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Upon The History Of Punishments: Valid understandings of ancient systems of punishments may be obtained from a study of two sources of data: the Code of Hammurabi; and scattered references in the Old Testament. Hammurabi (c.1728-1686 B.C.) systematized crimes and punishments in his famous code. The right of revenge was taken away from the individual or the family. Punishments were to be inflicted by the monarch, a. benevolent despot who justly administered the laws.
It will be recalled that a similar belief motivated Hamlet to avenge the murder of his father. In later ages, courts were established to try the accused and to administer punishments as prescribed by tradition and by law. Perhaps the most famous court was the Council of Areopagus in Athens, where punishment entirely replaced vengeance.
The system of punishments upon the history of punishments which modern legal procedures are based was developed in the days of the republic in Rome. Courts of law were empowered to inflict sentences after a trial by jury. Until the days of decadence, the accused had many rights under the law, and punishments were not summarily inflicted. The Twelve Tables (c.450 B.C.) unambiguously defined the major offenses and specified the punishments.
Among the ancient Greeks it was thought that punishments were exacted by the avenging Erinys, deities who acted in instances where dishonor was involved. Scattered allusions in Homer and in the writings of Sophocles and Aeschylus deal with concepts of punishments that are unusual and interesting. Retributive justice was thought to be inevitable, and even the innocent must suffer for the crimes of others. Unless a murderer is detected and put to death in retaliation, the spirit of the victim cannot rest. |
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