Draconian constitution

Draconian constitution
Draco, the creator of the conceptualization and formulation of the Draconian constitution
Created	c. 620 BC
Author(s)	Draco
Signatories	Athenian aristocracy
Purpose	To resolve unequal accessibility to the acquirement of legal knowledge of oral law by replacing such with a written constitution

The Draconian constitution, or Draco's code, was a written law code created by Draco near the end of the 7th century BC in response to the unjust interpretation and modification of oral law by Athenian aristocrats. With most societies in Greece codifying basic law during the mid-seventh century BC, Athenian oral law was manipulated by the aristocracy until the emergence of Draco's code. Around 621 BC the people of Athens commissioned Draco to devise a written law code and constitution, giving him the title of the first legislator of Athens. The literate could read the code at a central location accessible to anyone. This enactment of a rule of law was an early manifestation of Athenian democracy.

The need for written laws began with the unequal access to legal knowledge by the aristocracy and the people; the established laws of Athens were inefficiently formulated in the spoken language and often modified and re-evaluated. The aristocratic exploitation of this system began during the mid-seventh century BC, and laws were often amended to benefit the aristocracy. This triggered feuds by families ignorant of the law in an attempt to obtain justice.

To minimize the incidence of these feuds, the governing aristocratic families of Athens decided to abandon their concealed system of legal proposals and amendments and promulgate them to Athenian society in writing. They authorized Draco, an aristocratic legislator, to construct the written constitution, and he began to write the text around 621 BC. To promulgate the new constitution, its text was inscribed on displaying device. As a result, the Draconian constitution was accessible to the literate.

Under the constitution a person's freedom could be used as collateral for debt, with the possibility of slavery, but this law only applied to the poor. Draco introduced the concepts of intentional and unintentional homicide, with both crimes adjudicated at the Areopagus. Since murder cases were tried by the state, feuds as a form of justice became illegal. The homicide laws were the only laws retained by the early-6th-century BC Solonian Constitution.

And Draco himself, they say, being asked why he made death the penalty for most offences, replied that in his opinion the lesser ones deserved it, and for the greater ones no heavier penalty could be found.