Restitution. The most visible modern form of punishment, imprisonment, was hardly used in the ancient Greek world. The prison at Athens was used only for holding someone accused of a serious crime until his trial, or perhaps until a fine was paid or he suffered execution. Most punishments took the form of restitution, restoring to the injured person what was lost through the injury. Money was the most common form of restitution, and the Athenians decreed that if someone, for instance, stole one hundred drachmas, the restitution should be the original amount doubled. It was up to the injured party to collect the punishment. If the offender refused to pay, the injured party had to bring another suit, the result of which, if he won, would be that the punishment was again doubled. Ultimately the offender could suffer atimia, the loss of...