Introduction

This chapter introduces the volume's central theme and methodology. It begins with a review of existing scholarship on the role of law and its connection to forensic rhetoric in the courts of Classical Athens. It then outlines the volume's methodology, which is grounded in a close analysis of the speeches and influenced by contemporary legal theory. This approach highlights the institutional nature of the law and explores the concepts of normative and narrative coherence which explain how different legal arguments can be made in court without compromising the Rule of Law. The chapter connects this modern theory with Athenian judicial institutions and most common forensic arguments in Attic forensic oratory. Finally, the chapter provides an overview of the volume and summarizes the contributions of the individual chapters.