The Birth of Nomos

by: Zartaloudis, Th.

Delves into the history of the ancient Greek word nomos (and related words) to reveal the interdisciplinary depth of this term beyond its later meaning of 'law' or 'law-making'
This is a highly original, interdisciplinary study of the archaic Greek word nomos and its family of words. Thanos Zartaloudis draws out the richness of this fundamental term by exploring its many uses over the centuries.

The Birth of Nomos includes extracts from a wide range of ancient sources, in both the original and English translation, including material from legal history, philosophy, philology, linguistics, ancient history, poetry, archaeology, ancient musicology and anthropology. Through a thorough analysis of these extracts, we gain a new understanding of nomos and its foundational place in the Western legal tradition.

Key Features
Assembles a genealogical history of the ancient Greek work nomos, showing how it contains a richness that is not reflected in its classical and modern usage as simply 'law' or 'law-making'
Draws on works by ancient Greek philosophers, poets and tragedians including Homer, Hesiod, Alcman, Pindar, Archilochos, Theognis, Heraclitus, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Plato
Includes extracts from ancient primary sources, in both the original and in English translation, to analyse how nomos has been used in the literary evidence and in context
Considers how nomos has been used by contemporary philosophers, including Agamben, Foucault, Heidegger, Schmitt, Deleuze and Axelos, and re-examines their interpretations

List of Abbreviations

Preface: Anthroponomikos

Part I: Homeric Nomos

1. The Nomos of Feasts and ?Sacrifices?

2. Nomos Moirēgenēs

3. The Nomos of the Land

4. Pastoral Nomos

5. Nemesis

Part II: Post-Homeric Nomos

6. The Nomos of the Post-Homeric Poets

7. The Nomos of Heraclitus

8. Nomos Basileus

9. The Nomos of the Tragedians

10. Nomos Mousikos

Bibliography

The Birth of Nomos

by: Zartaloudis, Th.

• ISBN-13: 9781474442008 / 978-1-4744-4200-8
• ISBN-03: 1474442005 / 1-4744-4200-5
• Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2019