Hauptseminar Alte Geschichte: Von der Selbsthilfe zum Normenkontrollverfahren. Rechtskultur im Antiken Athen
Instructors: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas BlankShortname: HS.Aufbaumodul
Course No.: 07.068.270a
Course Type: Hauptseminar
Digital teaching
The advances seminar is classroom-based. LMS/Moodle is used primarily to provide course-material.Recommended reading list
- Hans Beck/Kaja Harter-Uibopuu (Hgg. 2025) Ancient Greek Law. Vectors of Unity and Idiosyncrasy. Köln/Weimar/Wien (Einheit und Vielfalt im Recht 4).
- Chris Carey (Hg. 2019) The Use and abuse of Law in the Athenian courts. Leiden.
- Paula Perlman (Hg. 2018/2021) Ancient Greek law in the 21st century. Austin: TX.
- Adriaan Lanni (2006) Law and justice in the courts of classical Athens. Cambridge.
- Michael Gagarin (Hg. 2005) The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek Law. Cambridge.
- Edward Harris (Hg. 2004) The Law and the Courts in Ancient Greece. London.
Contents
While the fundamental position of Roman law in modern European legal cultures is still widely known today and forms part of legal training, the study of the legal system of the Greek world remains – perhaps unjustly – almost exclusively the preserve of historical scholarship. One reason for this is obvious: it was the late antique Roman Corpora that had a direct impact on legal systems throughout the Middle Ages and early modern period and into the modern era – the Ancient Greek world does simply not provide any legal corpora or literature comparable to that of Rome.Nevertheless, there are numerous sources from archaic and classical Greece that can shed light on relevant questions such as the unity of Greek law or the position and diachronic development of law and jurisdiction in the socio-political system. The tradition is particularly rich for ancient Athens, from which, in addition to epigraphic and archaeological evidence and antiquarian literature, a corpus of dozens of court pleadings from (mainly) the 4th century BC has been handed down, providing an incomparable insight into the concrete legal practice of the Athenian civil courts.
In this advanced seminar, we will examine the gradual development of the Athenian legal system, in which civic legal decisions gradually led to the restriction of the private/ritualised exercise of 'justice', as well as the complex relationship between law, morality and politics, which is reflected in specific court cases and can be analysed on the basis of surviving speeches.
Additional information
Propaedeutic knowledge of the period is required. This also applies to the required language skills.Dates
| Date (Day of the week) | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 04/13/2026 (Monday) | 10:15 - 11:45 | 01 411 P101 1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude |
| 04/20/2026 (Monday) | 10:15 - 11:45 | 01 411 P101 1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude |
| 04/27/2026 (Monday) | 10:15 - 11:45 | 01 411 P101 1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude |
| 05/04/2026 (Monday) | 10:15 - 11:45 | 01 411 P101 1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude |
| 05/11/2026 (Monday) | 10:15 - 11:45 | 01 411 P101 1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude |
| 05/18/2026 (Monday) | 10:15 - 11:45 | 01 411 P101 1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude |
| 06/01/2026 (Monday) | 10:15 - 11:45 | 01 411 P101 1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude |
| 06/08/2026 (Monday) | 10:15 - 11:45 | 01 411 P101 1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude |
| 06/15/2026 (Monday) | 10:15 - 11:45 | 01 411 P101 1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude |
| 06/22/2026 (Monday) | 10:15 - 11:45 | 01 411 P101 1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude |
| 06/29/2026 (Monday) | 10:15 - 11:45 | 01 411 P101 1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude |
| 07/06/2026 (Monday) | 10:15 - 11:45 | 01 411 P101 1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude |
