Decree to republish Draco’s law on homicide

OR 183A Date: 621/0 BC or 409/8 BC
 
Diognetos of Phrearrhioi was secretary.[1]
Decree of 409/8 Diokles was archon (409/8). The Council and the People decided. AkamantisV was in prytany. Diognetos was secretary. Euthydikos was chairman. –phanes proposed: (5) the inscribers or writers-up (anagraphes) of the laws shall inscribe (anagraphsanton) Draco’s law on homicide,[2] taking it over from the king (basileos),[3] with the secretary of the Council, on a stone stele and set it down in front of the royal stoa (stoas tes basileias). The official sellers (poletai) shall make the contract in accordance with the law, and the Greek treasurers (hellenotamiai) shall provide the money.
“Draco’s law” (10) First axon.[4] And or Even if anybody kills anybody not from forethought,[5] he shall be exiled. The kings (basileas) shall pronounce responsible (dikazen) for homicide [the one who himself killed or the one?] who planned it; the appeal judges (ephetas) shall decide it (diagnonai). There shall be reconciliation (aidesasthai), if there are a father or brother or sons, to be granted by all, or the objector shall prevail. If these (15) do not exist, then as far as cousinhood and cousin, if they are all willing to grant reconciliation, or the objector shall prevail. If none of these exists but he killed unwillingly and the fifty-one appeal judges (ephetai) decide that he killed unwillingly, let ten members of the phratry allow him to enter if they are willing: let these be chosen by the fifty-one on the basis of their excellence (aristinden). And those who killed (20) previously shall be liable to this ordinance. There shall be a proclamation against the killer in the agora by those as far as cousinhood and cousin; there shall join in the prosecution cousins and cousins’ sons and brothers-in-law and fathers-in-law and phratry members . . . is responsible for homicide . . . the fifty- (25) one . . . convict of homicide . . . If anybody kills a killer, or is responsible for his being killed, when he is keeping away from a frontier market and Amphiktyonic contests and rites, he shall be liable to the same things as for killing an Athenian; the appeal judges (ephetas) shall decide . . . (36) . . . he is a free man. And if he kills a man by defending immediately when the man is forcibly and unjustly taking and removing, that man shall have been killed without penalty . . . . . . (56) Second axon. . . .