DO DECISIONS OR LONG-STANDING TRADITIONS MAKE LAW? “PSEPHISM” V. “NOMOS”
DO DECISIONS OR LONG-STANDING TRADITIONS MAKE LAW? “PSEPHISM” V. “NOMOS”

Summary/Abstract: Greek law was the law of customs and on customs established ways of acceptable behaving, so it seems that the answer to the question highlighted in the title is simple. But, it is more correct to say that the path to the answer is simpler than the answer itself. Namely, the Athenian National Assembly (ekklesia) was a body that formed the very core of democracy. Customs lived in the mind of citizens, so Assembly (in fact its members) at the start was given a legislative role. Everything the Assembly (or Council) decided on had to be in accordance with customs, and in no way above them, as the original Greek texts testify. The procedure of proposing, voting and the possibility of appeals, determined the direction of decision-making. It seems simple. But how can we assess the place and role of nomos and psephism in the legal system of Athenian democratic determinants? The terms nomos and psephism are often confused, and at some point they are not even distinguished. Does the development of Athenian society rest solely on the foundations of its customs, or do these customs, woven with thicker or thinner threads into the decisions, made by the ecclesia, form a new yarn that, moving away from the customs of Greek ancestors, is a far more important factor in that development?

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