Asebeia (
Ancient Greek:
ἀσέβεια) was a criminal charge in
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
for the "desecration and mockery of divine objects", for "irreverence towards the
state gods" and disrespect towards parents and dead ancestors. It translates into English as impiety or godlessness. Most evidence for it comes from Athens.
The
antonym
In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''long'' entails that it is not ''short''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members ...
of asebeia is
eusebeia
Eusebeia (Greek: from "pious" from ''eu'' meaning "well", and ''sebas'' meaning "reverence", itself formed from ''seb-'' meaning sacred awe and reverence especially in actions) is a Greek word abundantly used in Greek philosophy as well as in ...
(
εὐσέβεια), which can be translated as "piety". As piety was the generally desired and expected form of behaviour and mindset, being called and regarded impious (ἀσεβής) was already a form of punishment.
Trials in Athens
Every single citizen, including a third party, could bring this charge (''graphē asebeias'') to the
Archon basileus. Instead of a single law or text defining the charge and proceedings to take place in case of asebeia, there is an array of texts in which it appears.
Plutarch,
Polybios
Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail.
Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
,
Demosthenes and
Aristotle refer to it in their texts.
The trials were publicly held at the ''
Heliaia'' and were split into two steps: first it was established by the audience (heliasts or
dikastes) through voting, whether the accused was found guilty; if the majority found them guilty, because the laws didn't prescribe a fixed punishment, the audience at the ''Heliaia'' would then, in the second step, decide on the punishment. Known punishments were fines, exile, death, property confiscation and
atimia
Atimia (Ατιμία) was a form of disenfranchisement used under classical Athenian democracy.
Under democracy in ancient Greece, only free adult Greek males were enfranchised as full citizens. Women, foreigners, children and slaves were not fu ...
(disfranchisement), whilst death was the most common sentence. There was no right to appeal the sentence made. Sentences were carried out or supervised by the magistrates from the eleven tribes: ''The Eleven'' (οἱ ἕνδεκα). The following ancient Greeks were accused or allegedly accused (as the sources are ambiguous) of asebeia:
*
Aeschylus
Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
(acquitted)
*
Anaxagoras
Anaxagoras (; grc-gre, Ἀναξαγόρας, ''Anaxagóras'', "lord of the assembly"; 500 – 428 BC) was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. Born in Clazomenae at a time when Asia Minor was under the control of the Persian Empire, ...
(acquitted, exiled, or sentenced to death in absentia)
*
Andocides was acquitted in 399 or 400 BCE.
*
Aristotle (fled before trial)
*
Aspasia (acquitted)
* ''Hermocopidae'': vandalizers of the Athenian
hermae in 415 BCE. 22 individuals were sentenced to death.
:*
Alcibiades
Alcibiades ( ; grc-gre, Ἀλκιβιάδης; 450 – 404 BC) was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last of the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He played a major role in th ...
(sentenced to death, but fled)
*
Demades Demades ( el, Δημάδης, BC) was an Athenian orator and demagogue.
Background and early life
Demades was born into a poor family of ancient Paeania and was employed at one time as a common sailor, but he rose to a prominent position at Ath ...
(fined)
*
Diagoras of Melos (fled Athens)
*
Diopeithes
*
Euripides
*
Ninos
*
Phryne (acquitted)
*
Protagoras (sentenced to death or exile)
*
Socrates:
Found guilty after trial, sentenced to death, and executed in 399 BCE.
*
Theodorus the Atheist
*
Theophrastus (exile, later withdrawn)
Historicity
Even though the above individuals were alleged to have been accused of asebeia in different later sources, there is a lack of historical evidence and it was suggested that some of the accusations might have been fabricated by historians and other writers in later periods.
Outside Athens
Outside Athens asebeia was possibly seen as a wrong state of mind rather than a crime.
Impiety
/ref>
See also
* Graphe paranomon
The ''graphḗ paranómōn'' ( grc, γραφή παρανόμων), was a form of legal action believed to have been introduced at Athens under the democracy sometime around the year 415 BC; it has been seen as a replacement for ostracism, which f ...
References
{{reflist
Bibliography
* Filonik, J. (2013)
Athenian impiety trials: a reappraisal.
Dike-Rivista di Storia del Diritto Greco ed Ellenistico, 16, 11-96.
* Leão, Delfim. (2012). “Asebeia”, in Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine, and Sabine R. Huebner (eds.), ''The Encyclopedia of Ancient History'' (Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell, 2012), 815-816. 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah17057.
Ancient Greek law
Athenian democracy
Blasphemy law
Ancient Greek religion