First-Year Seminar: Power and Persuasion: The Courts and Laws of Ancient Athens

3 units

In ancient Athens, each citizen had the power to prosecute others for wrongs committed not only against him but also against society as a whole. Each citizen defended himself without aid of lawyers and judges. This system depended upon an intensely democratic structure of jury courts and laws and upon the development of rhetoric as an artful speech by which to persuade fellow citizens to find one way or the other. Nearly 100 speeches survive from the Athenian courts. and they provide a remarkable window into Athenian society, politics, and law. In addition to reading translations of many of these speeches, we will examine the physical setting of Athenian courts and explore the manner in which this legal system was integral to Athens' democracy.