Meaning of Drakonian | Babel Free

Definitions

Alternative spelling of Draconian.

alt-of, alternative

Examples

“Probably neither Drako, nor the Lokrian Zaleukus, who somewhat preceded him in date, were more rigorous than the sentiment of the age: indeed the few fragments of the Drakonian tables which have reached us, far from exhibiting indiscriminate cruelty, introduce, for the first time, into the Athenian law, mitigating distinctions in respect to homicide; founded on the variety of concomitant circumstances.”

“The text of the Drakonian homicide law adumbrates another kind of boundary beginning to form: a public distinction between Athenians and non-Athenians.”

“Within a decade of the Kylon affair, the first Athenian lawcode was written down by Drako, no doubt largely in response to the growing political unrest. Little is known of these Drakonian laws apart from their alleged harshness (“written in blood,” tradition records), but codification did provide something of a check against the arbitrariness of themis-giving nobles.”

“It remains unclear what (if any) other matters were addressed in the laws of Drakon, although in later Athenian legend, he was believed to have prescribed death for a wide range of offenses. Whatever their scope and intent, the Drakonian laws did not lead to a stable social order.”

CEFR level