Article
marriage ceremonies, Greek
Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood
Article
marriage law, Greek
D. M. MacDowell
Article
metics
David Whitehead
Article
metronomoi
P. J. Rhodes
Metronomoi, overseers of *weights and *measures in Athens; five for the city and five for the *Piraeus, appointed by lot for one year (Ath. pol. 51. 2). In other states their duties were carried out by the *agoranomoi.
Article
nautodikai
D. M. MacDowell
Article
neutrality
Simon Hornblower
Article
nomophylakes
D. M. MacDowell
Nomophylakes (νομοφύλακες) were ‘guardians of the laws’. In Athens, according to one authority (*Philochorus), officials with this title were instituted when *Ephialtes(4) deprived the *Areopagus of most of its powers in 462/1
Article
nomothetai
D. M. MacDowell
Article
officials, Greek, accountability of
Pierre Fröhlich
Article
oligarchy, the rule of the few
Victor Ehrenberg and P. J. Rhodes
Article
ostracism
D. M. MacDowell
Article
ownership, Greek ideas about
Robin Osborne
Article
ownership and property, Greek
Edward Harris
Those who owned property in the Greek world enjoyed all the basic rights and duties recognized in all legal systems. They had the right to security against arbitrary confiscation and theft, the right to enjoy the fruits, the right to alienate, the right to manage, and the right to pass on their property to their heirs. Their property could also be seized by the state as a penalty or to pay for fines or by private lenders in satisfaction of debts or other obligations. Property could be owned by private individuals, by private groups, by the state or by subdivisions of the state. In certain cases women had the right to own property, but their rights might be restricted by law. Most Greek communities only allowed citizens to own land unless they obtained permission to acquire land from the Assembly.
Secure property rights are crucial for economic prosperity.1 If owners of land cannot rest assured that their control over their property will not be threatened, they will have no incentive to build or make improvements. If they fear that someone may take their land at any moment, there will be no reason to invest in crops such as olives that will not produce immediate returns. If their title to the land is not secure, lenders will not be willing to accept the farm as security for a loan. If the threat of arbitrary confiscation hangs over owners, it becomes impossible to make any plans for the future. Finally, if the state does not protect the rights of owners, it is very difficult for individuals to buy and sell movable and immovable property in ways that lead to a better allocation of resources.