Atimia (Ατιμία) was a form of
disenfranchisement used under classical
Athenian democracy
Athenian democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica. Although Athens is the most famous ancient Greek democratic city- ...
.
Under democracy in ancient Greece, only free adult Greek males were enfranchised as full citizens. Women, foreigners, children and slaves were not full citizens; they could not vote or hold public office, and they had to have adult male citizens act as guardians of their property and other interests. A man who was made ''atimos'', literally meaning without
honour or value, was likewise disenfranchised and disempowered, making him unable to carry out the political functions of a
citizen
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
. He could not attend assembly meetings, serve as a
juror in
Heliaia or bring actions before the
courts.
Being barred from assembly would effectively end a citizen's
political ambition. Not being able to use the courts to defend oneself against enemies could be socially crippling. It also meant the loss of the small income that
jury service
Jury duty or jury service is service as a juror in a legal proceeding.
Juror selection process
The prosecutor and defense can dismiss potential jurors for various reasons, which can vary from one state to another, and they can have a specifi ...
and attendance at the assembly provided, which could be significant for poor people unable to work.
Atimia could be inflicted as a penalty by the courts for crimes such as bribery, embezzlement, false witness, and breach of duty as a public officer. A temporary form of atimia was automatically imposed if a
debt to the state was unpaid after a certain time, for instance if someone was unable to pay a fine. There was no upper limit on the fines courts could impose and they could well be larger than a person's entire estate. Just as this debt was
inheritable
Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...
, so was the status.
Failure to abide by atimia was seen as an attack on the power of the people, represented by the courts that had imposed it. Failing to comply with atimia could lead to the
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
.
See also
*
Outlawry
References
*''Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes'', Mogens Hansen (Oxford 1991)
Ancient Greek law
Athenian democracy
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