O AREÓPAGO E SUA FUNÇÃO EDUCADORA NO PROCESSO DEMOCRÁTICO DOS GREGOS

Abstract

This article deals with the problem of justice and democracy in its Greek origins, based on the institution of the Areopagus. In Greek literature, the Areopagus Court had its origins linked to the myth that narrates the Ares’ trial, mentioned by Homer and recorded in the Library of Apollodorus. In the mythical description it is possible to find evidences that marked the relation between democracy and justice. The court formation with the Gods of the Olympic Pantheon already delimited ambiguous questions and alternative actions that were typical of the political and legal life of the ancient Greek world. From this judgment, the Greeks took important instructive aspects for the construction of the democratic regime, firstly with Solon, and later with the reformulations of Cleisthenes, which resulted in education. The Areopagus was the institution that was responsible not only for drafting, applying and guarding the law, but also for regulating the criteria that would serve to educate the Greeks for the democratic regime. The origin of democracy in Greece has substantial aspects, which resurge today and deserve revisiting so that we do not neglect to improve it.