-being of Athens was his new code of law. The first code written in Athens, that of Draco (circa 621 BC), was still in force. Draco`s laws were outrageously strict (hence the term draconian) – so strict that they would have been written not in ink, but in blood. On the civilian side, they allowed slavery for debts, and death seems to have been the punishment for almost every crime. Solon revised all laws except the murder law and made Athenian law more humane. Its code, although supplemented and modified, remained the basis of Athenian law until the end of the 5th century, and parts of it were incorporated into the new codification made at that time. However, when Rome fought Macedonia in 200, the Athenians abolished the first two new tribes and created a twelfth tribe in honor of King Pergmen. The Athenians declared themselves Rome, and in 146 BC Athens became an autonomous civitas foederata, capable of managing internal affairs. This allowed Athens to practice forms of democracy, although Rome ensured that the constitution strengthened the city`s aristocracy. [22] Whether democratic failure is to be seen as systemic or a product of the extreme conditions of the Peloponnesian War, there seems to have been a step towards correction. [81] A new version of democracy was established in 403 BC.
AD, but can be associated with earlier and later reforms (graphē paranómōn 416 BC; End of assembly attempts 355 BC). For example, the nomothesia system was introduced. It is well documented that since the seventh century BC. A.D., writing was used to record legislation in parts of archaic Greece. But is there evidence of the use of writing in other aspects of the legal systems of archaic Greek communities? In Chapter 5 («Oral and Written in Archaic Greek Law»), Gagarin asks the question and examines the evidence for the filing of written charges (graphai) in Athens, a trial that could go back to Solon.