Nomos (ancient)

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Nomos ( Greek  νόμος ; plural nomoi ) is the Greek term for law , but also for custom, agreement. What is meant is something that is valid for all living beings. Since the 5th century BC In ancient Greece , legal regulations were also so called (a distinction must be made between decisions made by the people's assembly of a polis , see Psephisma ).

The time of the law

"Nomos" is after the hymns of "Orpheus" after " Nemesis " [= allocations], " Dike " [= jurisdiction] and " Dikaiosyne " [= constitutional law] the fourth and historically last legal term of the Greeks. While the three previous terms were all feminine, the law is masculine, which at the same time implies the complete renunciation of maternal law ( matrilinearity ) and the introduction of patrilinearity ( patrilinearity ), as is most clearly presented by Aeschylus in his three-part " Oresty ", but also compare Sophocles “ Elektra ”. In his drama “ The Eumenides ” (the third part of “Oresty”) Aeschylus indicates that the law was written shortly after the Trojan War . The first criminal case was then the Erinyes against Orestes : the prosecutors were the Erinyes, the avengers of the mother right (as a result of the proceedings they lost their office and their power), defense and witness was Apollon , legislature and presiding judge of the newly formed court of justice Athena , the six associate judges were Athenian citizens for the first time. At this time, compare Flavius ​​Josephus , who accuses the Greeks:

“Wasn't even the name νόμος [= nomos] for law known to the Greeks from ancient times, as is evident from the fact that Homer does not use the word in any of his poems. In his day there was nothing like that, but the masses were directed according to vague opinions and by the orders of the king. That is why for a long time there was only unwritten origin, which was also changed in many ways depending on the circumstances. "

Josephus' last sentence seems to refer to the case law, which has long been handed down orally as a tradition. Of course, Josephus might be wrong about Homer, because in his time there were laws and the term "nomos", but not yet at the time of the Trojan War, which his epics tell. This is supported by a passage in Pausanias ' "Reisen In Greece" Book IX, 40.6, where he says of the names of the cities Cheironeia and Lebadeia (text edited and inserted in angle brackets):

“In my opinion Homer knew that they were already called Cheironeia and Lebadeia < in his time >, but used the old names for them” = Arne and Mideia, compare “ Iliad ” II, 507, “ Odyssey ” IV, 477 + 581 ; XIV, 258; "As he called the river Aigyptos and not the Nile."

The interpretation that Homer already knew the word “Nomos” is supported by the fact that Hesiod - who was roughly a contemporary of Homer - used the term “Nomos” in his work “ Werke und Tage ” 275–285 used where he writes (text edited and inserted in angle brackets):

“And listen to the law, get violence out of your mind.
Namely, this is the order that Zeus given to men < has >:
fish and wild animals and winged birds which are
one the and're eat, because there is no law among them;
but he bestowed on men the law which
proves to be by far the best; because
if you are willing to say what is just when you see it, then Zeus will later give you plenty of happiness.
But if someone - consciously invoking a testimony with perjury -
lies and deceives and - incurably blinded - violates the law, he will
leave behind a passing generation in the days to come.
But whoever < is > honest in the oath , their sex will prosper in the future. "

Derivation from natural law

“Nomos” initially describes the law of nature, indicating that human law transfers and applies the principles observed in nature to human behavior. This meaning of the law results from Orpheus's 65th "Hymnos an Nomos":

“
I call on mortals and immortals holy rulers!
The heavenly Nomos,
the folder of the stars!
The
sacred, unchangeable and secure seal of the salt-rushing sea and earth ! Preserving the
impartiality of nature
with constant laws that he bears.
Who wanders around great Uranus
and
drives away worthless envy with a whirling manner!
He also awakens
worthy goals of noble life to people.
Because he
alone controls the steering of the living,
always inevitably connecting
with the most upright opinions.
Venerable, well-experienced, kind to
the friend of the law,
but
he brings evil and grievous annoyance to the illegal
(...)

The phrase "the mortals and the immortal holy rulers" shows that the "gods" are also subject to the law, which relates to the planetary orbits. Together with the designation of Nomos as "folder of the stars" etc. it is clearly expressed that Nomos is actually the natural law from which human law was derived or whose principles were applied to the assessment of human behavior. The statement "who drives away the worthless envy with a whirling manner" is to be understood in this context as meaning that the punishment for certain offenses, the motive of which was envy, was exile. This is particularly true of riot and tyranny, as can be seen from many ancient sources. The terms “venerable” and “much experienced” are intended to express that there have always been rules for living together and that the law has incorporated past experiences into itself. The last three lines say that those who obey the law have nothing to fear, whereas those who disobey the law should beware.

The Greek Critique of the Law

This generally positive assessment of the "nomos" [= law] is contrasted with a fragment of Pindar , which is among the fragments that cannot be assigned to any particular genus. In this fragment "XXVIII" it says (text edited and emphasis added):

“Nomos, - ruler over all mortals
and even immortals -
leads with an omnipotent hand and even
the most violent he rightly does.
I have witnessed the deeds of Heracles who
drove Geryone's cattle to Eurystheus' Cyclopean gate,
and had neither asked nor bought them ... "

It is actually a defect inherent in the legal principle itself (namely the possibility to change the laws made by humans almost at will), which Aristophanes also described in the fifth scene of his comedy "The Clouds" by telling Pheidippides, lets the son of Strepsiades say in defense of the blows against his father (text edited):

" Pheidippides: ... Well, I say then, the old people are known to be twice children, and that is why they deserve twice more beatings than the young ones, because their guilt is also greater if they get wrong.
Strepsiades: No, the law forbids children all over the world!
Pheidippides: But wasn't this law originally proposed by a person like you and me and then enforced it with reasons? And what the old people were allowed to do - may I not create a law for the new ones, according to which the son repays the blows to the father? "

Indeed, such a law would be completely legal as long as it observes the formal prohibition of retroactive effects, which Pheidippides expressly concedes by continuing (editing text and inserting it in angle brackets):

Pheidippides: "The beatings we got, even before this law enacted < was > that we give you, moreover, as long stale debt"

With Aristophanes this deficiency then leads back to the gods who had previously been given up.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus "Against Apion" II, 15 (text edited and explanation in square brackets and insertion in angle brackets added)
  2. ↑ Quoted from “Orpheus” Ancient Greek Mysteries Transferred and Explained by JO Plassmann, published as part of Diederich's yellow series, Eugen Diederichs Verlag Cologne 1982, page 107, text edited.