Gortyn code

studying the code The Gortyn code (also called the Great Code ) was a legal code that was the codification of the civil law of the ancient Greek city-state of Gortyn in southern Crete.

studying the code]] The Gortyn code (also called the Great Code ) was a legal code that was the codification of the civil law of the ancient Greek city-state of Gortyn in southern Crete. ==Content== The code deals with such matters as disputed ownership of slaves, rape and adultery, the rights of a wife when divorced or a widow, the custody of children born after divorce, inheritance, sale and mortgaging of property, ransom, children of mixed (slave, free and foreign) marriages and adoption. The code makes legal distinctions between different social classes. Free, serf, slave and foreigner social statuses are recognized within the document. ===Bringing suit=== The code provides a measure of protection for individuals prior to their trial. Persons bringing suit are prohibited from seizing and detaining the accused before trial. Violations are punishable by fines, which vary depending on the status of the detained individual. ===Rape and adultery=== Rape under the code is punished with fines. The fine is largely determined by the difference in social status between the victim and the accused. A free man convicted of raping a serf or a slave would receive the lowest fine; a slave convicted of raping a free man or woman would warrant the highest fine. Adultery is punished similarly to rape under the code but also takes into consideration the location of the crime. The code dictates higher fines for adultery committed within the household of the female's father, husband or brother, as opposed to another location. Fines also depend on whether the woman has previously committed adultery. The fines are levied against the male involved in the adultery, not the female. The code does not provide for the punishment of the female. ===Divorce and marriage rights=== The Gortyn law code grants a modicum of property rights to women in the case of divorce. Divorced women are entitled to any property that they brought to the marriage and half of the joint income if derived from her property. The code also provides for a portion of the household property. The code stipulates that any children conceived before the divorce but born after the divorce fall under the custody of the father. If the father does not accept the child, it reverts to the mother. ===Property rights and inheritance=== The code devotes a great deal of attention to the allocation and management of property. Although the husband manages the majority of the family property, the wife's property is still delineated. If the wife dies, the husband becomes the trustee to her property and may take no action on it without the consent of her children. In the case of remarriage, the first wife's property immediately comes into her children's possession. If the wife dies childless, her property reverts to her blood relatives. If the husband dies with children, the property is held in trust by the wife for the children. If the children are of age upon their father's death, the property is divided between the children, with males receiving all of the land. If the husband dies without any children, the wife is compelled to remarry. Adopted children receive all the inheritance rights of natural children and are considered legitimate heirs in all cases. Women are not allowed to adopt children. ==Gallery== Image:Ρωμαϊκό Ωδείο Γόρτυνας 1848.jpg|The Amphitheatre containing the Gortyn code. Image:Gortys Law Code.jpg|Inscription of the Great Code at Gortyn. Image:Photo Montage of Gortyn Code.jpg|Photomontage of the Gortyn Code. Image:Law Code of Gortyn.PNG|Complete transcription of the 12 columns of the Gortyn Code, with the boustrophedon writing retained. ==See also== List of ancient legal codes Ancient Greek law ==References== ==Sources== M. Guarducci, Inscriptiones Creticae, 1935-1950. R. F. Willetts, The Law Code of Gortyn, 1967. Michael Gagarin, David J. Cohen (eds), Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek Law, 2005. J. Whitley, "Cretan Laws and Cretan Literacy", American Journal of Archaeology, 101(4), 1997. Ilias Arnaoutoglou, Ancient Greek Laws, 1998. M. Harris, Lene Rubinstein (eds), The Law and the Courts in Ancient Greece, 2004. Michael Gagarin, Writing Greek Law, 2008. ==External links== The Law Code of Gortyn (Crete), c. 450 BCE from Ancient History Sourcebook PHI 200508 The Packard Humanities Institute (full Greek text after Willetts 1967). Codificiation, tradition and innovation in the law code of Gortyn The Law Code of Gortyn / ed. with introduction, transl. and a commentary by Ronald F. Willets. downloadable pdf.

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