Reviews
Individually and cumulatively (his) essays encourage a re-examination of shared cultural heritage often fiercely resisted by classicist.
It is the singular admiration for his diagnostic skills which attracts readers of ancient Near Eastern law to his scholarship, and as a result he will not be forgotten...
Il reste que la lecture de cet ouvrage donne à penser, ce qui n’est pas si courant de nos jours, et que l’on ne pourra que s’enrichir à sa lecture, à défaut de partager l’ensemble des options de son auteur.
The late Raymond Westbrook was an outstanding scholar of ancient Greek, Roman, and Near East civilization and law. This selection of his essays, originally published in widespread periodicals and Festschriften, is very well done. A desideratum for classicists and readers all over the world who are interested in the problems of ancient legal history.
Both experts and non-experts in the study of the ancient world are indebted to the editors for this splendid edition of Raymond Westbrook’s papers. Westbrook is a master comparatist, and his work is a model for humanists and social scientists who seek to enhance their discovery procedures by combining internal analysis with comparative perspectives. By comparing Near Eastern legal traditions with the relevant evidence recorded in ancient Greek and Latin texts, Westbrook has profoundly changed how we look at ancient law.
Book Details
Editors' Note
Preface
Introduction
1. The Trial Scene in the Iliad
2. Penelope's Dowry and Odysseus' Kingship
3. Drakon's Homicide Law
4. Barbarians at the Gates
5. The Nature and Origins of the Twelve
Editors' Note
Preface
Introduction
1. The Trial Scene in the Iliad
2. Penelope's Dowry and Odysseus' Kingship
3. Drakon's Homicide Law
4. Barbarians at the Gates
5. The Nature and Origins of the Twelve Tables
6. Restrictions on Alienation of Property in Early Roman Law
7. The Coherence of the Lex Aquilia
8. Vitae Necisque Potestas
9. The Origin of Laesio Enormis
10. Codification and Canonization
11. Reflections on the Law of Homicide in the Ancient World
12. The Early History of Law
Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index