Greece: Sources from the Second Century B.C.E. to the Nineteenth Century C.E.

Abstract

The sources for the Greek chapter date from the second century B.C.E. to the nineteenth century C.E. It starts off with the law of the Astynomoi that dates back to the second century B.C.E. in the city of Pergamon. The original is lost, but it was revived in the form of an inscription on stone in the second century C.E. when Pergamon was under Roman rule. The stone was discovered in 1901. A German translation of the law was published in 1954 and an English version in 2012; its text is available in Appendix 1. Zeno’s code from the late fifth century and Julian of Ascalon’s treatise from the sixth century are discussed, and supporting material is included in Appendices 2 and 3. They are important in representing the Byzantine contribution to codes that addressed the built environment. Following that, an analysis of the Frankish Assizes of Romania is presented to determine how much of the Assizes addressed the local level of the built environment. The role of the church in the continuity of Byzantine law is briefly discussed followed by examples of customary laws from the islands in the Aegean Sea. Those customary rules affected building practice to the early years of the nineteenth century.