Ancient Greek law is a branch of comparative jurisprudence relating to the laws and legal institutions of Ancient Greece.
Greek law has been partially compared with Roman law, and has been incidentally illustrated with the aid of the primitive institutions of the Germanic nations. It may now be studied in its earlier stages in the laws of Gortyn; its influence may be traced in legal documents preserved in Egyptian papyri; and it may be recognized as a consistent whole in its ultimate relations to Roman law in the eastern provinces of the Roman empire.
The existence of certain general principles of law is implied by the custom of settling a difference between two Greek states, or between members of a single state, by resorting to external arbitration. The general unity of Greek law is mainly to be seen in the laws of inheritance and adoption, in laws of commerce and contract, and in the publicity uniformly given to legal agreements.
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th – 6th centuries BC, (known as Archaic), c. 5th – 4th centuries BC (Classical), and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD (Hellenistic) of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek. The language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine (common) or Biblical Greek, the language from the late period onward has no considerable difference from Medieval Greek. Koine is regarded as a separate historical stage of its own, although in its earlier form it closely resembles the Classical. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects.
Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of classical Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a standard subject of study in educational institutions of the West, since the Renaissance. This article's primary concern is the Epic and Classical phases of the language.
James Potter (1729–1789) was a soldier, farmer and politician from Colonial- and Revolutionary-era Pennsylvania. He rose to the rank of brigadier general of Pennsylvania militia during the Revolutionary War, and served as Vice-President of Pennsylvania, 1781-1782.
James Potter was of Scots descent, (born in County Tyrone, Ireland). He came to Colonial America with his father, John Potter, in 1741, and the family settled in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, where his father became high sheriff in 1750. His first wife was Elizabeth Cathcart of Philadelphia, and his second wife was Mary Patterson Chambers, daughter of James Patterson of Mifflin County. His daughter Martha was married to Andrew Gregg.
As a militia lieutenant for Northumberland County, where he made his home, James Potter took part in the Kittanning Expedition during the French and Indian War and reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel by the end of the war. He also served during Pontiac's Rebellion. In 1776, he served as a colonel and as a member of the first Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention.