Countless books detail the development of Roman law and explain the laws of the ancient Romans. Similarly, many scholars have traced the law of ancient Athens. Written for both students and educated lay readers, the chapters dealing with ancient Greece focus primarily on the law of ancient Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.E. But material relating to other Greek colonies and city states also plays a significant role in the development of ancient Greek law. The Roman law chapters explore both law and legal institutions and emphasize the growth and expansion of legal principles. Roman law still serves as the foundation for the civil laws of many nations today. And given the importance of globalization, Roman law is likely to continue to influence the modern word for the foreseeable future. Each unit begins with a "Background & Beginnings" chapter that establishes the historical context in which law developed and introduces relevant principles of jurisprudence (i.e., legal philosophy). The second chapter in each unit covers procedural aspects of the law, such as court structure, judges, trial procedure, evidence, and legislation. The remaining chapters examine substantive legal topics such as property, contracts, family law, criminal law, and the like.The text also maintains a focus on the connections and influences of social, cultural, economic, philosophical, and political forces as they have affected law and its development. In addition, several sections of the book add another dimension. These sections, entitled "Law in Literature," use works of ancient literature to explore aspects of law as seen through the eyes of poets, dramatists, orators, and historians. In theory, modern readers can learn a great deal about law through literature because literature often lacks the "official filter" of many traditional legal sources.Of course each individual author brings his own biases about law and the legal system to his writing. But as long as we acknowledge the potential for such bias, these sections have the potential to offer completely different perspectives and insights.

Comprehensive and accessible, this book offers a concise synthesis of the evolution of the law in Western Europe, from ancient Rome to the beginning of the twentieth century. It situates law in the wider framework of Europe’s political, economic, social and cultural developments.

Andrew Riggsby provides a survey of the main areas of Roman law, and their place in Roman life.

Roman Law Essentials is an invaluable study guide for students. It provides up-to-date, concise and comprehensive coverage of Roman Law and its effect on the law of Scotland and is the ideal text for students who come new to the subject and for those preparing for exams. This book is also an excellent resource for those who need to refresh or update their knowledge. Summary sections of Essential Facts and Essential Cases will help students remember the key elements of the subject. Contents: * Historical Introduction * Sources and Development * The Law of Persons * The Law of Things - Rights in Property - Acquisition of Ownership - Succession - Contracts - Delicts - Other Obligations * The Law of Actions * The Reception of Roman Law Table of Cases, Table of Statutes and an Index are also included.

It is about Roman law in its social context, an attempt to strengthen the bridge between two spheres of discourse about ancient Rome by using the institutions of the law to enlarge understanding of the society and bringing the evidence of the social and economic facts to bear on the rules of law.

This highly acclaimed collection provides a unique look into the public and private lives and legal status of Greek and Roman women of all social classes-from wet nurses, prostitutes, and gladiatrixes to poets, musicians, intellectuals, priestesses, and housewives. The third edition adds new texts to sections throughout the book, vividly describing women's sentiments and circumstances through readings on love, bereavement, and friendship, as well as property rights, breast cancer, female circumcision, and women's roles in ancient religions, including Christianity and pagan cults.

The period of Egyptian history from its rule by the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty to its incorporation into the Roman and Byzantine empires has left a wealth of evidence for the lives of ordinary men and women. Texts (often personal letters) written on papyrus and other materials, objects of everyday use and funerary portraits have survived from the Graeco-Roman period of Egyptian history. But much of this unparalleled resource has been available only to specialists because of the difficulty of reading and interpreting it. Now eleven leading scholars in this field have collaborated to make available to students and other non-specialists a selection of over three hundred texts translated from Greek and Egyptian, as well as more than fifty illustrations, documenting the lives of women within this society, from queens to priestesses, property-owners to slave-girls, from birth through motherhood to death. Each item is accompanied by full explanatory notes and bibliographical references.

Originally the Sarum Lectures delivered at the University of Oxford in 1960-61, this volume deals with the Hellenistic and Roman setting, and especially the legal, administrative, and municipal background, of the Acts of the Apostles and the synoptic gospels. Sherwin-White -- 'someone from the Roman side,' as he described himself -- brings his knowledge of Roman public law and administration and of city life in the eastern provinces to bear on these aspects of New Testament history. The first three lectures concern the trials of Jesus and of Paul in Jerusalem, addressing questions of the powers of Roman governors and the nature of their jurisdiction. Topics of the remaining lectures include the rights of Roman citizenship, the trial of Paul in Rome, and differences between the Galilean narrative and the Graeco-Roman world of the Acts.

A distinguished cast of scholars discusses models of gesture and non-verbal communication as they apply to Greek and Roman culture, literature and art. Topics include dress and costume in the Homeric poems; the importance of looking, eye-contact, and face-to-face orientation in Greek society; the construction of facial expression in Greek and Roman epic; the significance of gesture and body language in the visual meaning of ancient sculpture; the evidence for gesture and performance style in the texts of ancient drama; the erotic significance of feet and footprints; and the role of gesture in Roman law. The volume seeks to apply a sense of history as well as of theory in interpreting non-verbal communication. It looks both at the cross-cultural and at the culturally specific in its treatment of this important but long-neglected aspect of Classical Studies.