Courses

This course explores the legal systems and procedures of Athens and Rome, exploring how legal sources expand our understanding of the lives of ordinary residents of the Ancient World. We will explore the forensic speeches of the Athenian lawcourts, which were famous both for the volume of their activity and the rhetoric employed there, and the writings of the Roman legal scholars -- the jurists, which form the core of the Roman legal system which is still influential in the modern world. Topics may include: ancient rhetoric and standards of proof, citizenship and rights of non-citizens, intersections of religion and law, property and inheritance, and legal thinking and categorization.