Plato's Penal Code

From a primitive system of self-help the Greeks gradually evolved formal legal processes and law-courts very similar to those of today. This development has been studied closely by several scholars and yet, despite the great interest and importance of the topic, no history of Greek penology has ever been written. This book, which is the fruit of 30 years' work on the subject, assesses Plato's penal code within the tradition of Greek penology. The author provides a detailed exposition of the emergence, for the first time in European thought, of the concept of publicly controlled, rationally calculated, and socially directed punishment in the period between Homer and Plato. He outlines the serious debate that ensued in the 5th century over the opposition of philosophers to popular judicial assumptions, and shows how the philosophical arguments gradually gained ground. He shows that in his "Laws", dating from the mid-4th century, Plato advanced the most radical of the philosophical formulations of the concept of punishment. Plato's view, which is inspired by the Socratic paradox that no-one does wrong willingly, is that punishment is or should be utilitarian and strictly reformative.
This, of course, is a striking anticipation of certain modern policies and has important theoretical and practical implications. The code itself is of considerable length and startling complexity. It is obviously based on the contemporary Athenian code, but Plato makes many alterations and his effort to adapt existing practice to new purposes is thoroughgoing, meticulous, and ingenious. It should interest students and scholars of ancient philosophy, ancient history, classics, and legal theory.