Were Draco’s laws particularly “draconian” at the time they were enacted?
score:4
In tradition, yes, in contemporary times likely no
First of all, we must establish that the original text of Draconian constitution is lost to us. All we have are some fragments and anecdotal evidence of them being very severe as mentioned by Aristotle, Plutarch and others. What did remain of them in later Athenian laws (like Solonian constitution) are parts about killing specifically. In fact, as we can see, they were republished at a later date. Interestingly enough, they do not appear to be so harsh - punishment for killing without forethought was not death but exile, and the killer himself had certain protection under the law. About the person of Draco himself we also have very little knowledge. Except being Athenian and most likely noble, everything else is a matter of legends, even the manner of his death.
What we do know with some certainty is that Draco's laws were used as a sort of bogeyman by latter lawgivers. Something like, if you complain about harshness and inequality under the law, you would be reminded that our elders endured even harsher laws. The Solonian constitution is remembered as the one replacing Draco's laws, and although again we do have only fragments of it, it is supposed to be more lenient. Note that ancient writers like Aristotle use Draco as a symbol of severity, and do that as already established fact. This show that the tradition about Draco's draconian laws already existed a few hundred years after his death (Draco supposedly lived 650-600 BC, Aristotle 384–322 BC, Solon 630–560 BC). This also establishes that Draconian laws in their original form didn't last long.
This now leaves us with the question, why did Athenians even accepted such harsh laws? When we dig a little deeper, and of course if we accept that such laws actually existed outside of legends, we conclude that the severity of the law was aimed at lower classes. Supposed death penalty for stealing cabbage, but would a noble steal cabbage? Debtor forced into slavery, but only if of a lower status then creditor. On the other hand, the killing of a low status person could be deemed "accidental" and end in exile (even that could be later solved by "reconciliation" or pardon by ten members of the phratry ) . If Draco's laws ever existed, they were likely a codification of exiting practice with established inequality, rather then something new and revolutionary. As such, they only became draconian when Athenian society started moving towards democracy, and that did start in the time of Solon.
More post
- 📝 What was the reason for Gandhi's visit to Africa
- 📝 Did the Arab League create a Joint Defense Council and a Permanent Military Commission?
- 📝 What's the origin of differentiating between civilians' and soldiers' "rights" in war?
- 📝 Was Antarctica a factor in the Falklands war?
- 📝 How and why did the Cavalry lance temporarily fall out of favour during the 16-18th centuries?
- 📝 Why did Paul von Hindenburg wrongly call Adolf Hitler "Bohemian corporal"?
- 📝 Prior to 1963 did a British nobleman ever disclaim or renounce his title? What would have happened if someone had tried?
- 📝 Was knowledge derived from the scientific method required to build commercial steam engines?
- 📝 Is there anything to back up Mearsheimer's claims that Roosevelt pushed the Japanese to attack the United States and tried to get the US into WW2?
- 📝 How many RAF and USAAF/USAF airfields were built in the UK between the mid-1930s and 1960?
- 📝 Was there any separation between hunting bow technology and weapon bows?
- 📝 Why did towns became ghost towns after the mines dried up?
- 📝 Was there really a labor shortage in the USA until 1970?
- 📝 Is that true that somebody was punished by the Catholic Church for believing that a fly had six feet?
- 📝 Is there a database of ancient/current names of cities?
- 📝 Does the long dense habitation and cultivation of lands correlate with a high incidence of tetanus and gangrene in badly disinfected wounds?
- 📝 What's the Ancient Egyptian phrase/word for “Royal Road of Life”? And how would it have been spelt?
- 📝 How did commoner children address commoner adults in the middle ages?
- 📝 Are there records of any American slave owner treat their slave well?
- 📝 Is Bulgaria the only country in modern history to have gained territory after being on the losing side of a war?
- 📝 Why did the Soviets not shoot down US spy satellites during the Cold War?
- 📝 Did any country threaten war on the US because they didn't pay their debt after the Revolutionary War?
- 📝 Why did the UK Parliament sit on Saturday 30 July 1949?
- 📝 Where are the relics of Anthony the Great?
- 📝 How did attitudes of German citizens toward Hitler and the Nazi Party change over the course of the pre-war and the post-war periods?
- 📝 How many recorded incidents are there of attacks on Australian soil?
- 📝 Did medieval people wear collars with a castellated hem?
- 📝 Why did Robert E. Lee stop offensive maneuvers?
- 📝 Why did so many Saxons emigrate to England?
- 📝 Is there evidence of extensive Viking presence in North America?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Were Draco’s laws particularly “draconian” at the time they were enacted?
- 📝 When did the Romans finally acknowledge that they were living in an empire?
- 📝 Were there any drunk driving laws before the automobile?
- 📝 Were there ethnic Russians in Alaska when the US purchased it 1867? Did they stay?
- 📝 What were the Allies' plans if they caught Hitler alive?
- 📝 What East German laws and regulations were extended to the West after unification?
- 📝 Is there any documentation that indicates the Aztecs were as violent as they are made out?
- 📝 Why did the German air force lose experienced pilots faster than the Allies, even though they were defending their home airspace?
- 📝 Were bookshops 'common' in the late 19th century, and how did they differ from modern ones?
- 📝 Was it not clear to the WWI allies that they were over-reaching with the treaty of Sevres?
- 📝 How many pens were used by MacArthur to end the final chapter of World War II and where are they now?
- 📝 How were the Morisco refugees from Europe received in North Africa, given that they were foreigners and Christian?
- 📝 At the time of Sputnik, what kind of radios were common in the Soviet Union?
- 📝 Did Spain and the Republic of China (Kuomintang) have diplomatic relations between 1931 and 1939? Were they friendly or unfriendly?
- 📝 Did the Russian Empire have a claim to Sweden? Was there ever a time where they could have pursued it?
- 📝 What were the Government Press Prosecutions of 1858 and why did they occur?
- 📝 Around the time of Columbus, were there other failed attempts?
- 📝 Were the Islamic Caliphates (Umayyad and Abbasid) and the Mongol Empires truly as benevolent as they are portrayed?
- 📝 What universities existed in Dutch East Indies, and how available were they to the native population?
- 📝 Were there moves to make anti-miscegenation laws apply to Jews in the USA?
- 📝 Were there any well-established land trade routes in the US colonies around 1700? What did they look like?
- 📝 Were there bows employed by tribes living in the desert, and if so, what were they made of?
- 📝 What were the limitations on possession of wealth in Soviet Russia and how were they enforced?
- 📝 When were the heresy laws abolished in England?
- 📝 How were laws promulgated in the Middle Ages?
- 📝 Was the Seven Years’ War the first time dogs were used to carry messages?
- 📝 When was the last time there were border controls, customs, or border patrols inside what is now the contiguous US?
- 📝 When were both minuscule and majuscule letters used for the first time in the same Latin manuscript?
- 📝 Were the Quebecois ever considered higher-class because they spoke French?
- 📝 Did the people who initiated the trans-Atlantic slave trade think they were doing something new?
