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⟳.”

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