2009
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Giuseppe Lentini, « Gioco e diritto in Omero », GAIA. Revue interdisciplinaire sur la Grèce ancienne, ID : 10.3406/gaia.2009.1526
Game and Law in Homer Much has been written on the analogy between game and law, which is referred to by classical books like J. Huizinga s Homo Ludens and H. Harts The Concept of Law. But, as L. Gernet has shown, a contiguity of games and law can be observed already in Homer. Starting from the analysis of two disputes arising during athletic competitions (the one between Ajax ofOileus and Ido- meneus in II. 23 and the one between Odysseus and Euryalus in Od. 8) the paper tries to cast some light on the trial scene of the Shield of Achilles : the dispute settlement method (a group of γέροντες who, taking turns, render their judgments until the one who has pronounced the most correct one emerges) follows the agonistic model of athletic competitions.