Code of Charondas

The Code of Charondas was a body of law written by Charondas, a lawgiver of Catania in Sicily active in the 6th century BC, whose exact dates are uncertain but who preceded Anaxilas of Rhegium, active 494 to 476 BC. Originally composed in verse, the code was adopted by the other Chalcidic colonies of Sicily and Italy and governed both public and private conduct; Aristotle credited Charondas with the innovation of introducing actions for perjury, and the code also set rules on inheritance and marriage, including a requirement that a female heir's relatives provide her a dowry if unwilling to marry her themselves. Plato spoke favorably of Charondas in the Republic, and legend holds that Charondas took his own life after inadvertently violating his own law against bearing arms in the public assembly.