PUNISHMENT OF SERVICEMEN IN ANCIENT STATES

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that the polis type of statehood conditioned the formation of the independent legal system in each city-state.

It was found out that there was no common uniform system of servicemen punishment in the Ancient Greece. However, the Athenian law was more developed comparing to legal systems of other ancient city-states. The author has studied the criminal law of Athens, which clearly, unlike other policies, determined the punishment of servicemen for the most dangerous and severe in its consequences crimes. The death penalty or expulsion – that was the verdict for crimes against the polis, which were considered antisocial and anti-state. These included evasion of paying military tax and breach of military duty. It has been established that the murder was more legally developed crime. Its assessment and punishment were determined even in times of Dracontius. It has been demonstrated that the punishment was transmitted into an independent area of the policy of polis. The purpose of punishment was to inflict suffering and torment on the offender and to intimidate him. The status of the offender was taken into account, as well as the degree of the committed actions. They also took into account the attitude of the offender to his act. Confession, repentance, or non-confession of a crime were taken into account, while determining the type of punishment. Non-confession of the crime entailed a more severe punishment.

The attitude to prisoners of war, the specifics and types of their punishments have been considered. It has been concluded that the Ancient Hellas did not have a clear system of punishing servicemen. It is here, as in many other legal spheres, the lack of a clear understanding of the law was replaced by a moral and legal assessment. However, in Ancient Rome, unlike Ancient Greece, there was a clearer classification of war crimes and punishments, which was aimed at establishing a strict discipline in the army. The peculiarity of military punishments was the fact that they were different for the same crimes. The punishments were more severe during the war than in the period of peaceful life.