criminal. Th e ordeal was based on the religious belief that God
would not allow an innocent person to be convicted nor allow
a guilty party to go free. While the ordeal remained a com-
mon practice aft er the spread of Christianity, it had its roots
in pre-Christian Germanic practice. It was used when other
forms of evidence were not available and descended from the
more ancient practices of the Babylonians, Jews, and other
cultural groups that also used the ordeal. Th e practice was
used among the Germanic tribes and spread with the spread
of the Roman Empire into Gaul, Italy, and the British Isles—
although the Romans themselves never used the ordeal.
One of the most common ordeals was the duel. Again,
the belief was that God determined the outcome of the duel
based on the guilt or innocence of the parties. Only free men
could take part in duels, with free women required to appoint
a substitute. Another practice that had its roots in ancient
Germany was the ordeal by fi re. In some cases the person had
to carry a red-hot bar of iron in his hands; in others he had
to walk over burning coals or across a row of red-hot plow-
shares. Success in doing so was a sign from God of innocence.
A similar ordeal was to force the accused to reach into a caul-
dron of boiling water and withdraw a stone at the bottom;
if the accused was innocent of the crime, his bandaged arm
would heal in three days. Alternatively, the accused’s hands
and feet were bound and he was hurled into a body of cold
water. If he fl oated, he was innocent, but if he sank, he was
guilty. In addition to several other types of ordeals was the
oath. Th e belief was that if the accused took a solemn oath of
innocence but was in fact guilty, God would punish him with
death for committing perjury.
GREECE
BY DAVID PETECHUK
Although no comprehensive collection of ancient Greek
laws has survived to modern times, historians believe that
before approximately 700 b.c.e., Greece had no offi cial laws
or punishments for crimes. Prior to this time, retribution
for various crimes was oft en carried out by individuals. For
example, when someone was murdered, the victim’s family
members were likely to reciprocate by killing the murderer,
which oft en led to extended blood feuds between families.
Th e Greek poet Homer (ca. 850 b.c.e.), author of the Iliad
and the Odyssey, also indicated in his writings that it was up
to individuals to settle disputes over property, possessions,
and other claims. Th ey usually did so by fi ghting among
themselves. Homer also suggested that in some cases people
could appeal to a third party over a dispute or crime—for
example, to a king, leaders of the community, or ordinary
people gathered together as a group for the express purpose
of judging a specifi c case.
Established universal laws and punishments for crimes
began to appear in Greece about the middle of the seventh
century b.c.e., with the evaluation of crimes and punishments
based primarily on oral laws. Because of the development of
Greek city-states, each of which had their own laws, histori-
ans have found it diffi cult to provide a comprehensive overall
picture of crime and punishment in early Greece. Neverthe-
less, a generalized picture has been developed based on Athe-
nian law and procedures, which included the establishment
of the Council of Areopagus by the seventh century. (Areopa-
gus means “rocky hill” and is the name of a site northwest of
Athens where the council met.) Th e Council of Areopagus,
which was made up of a group of nine elders who served as
magistrates called archons, was in charge of both conduct-
ing trials for serious crimes, such as murder and tyranny, and
setting the punishment based on individual cases.
Th e fi rst known instance of laws being put into writing
was in 621 b.c.e., when Draco, (or Drako) the lawgiver had ex-
isting oral laws transcribed onto axones, or wooden tables or
rollers, none of which survive today. At that time Draco made
distinctions between crimes such as murder and accidental
homicide. Nevertheless, almost every crime was punishable
by death, from the serious crimes of murder and treason to
what modern society would consider minor infractions, such
as stealing food. Draco also made exile from Athens a poten-
tial punishment for murder committed by citizens. It is from
Draco’s name that the term draconian originated, to signify
excessively harsh rules, leadership, and punishment. Part of
the reason for mandating severe punishments for even minor
crimes was that Greek religious and philosophical thought
considered almost all forms of misconduct to be sacrilegious,
an outrageous violation of something held sacred. As a result,
a crime, no matter how minor it might appear, could bring
the wrath of the gods down upon the entire populace.
In 594 b.c.e. the aristocrat Solon became the appointed
lawgiver in Athens. Partly in an attempt to address public
dissatisfaction over laws and punishments for crimes, Solon
set out to revise the laws and institute new punishments for
various crimes. He not only overturned most of Draco’s death
penalties but also gave the common people a more substan-
tial role in the justice system, making it possible for even the
poorest citizens to serve on a panel of judges that determined
the outcome of cases and meted out punishments. In addi-
tion, all male citizens could bring charges against people and
appeal verdicts they believed were unjust.
Under Solon’s new laws, most penalties for crimes in-
volved monetary payments. For example, a person convicted
of rape was fi ned 100 drachmas or, according to other sourc-
es, staters—two denominations of money in ancient Greece.
Likewise, fi nes for adultery with a free woman that took
pace in her family’s house (including her father’s or brother’s
houses) was also 100 drachmas but was reduced to a fi ne of
50 drachmas if it took place somewhere else. Fines for theft
varied according to what was stolen and its value.
Solon also established new laws that defi ned specifi c
deeds as crimes, including the mistreatment of children, slan-
der, and male prostitution. Other common crimes in ancient
Greece included bribery of the magistrates, which resulted in
the death penalty if the briber was convicted, and the theft302 crime and punishment: Greece