Water management and its judicial contexts in ancient Greece: a review from the earliest times to the Roman period

Abstract

From the earliest times, Greek societies prepared legislation to solve disputes, define access to the water resources, and regulate waste- and storm-water disposal. On the one hand, evidence suggests that in Greek antiquity (750–30 bc), scientific progress was an important agent in the development of water management in some cities including institutional and regulatory issues. In most cities, it seems not to have been a prerequisite in relation to basic agricultural or household requirements. Previous studies suggest that judicial insight rather than practical knowledge of water management became a vital part of how socio-political and religious organizations dealing with water management functioned. The evidence indicates an interest in institutional matters, but in some instances also in the day-to-day handling of water issues. Thus, the aim of this review is to follow the development of water law and institutions and their technical solutions in the Greek states during the Archaic through the Roman periods. In addition, it demonstrates that the need for water management regulations is not a modern creation, but there is a long tradition of solving complex issues of water supply and use with rather sophisticated legal measures.

Water Quality and Life Expectancy: Parallel Courses in Time

“…Prehistoric Times Fresh water has been of utmost importance since the development of very early human settlements, influencing both individual lives and the organization of communities. Most prehistoric civilizations developed and flourished near rivers and lakes where a water supply for drinking and agricultural use was readily available (e.g., Mesopotamians near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Asia, Egyptians near the Nile in Africa, Indians near the Indus River, and Chinese civilizations near the Yellow River and Yangtze River in Asia) [13]. Remnants of human bones and hunting tools, one million years old, have been found near rivers, the oldest known from Ethiopia [1].…”

Water Conflicts: From Ancient to Modern Times and in the Future

“…Around 1790 BC, a continued water dispute led Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC), the Babylonian king, to include several laws in the famous "Law Code of Hammurabi" pertaining to the negligence of irrigation systems and to water theft. Hammurabi created laws, which were enforced in his kingdom, and supposedly ensured farmers' participation in the construction and maintenance of infrastructure and a fair distribution of irrigation water to avoid conflicts [11].…”

Irrigation of World Agricultural Lands: Evolution through the Millennia

“…The first known written rules related to irrigation date back to the era of that Babylonian King who wrote a code of law based on previous Sumerian rules. Additionally, the Hammurabi law code introduced three key concepts that created the foundation for collective irrigation management [35]. The key concepts were: (a) proportional distribution, whereby a grower receives water in proportion to the amount of farmed land; (b) definition of an individual farmer's responsibility towards the community, by safeguarding the canal sections on his property, accepting community-shared rules such as water rotations and liability for damages caused to neighbors owing to negligence or malice; and, (c) water apportionment and policy of irrigation arrangements being the collective responsibility of beneficiary farmers [36,37].…”

“…The goals were to ensure farmers' participation in the construction and management of infrastructures and achieve an equitable distribution of water to avoid conflicts. It is disputed among legal historians whether early Greek law was inspired by these early Mesopotamian examples [35].…”

“…On the contrary to most ancient civilizations, which developed and flourished near rivers and lakes where water supply for drinking and agricultural use was readily available, the Greeks established communities in arid and semi-arid regions since the early times [35]. Thus, the Greeks developed sophisticate irrigation practices and general water management practices due to the water scarcity during the Minoan Era and onwards.…”