Logograph (right)
Logograph ( Greek λογογράφος , logographos , composed of λόγος, logos , "word", and γράφω, grapho , "write") is the name of the author of court speeches in ancient Greece .
Function of the logograph in the legal system
In ancient Athens , a litigant had to represent its case in court with two pleadings . There were no lawyers in the modern sense. It was only allowed to a friend or relative to support a litigant as "advocate" or synegor ( Greek συνήγορος synēgoros ). Anyone looking for professional help could use the services of a logographer and describe their case to him. The logographer then wrote a speech that the litigant memorized and delivered in court. The logographers differed from the synegors in that their task was limited to drafting the pleading and they were active for a fee, which the synegors were forbidden to do.
Antiphon was one of the first professional logographers. Lysias had prepared a plea for the Socrates trial, but Socrates refused.
For many logographers, their professionally acquired practice in politically motivated processes laid the foundation for a political career.
The traditional court speeches of the logographers represent the most important historical source for Attic law.
Famous logographers
literature
- Hans Julius Wolff : Demosthenes as a lawyer. Functions and methods of the litigation practitioner in classical Athens (= series of the legal society eV, Berlin. 30, ZDB -ID 20131-5 ). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1968.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jochim Thietz-Bartram: The Socrates Trial: A miscarriage of justice? In: Lawyer Gazette. 2002, pp. 439-444, ( online ).
- ^ Diogenes Laertios : Lives of eminent philosophers , Oxford 1959, II. 40II. 40: But now, when Lysias had written him a defense speech, Socrates read it through and said: “A fine speech, Lysias, but it doesn't suit me” (quoted from Jochim Thietz-Bartram: The Socrates Trial: A miscarriage of justice? In: Anwaltsblatt. 2002, pp. 439–444, ( online )).