In this paper the author analyzes the Cretan legal terminology related to the judicial procedure and penalties. The terms are gathered into
four sections: a) persons in charge of the administration ofjustice and
the exercise oftheir duties; b) the litigant parties; c) admissible proofs on
a trial; d) andfinally, the result and execution of the lawsuit.
There are two clearly differentiated phases in the historical development of the Cretan legal vocabulary. Firstly, the inscriptions of the
Archaic and Classical periods show numerous terms peculiar to the
Cretan legislative language, along with other words which are usual in
Greek or common to other legislations such as the Attic one. And
secondly, the influence of a legal supradialectal nomenclature, favoured by the Koine, is observed in inscriptions of the Hellenistic period.
