Description: The classical Athenian 'state' had almost no formal coercive apparatus to ensure order or compliance with law: there was no professional police force or public prosecutor, and nearly every step in the legal process depended on private initiative. And yet Athens was a remarkably peaceful and well-ordered society by both ancient and contemporary standards. Why? Law and Order in Ancient Athens draws on contemporary legal scholarship to explore how order was maintained in Athens. Lanni argues that law and formal legal institutions played a greater role in maintaining order than is generally acknowledged. The legal system did encourage compliance with law, but not through the familiar deterrence mechanism of imposing sanctions for violating statutes. Lanni shows how formal institutions facilitated the operation of informal social control in a society that was too large and diverse to be characterized as a 'face-to-face community' or 'close-knit group'.
Brief description: Adriaan Lanni is a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where she teaches courses in ancient law and modern American criminal law and procedure. She trained as both a lawyer and an ancient historian, receiving a J.D. from Yale Law School, an M.Phil. in Classics from the University of Cambridge, and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Michigan. Her previous book is Law and Justice in the Courts of Classical Athens (Cambridge, 2006).
Review Quotes: "Classical Athens was a marvel. With style and insight, Lanni scours the limited sources to identify the institutions that enabled the city to flourish."
Robert Ellickson, Yale Law School, Connecticut