Draconian constitution

The early Athenian legal order traditionally attributed to Draco, whose written laws included severe penalties and were later largely replaced by Solon’s reforms.

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Draco: An Athenian lawgiver traditionally credited with publishing Athens’s first written law code in the late seventh century BCE. Ancient tradition identifies Draco as the author of this legal order.
Athenian homicide law: The body of ancient Athenian rules and procedures governing homicide and its prosecution. Homicide provisions are the principal part of Draco’s laws said to have survived Solon’s reforms.
Solonian reforms: The political, economic, and legal changes enacted by Solon in Athens in the early sixth century BCE. These reforms repealed most of Draco’s laws while retaining homicide provisions.
Solon's seisachtheia: Solon’s cancellation of debts and abolition of debt-bondage in Athens. This reform addressed social grievances beyond the penal rules associated with Draco.
Archaic Greece: The period of Greek history conventionally dated from about 800 to 480 BCE. Draco’s laws emerged amid the political and social changes of this period.
Written law: Law expressed in written rules that can be publicly consulted and applied. Draco’s code is remembered as an early public inscription of Athenian rules.
Draconian punishment: Punishment regarded as exceptionally harsh, named after the traditional severity of Draco’s laws. The constitution gave rise to the enduring association between Draco and extreme penalties.
Athenian customary law: Unwritten rules and practices that governed conduct in Athens before and alongside codified laws. Draco’s written code is traditionally contrasted with earlier customary rules.
Athens: An ancient Greek city-state in Attica that became a major center of political and cultural life. The constitution governed Athens before its later democratic institutions developed.
Ephetai: A group of Athenian judges associated in ancient accounts with homicide cases. Tradition connected these judges with the administration of homicide law after Draco.