Henry A. Rhodes
This unit is intended for students in grades 8-12. There are three major objectives I wish to accomplish with the writing of this unit. They are: 1) to acquaint students with the Athenian court system 2) to give students an overview of the American court system 3) to have students realize that regardless of a court’s shortcomings and problems that these legal institutions are necessary to maintain a peaceful society.
The Athenian courts discussed in this unit existed in the second half of the fifth century B.C. and the first half of the fourth century B.C. It should be stated that this is a controversial period in the sense that many facts of this era are still in dispute among historians. I have thus attempted to state only facts about courts in this period that can be substantiated.
