''Asebeia'' () was a criminal charge in

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

for the "desecration and mockery of divine objects", for "irreverence towards the state gods" and disrespect towards parents and dead ancestors. In English, the word is typically translated as or . Most evidence for it comes from ancient

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. The antonym of asebeia is eusebeia ( 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 () 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 ''Archon basileus'' (, ') was a Greek title, meaning "king magistrate"; the term is derived from the words ''archon'' "magistrate" and ''basileus'' "king" or "sovereign". Background. Most modern scholars claim that in Classical Athens, the ''a ...

. 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 Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, Polybios,

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and cu ...

and

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

refer to it in their texts. The trials were publicly held at the '' Heliaia'' and were split into two steps: first the jury (heliasts or dikastes) voted on whether the accused was guilty; if the majority found them guilty, because the laws did not prescribe a fixed punishment, the jury at the ''Heliaia'' would then decide on the punishment. Known punishments were fines, exile, death, property confiscation and atimia (disfranchisement), with death being 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 (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

(acquitted) *

Anaxagoras Anaxagoras (; , ''Anaxagóras'', 'lord of the assembly'; ) was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. Born in Clazomenae at a time when Asia Minor was under the control of the Persian Empire, Anaxagoras came to Athens. In later life he was charged ...

(acquitted, exiled, or sentenced to death in absentia) * Andocides was acquitted in 399 or 400 BCE. *

(fled before trial) * Aspasia (acquitted) * ''Hermocopidae'': vandalizers of the Athenian hermae in 415 BCE. 22 individuals were sentenced to death. * Alcibiades (sentenced to death, but fled) * Demades (fined) *

Diagoras of Melos Diagoras of Melos () or Diagoras "the Atheist" was a Greece, Greek poet and sophist of the 5th century BC. Throughout antiquity, he was regarded as an atheism, atheist, but very little is known for certain about what he actually believed. Anecdotes ...

(fled Athens) *

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

* Ninos (according to Josephus, executed for introducing foreign gods to Athens; the charge may have been asebeia) * Phryne (acquitted) * Protagoras (allegedly sentenced to death or exile) *

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

: sentenced to death, and executed in 399 BCE. * Theodorus the Atheist *

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; ; c. 371 – c. 287 BC) was an ancient Greek Philosophy, philosopher and Natural history, naturalist. A native of Eresos in Lesbos, he was Aristotle's close colleague and successor as head of the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum, the ...

(Diogenes Laertius reports that the charge was so unpopular that "the prosecutor himself narrowly escaped punishment") * Theoris of Lemnos (executed; Philochorus claims that the charge against her was ''asebeia'')

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
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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

Trials in Athens

Historicity

Outside Athens

See also

References

Bibliography