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
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