Symposion 2003

The XIVth Symposium of the Society for Greek and Hellenistic Legal History took place in 2003 at Rauischholzhausen Castle near Marburg. About 40 scholars from Europe, Israel and the United States gathered for lectures and lively discussions. The scholars represented a wide and interdisciplinary range of specialities, including ancient history, economics and social history, classical philology and ancient history of law. As in the past, no general conference theme was stipulated and thus the lectures encompassed issues from early Greek history of law to the Byzantine epoch. Research concerning Hellenistic history of law, in particular Egyptian law from the Ptolemaic to the Byzantine period, was particularly well represented at this conference. The following items, to name but a few, were discussed: the importance of writing for early Greek and Oriental legislation, the magistrates in classical Athens, the administration of mines, fishery rights, the administration of temple goods, the role of the official seal of the Greek states, regional and social differences in the certification of legal transactions, as well as the legal and social background of late Roman military jurisdiction as based on papyri evidence.