Disputes and Democracy

The Consequences of Litigation in Ancient Athens

Nonfiction, History, Ancient History, Greece
Cover of the book Disputes and Democracy by Steven Johnstone, University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Steven Johnstone ISBN: 9780292788558
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: July 5, 2010
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author: Steven Johnstone
ISBN: 9780292788558
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: July 5, 2010
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English

Athenians performed democracy daily in their law courts. Without lawyers or judges, private citizens, acting as accusers and defendants, argued their own cases directly to juries composed typically of 201 to 501 jurors, who voted on a verdict without deliberation. This legal system strengthened and perpetuated democracy as Athenians understood it, for it emphasized the ideological equality of all (male) citizens and the hierarchy that placed them above women, children, and slaves. This study uses Athenian court speeches to trace the consequences for both disputants and society of individuals' decisions to turn their quarrels into legal cases. Steven Johnstone describes the rhetorical strategies that prosecutors and defendants used to persuade juries and shows how these strategies reveal both the problems and the possibilities of language in the Athenian courts. He argues that Athenian "law" had no objective existence outside the courts and was, therefore, itself inherently rhetorical. This daring new interpretation advances an understanding of Athenian democracy that is not narrowly political, but rather links power to the practices of a particular institution.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Athenians performed democracy daily in their law courts. Without lawyers or judges, private citizens, acting as accusers and defendants, argued their own cases directly to juries composed typically of 201 to 501 jurors, who voted on a verdict without deliberation. This legal system strengthened and perpetuated democracy as Athenians understood it, for it emphasized the ideological equality of all (male) citizens and the hierarchy that placed them above women, children, and slaves. This study uses Athenian court speeches to trace the consequences for both disputants and society of individuals' decisions to turn their quarrels into legal cases. Steven Johnstone describes the rhetorical strategies that prosecutors and defendants used to persuade juries and shows how these strategies reveal both the problems and the possibilities of language in the Athenian courts. He argues that Athenian "law" had no objective existence outside the courts and was, therefore, itself inherently rhetorical. This daring new interpretation advances an understanding of Athenian democracy that is not narrowly political, but rather links power to the practices of a particular institution.

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book Surviving in Two Worlds by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book Case Marking and Grammatical Relations in Polynesian by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book Endangered and Threatened Animals of Florida and Their Habitats by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book Now More Than Ever by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book Cinema and Social Change in Latin America by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book After San Jacinto by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book Amazon Sweet Sea by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book And Let the Earth Tremble at Its Centers by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book Banana Cultures by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book Intercultural Communication by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book Relatos y relaciones de Hispanoamérica colonial by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book The American Idea of Home by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book Now You Hear My Horn by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book The Bow and the Lyre by Steven Johnstone
Cover of the book Boss Rule in South Texas by Steven Johnstone
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy