International symposium on ancient Greek law

The ancient Greek world is known to have fragmented into countless poleis, of which Athens and Sparta are only the best known. There are said to have been over 1000 in total. Did each urban unit also correspond to its own legal sphere? Can a coherent Greek law be assumed at all?

On 23 and 24 February 2023, an international symposium will address these questions and trace the dynamics between local law and legal coherence. The conference “Ancient Greek Law. Vectors of Local Idiosyncrasy and Unity“, organised by Professor Hans Beck (University of Münster/EViR Fellow) and Professor Kaja Harter-Uibopuu (University of Hamburg), brings together a diverse group of international experts in the fields of Ancient Greek History and the History of Law in Antiquity. It will explore new concepts and perspectives on ancient Greek law from Archaic to Hellenistic times. The recent upsurge of scholarship on local encodings of Greek culture, combined with an unyielding research interest in the interconnection of local agencies and their merging into frames of unity, makes this a timely endeavor. Exciting new discoveries of legal texts further advance, and sometimes complicate, the understanding.

For the programme and to register for the conference, click here.