Different Notions of Greek Justice:
Solon's Justice:
Solon, born circa 638 BCE, was an Athenian statesman and lawmaker who is, by most accounts, the founder of the Athenian democratic system. His opinion of justice was that of a godly figure above human understanding, not bound by their opinion but existing as a state of wisdom on its own: "Dike does not depend on human earthly justice; nor does she act by sudden temporary strokes of divine punishment [...] her power is immanent, manifested in the process by which all inequalities compensate themselves in time; and that inevitable process is the 'punishment of Zeus' or 'divine requital'." Solon is known for making the importance of the State pass before that of the landowners who practically ran the economy. Through the seisachtheia, or "freeing of burdens," Solon removed the debts which crippled most citizens, therefore freeing them from their indentured servitude to the landowners. |
Solon was also the first to allow all citizens to take part in the judicial system: he created a new council made up of 400 members, including the former servants, today called "the Ball." This council instituted a new court whose members came from all four classes of Athenian society, called the Héliée, which eventually became one of the only two courts in Athens along with the court of blood.
Solon is remembered as the creator of the first spark from which rose democracy, mostly by giving all men (as only men could engage in politics) the right to participate in courts: "To the people I gave as much power as is enough without anything to cut off nor add to his rights." His courts of law were the first to judge through a jury of peers, with all men equal before the law. Though it seems like a natural thing today, this was the biginning of fair trials in court for which we can all be grateful today.
Solon is remembered as the creator of the first spark from which rose democracy, mostly by giving all men (as only men could engage in politics) the right to participate in courts: "To the people I gave as much power as is enough without anything to cut off nor add to his rights." His courts of law were the first to judge through a jury of peers, with all men equal before the law. Though it seems like a natural thing today, this was the biginning of fair trials in court for which we can all be grateful today.
Socrates' Justice:
In the years between Solon and Socrates, a lot had gone wrong in the system Solon had instigated: the courts had become corrupt because of the extent to which anyone could join the political life. Moreover, the general population only had a general idea of how the judicial system worked, which limited the overall effectiveness of the courts. Socrates wanted to change this. He may be the first philosopher to treat ethics when discussing law. He was an avid supporter of the ban of rhetoric in the courts of Athens, a practice which made it very difficult for the lower class citizens to win cases against the higher educated, wealthier citizens. Socrates wanted all to once again be equal before the jury, with the facts mattering more than the artful manner with which they are presented: "It is better to undergo the injustice than to make it. Its lawsuit, Policy, are that of the individual conscience confronted with the political power and the demagogy; its death, that of the Citizen." |
Socrates also supported the idea that political knowledge be limited to a few experts, rather than a full court of men who knew nothing about law( this idea can be compared to a famous phrase by Ghengis Khan: "An army of donkeys led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by a donkey."). Through this reform, Socrates wished to make the courts more effective than they were by putting law-educated jurors in charge of the cases, as well as eliminate some of the corruption which plagued the courts.
At the age of 70, Socrates was arrested and tried for not acknowledging the city's gods, for introducing new gods, and for corrupting the youth with new notions of justice. During his trial, Socrates claimed he was on a mission from the god Apollo to re-educate the Athenian political system after the oracle of Delphi supposedly proclaimed that no man was wiser than he. He demanded that men should care more about doing what is right for the city than doing what they will profit from more, and depicted himself as a new type of Citizen, viewing the public good in a new way by turning away from the conventionally defined paths of political contest and success. For his insolence to the court during his trial, and his refusal to take the trial seriously, Socrates was sentenced to death.
At the age of 70, Socrates was arrested and tried for not acknowledging the city's gods, for introducing new gods, and for corrupting the youth with new notions of justice. During his trial, Socrates claimed he was on a mission from the god Apollo to re-educate the Athenian political system after the oracle of Delphi supposedly proclaimed that no man was wiser than he. He demanded that men should care more about doing what is right for the city than doing what they will profit from more, and depicted himself as a new type of Citizen, viewing the public good in a new way by turning away from the conventionally defined paths of political contest and success. For his insolence to the court during his trial, and his refusal to take the trial seriously, Socrates was sentenced to death.
Plato's Justice:
Although Socrates was executed, his ideas were far from gone. One of his greatest students, Plato, is perhaps one of the few who saw the corruption in the courts in a worse way than his teacher did. To him, the Athenian democracy was on the verge of ruin because of the political selfishness on all levels of the courts, and could only be saved through better democracy and justice. Plato gave a very important place to justice when reflecting upon the proper function of a society. He used the word "diakaisyne" when describing the notion of justice, which can be translated as "morality" or "righteousness,"and shows how Plato thought justice was an essencial part of a man's duty. |
Plato differed from his teacher on what he saw justice to be: according to Plato, justice was an individual human virtue which makes people honest and good, but not everyone would possess it. He saw it as a sort of societal harmonization, where each member would focus on being as effective as possible in their own station and wouldn't concern themselves with the stations of others. He believed "that one man should practice one thing only and that the thing should be that to which his nature was best adopted." In Plato's view of justice, each person acts like a gear in a larger system, working to make the whole system function but not trying to interfere in another gear's activities. If they did, then the whole system would collapse. Justice, therefore, is the result of each Citizen acting to the best of their potential and only their potential.
Aristotle's Justice:
A student of both Socrates and Plato, Aristotle was exposed to a lot of their theories of justice, yet developed his own on the basis that mankind can only exist if governed by a set of laws, and that these laws are derived from a balance between necessity and reason. His philosophies are seen more through his literary works, such as Antigone,which shows a real belief in the overall power of the gods in mortal affairs. In Antigone, it is clear that Aristotle's theory of justice places the will of the gods far above whatever system of justice man has put in place, an idea which differs greatly from his teacher's theories. Nevertheless, he makes this idea clear on several occasions in the play: Creon tries to live by his own justice and by civil law, but in the end is forced to realize that "the laws of the gods are mighty, and a man must serve them to the day of his life!" |
Aristotle also considered godly justice, and the respect of it, a cause worth dying for, as one would be compensated in the afterlife for your respect of the gods: Antigone has no concern for civil law as she replies to "the law of the gods."
It may be that Aristotle's respect for the laws of heaven comes from the execution of his teacher Socrates for refusing to obey these "laws of heaven." Whether that be the case or not, Aristotle's principal of justice seems more like a fusion of Solon and Plato's philosophies, with a strong human judicial system to keep balance, but which must ultimately obey the justice of the gods in all things.
It may be that Aristotle's respect for the laws of heaven comes from the execution of his teacher Socrates for refusing to obey these "laws of heaven." Whether that be the case or not, Aristotle's principal of justice seems more like a fusion of Solon and Plato's philosophies, with a strong human judicial system to keep balance, but which must ultimately obey the justice of the gods in all things.