Charondas the Lawgiver (Χαρώνδας)

Life Charondas was a lawgiver (νομοθέτης) from Catana in Sicily, active in the 6th century BCE [1]. He authored a legal code for Catana and other Chalcidian colonies like Rhegium [1][2]. Later tradition, likely anachronistic, considered him a student of Pythagoras [1]. A legendary anecdote recounts that after he accidentally violated his own law forbidding armed entry to the public assembly, he committed suicide to uphold the law’s authority [1][2].

Works His sole known work is the Laws (Νόμοι), a comprehensive legal code now lost. Its provisions are known only through fragmentary references in later authors such as Diodorus Siculus and Stobaeus [1][2].

Significance Charondas was a significant early Greek lawgiver alongside figures like Zaleucus of Locri [1]. His laws were renowned for their precision, systematic detail, and distinctive style, which included explanatory preambles [1][2]. He is credited with legal innovations, most notably the introduction of a suit for false witness (δίκη ψευδομαρτυρίων) to ensure judicial integrity [1]. His legendary suicide became a paradigmatic story about the supremacy of law [1][2].

Sources 1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/early-greek-lawgivers/#CharZal 2. Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charondas