Writing Laws: Hammurabi to Solon - Melissa Lane

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/t6kkq6dI6hc When and why do written laws emerge in ancient societies? This lecture will consider these questions in light of evidence including the law code of Hammurabi; the earliest attestation of written laws in Greek (found in Dreros on Crete); and the full-blown commitment to written laws by the Athenian lawgiver Solon. Such cases will be used to explore how writing bears on the the functions of law more generally, in light of debates in ...