Person

Zaleucus

fl. 7th century BCE · 7th century BCE

Zaleucus was the lawgiver of Locri Epizephyrii in southern Italy, credited with drawing up the first written Greek law code in the mid-7th century BCE. His laws fixed penalties in advance rather than leaving them to the judges, and were known for their severity. Later stories about him, such as his putting out one of his own eyes to spare his son, are of uncertain value.

Zaleucus
Image: Published by Guillaume Rouille(1518?-1589) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Zaleucus. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/zaleucus
MLA
“Zaleucus.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/zaleucus. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Zaleucus.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/zaleucus.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Zaleucus’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/zaleucus (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻