SOURCE: Ancient / Classical HistoryDraco
The privileged eupatrid few in Athens had been making all the decisions for long enough. By 621 B.C. the rest of the Athenians were no longer willing to accept arbitrary, oral rules of the eupatrid thesmothetai and judges. Draco was appointed to write down the laws (as may already have been done elsewhere in the Hellenic world).
Whether or not it was intentional, the codification of laws by Draco brought to public attention outrageous and archaic penalties in Athens. Part of the excess was Draco himself. When asked about the harshness of his punishments, Draco is believed to have said the death penalty was appropriate for stealing even so much as a cabbage. If there were a worse penalty than death, Draco would have applied it to greater crimes. As a result of this strict, unforgiving code, the adjective based on the name Draco -- draconian -- refers to penalties considered excessively severe.
"And Draco himself, they say, being asked why he made death the penalty for most offences, replied that in his opinion the lesser ones deserved it, and for the greater ones no heavier penalty could be found."
Plutarch Life of Solon
As a result of the codification of laws by Draco, those in debt could be made slaves -- but only if they were members of the lower class. Members of a genos (the gennetai) could not be sold as slaves, yet their hangers-on (orgeones) could.
Another result of the codification of laws by Draco -- and the only part that remained part of the legal code -- was the introduction of the concept of intention to murder. Murder could be justifiable or accidental manslaughter or intentional homicide. With the new law code the city-state of Athens would intervene in what were formerly the family matter of blood-feuds.
What I found most interesting was the idea that lessor crimes should exact punishment equal to that of greater crimes only because there could be no punishment greater than death. The lessor crimes were deserving of the death penalty, and the greater crimes were deserving of much worse than death, but no method of punishment greater than death could be conceived. Thank God that punishment isn't levied with such severity any longer. Although I would add, that those modern day disciples of Draconian code -- those who exact severe punishment for trivial or inconsequential crimes... Or most especially, those who exact severe punishment for arbitrary oral laws that have no basis in common written law. (i.e. those who command harsh punishment for crimes that aren't actually crimes.) -- and actively practice such codes, should be judged and summarily executed according to the code they hold so dear.
Although, Draco did give us the modern day concept of justifiable homicide. And for that, we should all be grateful.
