The aim of L.’s valuable study is nothing less than to solve a puzzle: how could Athens, as an ancient city-state lacking both a professional police force and a public prosecutor, remain a peaceful and well-ordered society (p. 1)? In Part 1 L. explains why neither informal social control nor the deterrent effects of sanctions accompanying laws suffice to explain the high level of ‘Athenian orderliness’. She goes on to examine the role of statutes and formal procedures in court in fostering compliance with norms in Part 2. L. argues that there was no ‘rule of law’ in the modern sense. Following up on the basis that she laid in Law and Justice in the Courts of Classical Athens (2006) she successfully exploits the context of the democratic court system and focuses on the interaction of formal and informal institutions as well as on the role of publicity.

Informal social control and its limits are exemplified in four categories: social sanctions, internalised norms, self-help and private discipline, and alternative dispute resolution. L.’s aim is to show that these principles were used less frequently and were less influential than is presupposed by modern research (p. 18). Social sanctions such as public ridicule, shunning, the refusal to share meals or reciprocal relations are limited due to two reasons. First, Classical Athens was not a face-to-face society; it was not close-knit enough to provide the necessary network for the immediate and universal success of social control (pp. 25–7). Second, there was an ideological perspective as well. The Athenians were, on a general level, uncomfortable with citizens passing judgement on each other's private lives and thus presenting themselves as superior (p. 28). On the other hand the concern for one's own reputation seems to have been more important than the adherence to internalised norms that each Athenian might have followed without regard to the possibility of getting caught. Another limit of these norms seems to have been the fact that they were not as universally accepted and homogeneous as it might seem from our perspective. The strongest argument against their predominance is the interaction between these internalised norms and the formal legal system. The latter shaped the former, since for L. no other significant form of public education can be found (pp. 29–33). While the power of social sanctions and internalised norms is thus downsized, L. sees self-help and private discipline as potent means to enforce compliance, but within the limited space of the individual household (oikos). The relevant sources are highly important because this is a sphere where the regulation of the behaviour of slaves, women and minors can be observed (p. 36). The last of the four categories, settlement and private arbitration, is clearly so closely connected to the procedures in court that it cannot be seen without them and thus does not provide a good example for social sanctions (pp. 44–6).

In presenting both the modern debate as well as the ancient sources, L. is able to raise doubts regarding the former. The limits she shows are evident and will have to be taken into account in future research. Still, a small caveat might be emphasised more than she does: most of the ancient examples of social sanctions come from legal speeches or historiographical texts. Therefore, the close connections to the public polis institutions as well as the system of law are not surprising. Daily life in an ancient city such as Athens is usually under-represented in the sources. However, that does not exclude that the ratio of social sanctions might have been higher than L. admits.

The second chapter presents the limits of law enforcement and thus tries to assess the role of straightforward deterrence in maintaining order in Athens (p. 47). After explaining that Athenian statutes were under-enforced on a regular basis due to the fact that they relied on private initiative and that the outcome of a trial was deemed uncertain (pp. 49–61), L. shows the other side, namely the few areas in which state control was in fact strengthened. Economic security is at the centre of attention of the agoranomoi and similar magistrates who were able to impose summary fines (pp. 62–7). The astynomoi were in charge of order in public spaces (p. 68), special procedures against common criminals (kakourgoi) allowed for immediate response to theft and related crimes (pp. 69–70). Still, L. concludes, magistrates lacked these competencies in most areas of daily life and are, therefore, only to be seen as complementary to other mechanisms.

Next L. concentrates on the effects that the Athenian statutes could have had aside from the direct consequences of the sanctions once imposed. In an interesting turn towards legal and sociological studies on the mechanisms of social influence, L. applies these modern theories to Athenian society. Presenting two examples, the hybris-law and its effects on the treatment of slaves (pp. 85–98) and the rules on homosexual pederasty and their change through the prostitution laws (pp. 98–116), L. analyses the possible impact of the statutes and concludes that the law, even when it was not formally enforced by the courts, had great symbolic value and exerted significant influence on the private lives of Athenians (pp. 117–18).

The next chapter considers the role of court verdicts in maintaining public order and points out several surprising aspects that can be found when looking at court speeches as sources of the enforcement of social norms. Speakers were free to use any argument or information in front of the jury that rendered significance to the ‘extrastatutory’ norms (p. 121). In an elaborate characterisation of the opponent there were ample possibilities to refer to norms that were unrelated to the actual legal charge in the given case. These arguments are attested regularly, were brought up in public – thus improving the flow of information – and will have helped to persuade any Athenian to comply with a set of stable social regulations concerning both private and public behaviour. L. draws a coherent and convincing picture of these side effects of trials that complement the limited possibilities of informal social control as presented in Chapter 1 (pp. 140–9). She does not stop here and takes her argument further: if one accepts the educational role of the presentations of speakers in courts, it is only a small and logical step forward to see their part in the confirmation of existing as well as in the shaping and definition of new norms. Based on several examples, L. identifies the courts as spaces for ample arguments over behavioural statutes that could spark a public debate and start to shift public opinion (pp. 156–70). The absence of a strict rule of law provides the necessary flexibility of the procedure. The fact that Athenian laws, at first sight, appear vague and did not define special criteria for the offence or the possible defence allows for the consideration of characteristics of proper behaviour and thus necessary advancement over time. It is this special role of the Athenian courts that enables them to participate largely in the restoration of order after the civil war of 404/3 bce (pp. 173–9). L. shows that they were apt to alleviate the tensions between strict justice and political necessity in reaching a settlement. They provided all Athenians with the opportunity to participate actively in the reconciliation, to act as a forum for the airing of reproaches, even if they were not connected to the allegation provoking the trial, and finally to return a verdict, taking into account not only the accusation and its legal basis, but also other factors presented (pp. 179–96). Thus mediation – which was held in such high esteem in Athenian procedure – could not only be reached outside the courtroom but inside as well.

L.’s book presents the Athenian legal system from a new and fascinating perspective by changing the point of view both on informal social norms and sanctions as well as on the formal system of justice. This enables her to draw a concise picture of the interaction of the two that will be of particular interest not only to historians of the legal and social realm of Classical Athens but to all readers interested in the functioning of the ancient metropolis.