2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Between Vengeance and Punishment A study of public prosecution in Classical Athens
| Project/Area Number |
15520470
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
History of Europe and America
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| Research Institution | Osaka University (2004-2005)
Nara University (2003) |
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Principal Investigator |
KURIHARA Asako Osaka University, Graduate School of Letters, Associate Professor, 大学院・文学研究科, 助教授 (00289125)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
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| Keywords | Philia / Vengeance / Law / Athens |
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| Research Abstract |
Public prosecution in Classical Athens was according to the tradition introduced by the legal reformer Solon. The characteristic of the system was its heavy reliance on volunteer prosecutors. Volunteer prosecutors were often suspected of abusing the public punishment for private purposes, however, and here appears a strong tendency among the Athenians to distinguish between public and private sphere.
Nevertheless, when the legal public vengeance was originally institutionalized, the supposed targets were the damages against certain private individuals within the community. So far as it concerned the damaged individuals, it is difficult to dismiss the private aspects in the use of public suits.
Interestingly, the very term that denotes the private vengeance could be applied to the public punishment : timoria. I have argued that, when applied to pubic prosecutions, the term has not changed into rationalized and abstract legal punishment. Analyzing the use of the term in the forensic speeches and the Demosthenic "Against Meidias" particularly, I arrived at the following conclusions. Firstly, even in the 4^<th> century, public punishment still relied on the enlargement of private feeling of vengeance as Solon did. We can find the spirit of shared vengeance for public offence in the lawcourt speeches in the 4^<th> century. Secondly, a volunteer prosecutor could legitimize his commitment in two different ways : one as a private citizen who has personal concern with the offense, and the other as a citizen who has official concern with the offense. The latter way of commitment could be the safer way to avoid the reproach as sycophantes. Thirdly, Demosthenes distinguished between public suits for the damaged within community and the others concerning the polis government. This reflect his awareness of civic community distinct from the polis-state.
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[Journal Article] "Quiet Athenian" and Civic Identity2004
Author(s)
Asako Kurihara
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Journal Title
Material Culture, Mentality and Historical Identity in the Ancient World Understanding the Celts, Greeks, Romans and the Modern Europeans, Kyoto(Takashi Minamikawa(ed.))
Pages: 3-8
Description
「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
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[Journal Article] "Quiet Athenian"and Civic Identity2004
Author(s)
Asako Kurihara
-
Journal Title
Material Culture, Mentality and Historical Identity in the Ancient World : Understanding the Celts, Greeks, Romans and the Modern Europeans, Kyoto(Takashi Minamikawa (ed.))
Pages: 3-8
Description
「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
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