Draconian is a word used to describe laws or rules, which are deemed to be harsh or severe. The word Draconian comes from an Ancient Greek lawmaker named Draco, who was responsible for the first written constitution of Athens. His laws were outrageously harsh, including the death penalty for even minor offences.
Strangely, the Athenians thought Draco was a great fellow and so when he visited a theatre not far from Athens, they paid him tribute by throwing their caps and cloaks on to him. But so many hats and coats were thrown onto him that he suffocated and died.
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It out-herods Herod
Herod, who is mentioned by Shakespeare also appears in the Bible. He was born 73 or 74 BCE and he was the king of the small Jewish state of Judea, appointed by the Romans. Herod is famous for many things, including the killing of his wife and two of his sons. However, there is a Bible story featuring Herod, called The Massacre of the Innocents, where Herod orders the death of every male infant in Bethlehem, to kill off a future messiah. The problem is that there no real evidence that this happened.
As Herod got older, he seemed to become crazier and more paranoid, perhaps as a result of some illness or disorder. The historian Josephus writes that Herod's last illness and death called, "Herod's Evil", involved convulsions, fevers, itching, tumours of the feet; the putrefaction of his genitals and being eaten by worms. Oh dear!
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| Archaeological excavations of Herod's palace |
Books To Read
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I and II, is the script for the West End stage play written by Jack Thorne.
