Atimia () was a form of

disenfranchisement Disfranchisement, also disenfranchisement (which has become more common since 1982) or voter disqualification, is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing someo ...

used in ancient Greek cities. 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 Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself ...

or value, was likewise disenfranchised and disempowered, making him unable to carry out the political functions of a

citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...

. He could not attend assembly meetings, serve as a

juror A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

Heliaia Heliaia or Heliaea (; Doric: Ἁλία ''Halia'') was the supreme court of ancient Athens. The view generally held among scholars is that the court drew its name from the ancient Greek verb (''héliázesthai''), which means ''congregate''. Anothe ...

or bring actions before the

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

s. Being barred from assembly would effectively end a citizen's

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

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 a service as a juror in a legal proceeding. Different countries have different approaches to juries: variations include the kinds of cases tried before a jury, how many jurors hear a trial, and whether the lay person is ...

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 Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...

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 and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

References

*''Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes'', Mogens Hansen (Oxford 1991) Ancient Greek law Athenian democracy {{AncientGreece-stub

See also

References