Ancient World Seminar: Delfim Leâo (Coimbra), 'Solon’s Laws Respecting Religious Affairs'

The Athenian Solon is the most important legislator of the Archaic Period, and despite the difficulties in identifying correctly his laws — a dispute that goes back to antiquity —, it is generally accepted that his norms covered a wide variety of issues, ranging from private wrongs (such as homicide), procedural and constitutional matters, to more practical questions like family law and rights between neighbours.

A set of his laws deals more specifically with religious affairs, either directly like those respecting regulations for offerings, calendar of sacrifices, or indirectely like the regulations concerning eating at public expense and the rewards for victors in games. My proposal for the lecture is to deal specifically with this set of norms, taking into account the historical and political background of Solon’s reforms.

Delfim Leâo is Professor of Classics at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. His main areas of scientific interest are ancient history, Greek law and political theory, as well as theatrical practice and the ancient novel. Among his most recent publications are Law and Drama in Ancient Greece (London, Duckworth, 2010), which he compiled together with Edward M. Harris and P.J. Rhodes, and of course the forthcoming book The Laws of Solon: A New Edition with Introduction, Translation and Commentary, also prepared in cooperation with P.J. Rhodes.