L’héritage et les derniers devoirs à Gortyne : quelles obligations pour les descendants ?

The clauses about inheritance contained in the Law Code of Gortyn show that one of the lawgiver's most important aims was to provide a fair division of the inheritance between the deceased's children, according to their sex. The rules were less precise about the next heirs, the collateral...

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Main Author: Maude Lajeunesse
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Anthropologie et Histoire des Mondes Antiques 2018-02-01
Series:Cahiers Mondes Anciens
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/mondesanciens/2026
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author Maude Lajeunesse
author_facet Maude Lajeunesse
author_sort Maude Lajeunesse
collection DOAJ
description The clauses about inheritance contained in the Law Code of Gortyn show that one of the lawgiver's most important aims was to provide a fair division of the inheritance between the deceased's children, according to their sex. The rules were less precise about the next heirs, the collateral relatives. When someone died, his heirs had the right to refuse the inheritance. If they did so, they did not have to pay the debts of the deceased person. In a similar way, the adoptive son could reject the inheritance and not fulfill all the human and religious obligations towards the deceased father. In sum, the heirs could refuse an inheritance and, thus, had no negative consequences regarding their relative's death. But the question remains about the legitimate son: was he under the obligation to accept the paternal inheritance and to take care of the funerary rituals and, thus, to pay back his deceased father's debts?
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spelling doaj.art-c9ea946e7864417dbbc883910dcc51642022-12-22T00:32:36ZengAnthropologie et Histoire des Mondes AntiquesCahiers Mondes Anciens2107-01992018-02-011010.4000/mondesanciens.2026L’héritage et les derniers devoirs à Gortyne : quelles obligations pour les descendants ?Maude LajeunesseThe clauses about inheritance contained in the Law Code of Gortyn show that one of the lawgiver's most important aims was to provide a fair division of the inheritance between the deceased's children, according to their sex. The rules were less precise about the next heirs, the collateral relatives. When someone died, his heirs had the right to refuse the inheritance. If they did so, they did not have to pay the debts of the deceased person. In a similar way, the adoptive son could reject the inheritance and not fulfill all the human and religious obligations towards the deceased father. In sum, the heirs could refuse an inheritance and, thus, had no negative consequences regarding their relative's death. But the question remains about the legitimate son: was he under the obligation to accept the paternal inheritance and to take care of the funerary rituals and, thus, to pay back his deceased father's debts?http://journals.openedition.org/mondesanciens/2026greek epigraphylawfamilyGortyn CodeCreteinheritance
spellingShingle Maude Lajeunesse
L’héritage et les derniers devoirs à Gortyne : quelles obligations pour les descendants ?
Cahiers Mondes Anciens
greek epigraphy
law
family
Gortyn Code
Crete
inheritance
title L’héritage et les derniers devoirs à Gortyne : quelles obligations pour les descendants ?
title_full L’héritage et les derniers devoirs à Gortyne : quelles obligations pour les descendants ?
title_fullStr L’héritage et les derniers devoirs à Gortyne : quelles obligations pour les descendants ?
title_full_unstemmed L’héritage et les derniers devoirs à Gortyne : quelles obligations pour les descendants ?
title_short L’héritage et les derniers devoirs à Gortyne : quelles obligations pour les descendants ?
title_sort l heritage et les derniers devoirs a gortyne quelles obligations pour les descendants
topic greek epigraphy
law
family
Gortyn Code
Crete
inheritance
url http://journals.openedition.org/mondesanciens/2026
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