Book contents
- The Story of Constitutions
- Comparative Constitutional Law and Policy
- The Story of Constitutions
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Prologue
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Constitutional Diffusion
- Part II The History of the Constitution
- 4 Precursors
- 5 Etched into Collective Memory
- 6 Roman Roots
- 7 Mediaeval Constitutions
- 8 Early-Modern Constitutions
- 9 Generations
- 10 Second Generation
- 11 Third Generation
- 12 Fourth Generation
- 13 Fifth Generation
- 14 Sixth Generation
- 15 The Seventh Generation
- 16 The Eighth Generation
- 17 What Are the Lessons of History?
- Part III Concepts, Shapes and Types of Constitutions
- Part IV Effects
- Part V The Imagined Order of the Constitution
- References
- Name & Author Index
- Subject Index
5 - Etched into Collective Memory
Ancient Constitutions
from Part II - The History of the Constitution
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 October 2023
Book contents
- The Story of Constitutions
- Comparative Constitutional Law and Policy
- The Story of Constitutions
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Prologue
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Constitutional Diffusion
- Part II The History of the Constitution
- 4 Precursors
- 5 Etched into Collective Memory
- 6 Roman Roots
- 7 Mediaeval Constitutions
- 8 Early-Modern Constitutions
- 9 Generations
- 10 Second Generation
- 11 Third Generation
- 12 Fourth Generation
- 13 Fifth Generation
- 14 Sixth Generation
- 15 The Seventh Generation
- 16 The Eighth Generation
- 17 What Are the Lessons of History?
- Part III Concepts, Shapes and Types of Constitutions
- Part IV Effects
- Part V The Imagined Order of the Constitution
- References
- Name & Author Index
- Subject Index
Summary
This chapter looks into the constitutions of Antiquity, notably those of the Greek city states - the (old) constitution of Dreros and Athens (the Draconian and Solonian constitutions), and Rome - the twelve tables. Aristotle claims to have had access to 158 city state constitutions: every respectable city state had on. For the first time in history we see evidence that communities (cities) try to learn from examples set by other city-states. Rome, for example, sends out envoys to learn from (and copy) the Athenian constitution before enacting the laws in their own Twelve Tables
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- Information
- The Story of ConstitutionsDiscovering the We in Us, pp. 82 - 97Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023