Against Timocrates

"Against Timocrates" was a speech given by Demosthenes in Athens in which he accused Timocrates of proposing an illegal decree.[1] The speech provides our best evidence about the use of imprisonment as a punishment in Classical Athens.[1]

Timocrates' law would have allowed debtors to the state to go free on providing a surety, rather than being imprisoned until they paid their debts.[2] Democrates' speech criticises this law on the grounds that it would unfairly advantage wealthy citizens at the expense of the poor.[3]

  1. ^ a b Allen, Danielle (1997). "Imprisonment in Classical Athens". The Classical Quarterly. 47 (1): 124.
  2. ^ Allen, Danielle (1997). "Imprisonment in Classical Athens". The Classical Quarterly. 47 (1): 132.
  3. ^ Allen, Danielle (1997). "Imprisonment in Classical Athens". The Classical Quarterly. 47 (1): 133.