Sycophancy as the (Inevitable) Failure of Athenian Democratic Ideals and Its Accusatorial Legal System
Sycophancy as the (Inevitable) Failure of Athenian Democratic Ideals and Its Accusatorial Legal System

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims to analyze – within the framework of classical Greek law – the role of sycophancy in relation to the introduction of public prosecutions (γραφαί), implemented by Solon in 594-3 BC. Indeed, in contrast to the goals pursued by the legislator with the concession to ὁ βουλόμενος to initiate legal proceedings – goals aimed, on the one hand, at ensuring legal protection even for those who lacked the legal capacity (and, more specifically, procedural) and, on the other, to encourage participation in the administration of justice – sycophancy can be considered as the failure of those same democratic ideals. Therefore, this paper will examine, firstly, the characteristics of such a failure. Then, it will consider the attempts of the Athenian authorities both to discourage sycophants’ activities, and to draw (at least some) advantages from a phenomenon which was an inherent, albeit problematic, aspect of the Athenian legal system.

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