Opublikowane: 2026-09-25

THE STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INHERITANCE LAW IN CLASSICAL ATHENS

Fuad-Meša Čičić Profil ORCID autora Fuad-Meša Čičić
Zeszyty Prawnicze
Dział: Artykuły
DOI https://doi.org/10.21697/zp.2026.26.3.8

Abstrakt

This study provides an analysis of Athenian inheritance law in the Classical periodin the basis of the history of law, examining the relationship between testamentary freedom, agnatic kinship, and civic organization. Although Athenian law is often seen as divided between limited testamentary succession (allowed only inthe absence of male heirs) and a rigid system of intestate inheritance, this paper argues that these categories obscure a more fluid legal reality. Using literary, epigraphic, and comparative sources, this review identifies the archaic foundations of Athenian succession rules rooted in military and landholding structures focused on kinship. Special attention is given to the original allotment (proklēros) and phratrial oversight in determining limits on alienation and descent. The study suggests that the apparent contradictions in the sources, such as the silence on parental inheritance or disputes over testamentary scope, reflect the gradual transformation of ancestral allotments into private estates and the decline of phratrial authority. By reinterpreting key legal texts through their historical development, it shows how Athenian jurists adapted inherited kinship norms to operate in a more commercial and individualistic polis. Thus, inheritance law appears not only as a means of property transmission but also as a instrument for managing Athens’ social and political transformations.

Słowa kluczowe:

inheritance, ancient Greece, testamentary freedom, the epikleros institution, kinship, phratry

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Zasady cytowania

Čičić, F.-M. (2026). THE STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INHERITANCE LAW IN CLASSICAL ATHENS. Zeszyty Prawnicze, 26(3), 177–209. https://doi.org/10.21697/zp.2026.26.3.8

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