РефератыИностранный языкJuJuvinile Dliquency In The Grec0Roman World Essay

Juvinile Dliquency In The Grec0Roman World Essay

Juvinile Dliquency In The Grec0-Roman World Essay, Research Paper


Juvenile Delinquency Existence in the Greco-Roman World


Juvenile delinquency is a social problem that is widely recognized by


sociologists as well as the general public. This problem of juvenile delinquency has


not only existed in current history, but is one that probably predates even ancient


history. As for this study I will concentrate on juvenile delinquency’s existence in the


Greco-Roman world and at times I will draw some comparisons to today’s society.


There were many social situations of the Greco-Roman world that contributed to the


existence of juvenile delinquency. In regards to this paper juvenile delinquency can be


defined as “any act committed by a juvenile that is, according to the legal system of


the time, punishable by law”.


First let me give attention to the fact that in the Greco-Roman world


there was no such classification as “Juvenile Delinquency”. The reason for this non-


recognition was:


“do chiefly to the fact that the ancient world was almost wholly incapable


of identifying a social trend, formulating a social theory or implementing a


social policy. What the modern world identifies as “social ills” such as


vagrancy, homelessness, divorce, illegitimacy, and delinquency, could only


be discussed on the individual and personnel level. They(the social ills)


could not be perceived as phenomena embedded in society as a whole.


Nor could they be discussed within a conceptual or theoretical framework,


due largely to the simple fact that the Greeks and Romans did not keep


statistics on such matters.” (Garland, 1-2)


Social trends were not recognized or recorded, therefore juvenile delinquency is a


difficult topic to investigate but through other sources some conclusions can be made.


These other sources include descriptions of the people, events of the times, as well as


popular mythology of the time. Even without a formal recognition, it does become


clear that juvenile delinquency was a large problem that existed in both Greece and


Rome. Dealing first in Greece, the story of Ariston as told by the orator and politician


Demosthenes, is a clear example.


Ariston, a young man living in classical Greece, had been the victim of


an unprovoked attack while walking late one night through the heart of the Athenian


city. After the assault, Ariston indicted the father of the chief assailant, a man called


Konon. Konon’s son, Ktesias, had made a habit of getting drunk at lun

ch-time,


ignoring warnings from his commander, and amusing himself by pouring the contents


of his chamber pot over slaves heads. Ktesias’ disrespectful actions were


representations of the lack of discipline given to him by his military commander as


well as his father, in fact Ktesias’ father Konon was even involved in the assault.


The assault on Ariston included tearing his cloak off, pushing him into the mud,


striking him so violently that his eye swelled up and his lip bled, and then verbal


assaulting him while he lied helpless. During the attack Konon stood next to his son


and encouraged his son’s actions by imitating the sounds made by fighting cocks after


they have been victorious. Fortunately for Ariston, he was picked up by others passing


by.


The parallels to today’s times are easy to draw. First the attack like


many in today’s society was triggered by alcohol, Konon and his son had previously


been to a drinking party. Secondly Athenian military service, because of its loose


discipline, fostered the tendency to commit acts of senseless violence instead of acting


as a safe outlet for youths. This is one current argument today in the explanation of


delinquency.


When Ariston addressed the jury he warned them that they were likely


to hear Konon try to defend his son along the “boys will be boys tradition”. Ariston


expressed his belief that Konan would try to portray Ktesias as no different then other


young people in Athens who come from good backgrounds and become infatuated


with prostitutes and then come to blows over them. In relation to other’s behavior


Konon was going to try to show that his son’s behavior was perfectly normal. Ariston


stressed the fact that prostitutes had nothing to do with the assault but that his attacker


was nurturing a grudge against him for telling tales to his commander. How the case


turned out or to what level in actuality Ariston brought the attack upon himself does


not present my point. The point is that this incident was not an isolated one and that


the defendants characterization of young Athenian males can be look at as an accurate


one. Young manhood in Greece was typically characterized by combativeness,


drunkenness, and sexual excess. Their rivalry must have featured prominently in a


society highly competitive in all its forms of social expression.


Another way juvenile delinquency in the Greco-Roman world is


presented is within Greek mythology. Greek mythology leads us to suspect that the


Greek c

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