That a killer could inadvertantly spread the gods' wrath to innocent people, and that a man could be convicted of damaging the stump from a sacred olive tree, are events that perhaps amaze our modern eyes, yet ancient Greece abounded with comparable incidents. One may recall the case of Theagenes' statue being banished for murder at Olympia, but similarly strange crimes were committed outside of panhellenic sites as well. For example, if Athenian statesmen misled the Assembly, they could be sentenced to death. Under this law in 489 B.C., Xanthippos prosecuted Miltiades, who had promised benefits to the Athenians in exchange for commanding seventy ships. Historians disagree over the terms of Miltiades' sentence, but Miltiades died from a war wound soon after the verdict, so his son paid his fine (Demand, 188). Because every Greek was expected to support himself and his family, idleness was also criminal, meritting death in the seventh century B.C., but only a fine by the fifth century B.C. (MacDowell, 155).Sometimes, the laws and punishments regarding ordinary crimes are what seem unusual to us. In the Archaic period, for instance, anyone convicted of treason could be killed with impunity by other citizens.

Many of these crimes and punishments, though, seem less strange when one considers the factors that lead to their manifestation. Regarding the death penalty for treason, one need only note that when city-states were developing and shifting alliances, loyalty to Athens was fundamental, thus warranting death if breached. Similarly, one may not be able to fathom at first glance how someone could be prosecuted for breaking a promise, but this crime appears less odd in light of the importance Greeks placed on forming a viable democracy, free of the aristocratic deceit plaguing earlier governments.

(Satyrs attacking a sleeping maenad)
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