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'''''Homo sacer''''' (Latin for "the sacred man" or "the accursed man") is a figure of [[Roman law]]: a [[person]] who is [[ban (law)|banned]], may be killed by anybody, but may not be [[human sacrifice|sacrificed]] in a religious ritual.<ref>Agamben, Giorgio. Heller-Roazen, trans. ''Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life'' Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1998. 72.</ref>
'''''Homo sacer''''' (Latin for "the sacred man" or "the accursed man") is a figure of [[Roman law]]: a [[person]] who is [[ban (law)|banned]], may be killed by anybody, but may not be [[human sacrifice|sacrificed]] in a religious ritual.<ref>Agamben, Giorgio. Heller-Roazen, trans. ''Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life'' Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1998. 72.</ref>


The meaning of the term ''sacer'' in [[Ancient Roman religion]] is not fully congruent with the meaning it took after Christianization, and which was adopted into English as [[:wikt:sacred|sacred]]. In early Roman religion ''sacer'', much like Hebrew [[:wikt:קדש|{{Hebrew|קֹדֶשׁ}}]] ''qōdeš'', means anything "set apart" from common society, which equally covers the meanings of "hallowed" and "cursed". The ''homo sacer'' could thus also simply mean a person expunged from society and deprived of all [[rights]] and all functions in [[civil religion]]. ''Homo sacer'' is defined in legal terms as someone who can be killed without the killer being regarded as a murderer; and a person who cannot be sacrificed.<ref>Giorgio Agamben - Homo Sacer, 1995 (Valdisholm publishing company, Norwegian translation), 2. part (Homo Sacer) 1.1. referring [[Sextus Pompeius Festus]]. </ref> The sacred human may thus be understood as someone outside the law, or beyond it. In the case of certain monarchs in western legal traditions, the sovereign and the Homo Sacer have conflated.<ref>§ 5 Constitution of Norway - http://www.lovdata.no/all/tl-18140517-000-003.html#5</ref>
The meaning of the term ''sacer'' in [[Ancient Roman religion]] is not fully congruent with the meaning it took after Christianization, and which was adopted into English as [[:]]. In early Roman religion ''sacer'', much like Hebrew [[:wikt:קדש|{{Hebrew|קֹדֶשׁ}}]] ''qōdeš'', means anything "set apart" from common society, which equally covers the meanings of "hallowed" and "cursed". The ''homo sacer'' could thus also simply mean a person expunged from society and deprived of all [[rights]] and all functions in [[civil religion]]. ''Homo sacer'' is defined in legal terms as someone who can be killed without the killer being regarded as a murderer; and a person who cannot be sacrificed.<ref>Giorgio Agamben - Homo Sacer, 1995 (Valdisholm publishing company, Norwegian translation), 2. part (Homo Sacer) 1.1. referring [[Sextus Pompeius Festus]]. </ref> The sacred human may thus be understood as someone outside the law, or beyond it. In the case of certain monarchs in western legal traditions, the sovereign and the Homo Sacer have conflated.<ref>§ 5 Constitution of Norway - </ref>


The status of ''homo sacer'' could fall upon one as a consequence of oath-breaking. An [[oath]] in antiquity was essentially a conditional self-cursing, i.e. invoking one or several deities and asking for their punishment in the event of breaking the oath. An oathbreaker was consequently considered the property of the gods whom he had invoked and then deceived. If the oathbreaker was killed, this was understood as the revenge of the gods in whose power he had given himself. Since the oathbreaker was already the property of the oath deity, he could no longer belong to human society, or be consecrated to another deity.
The status of ''homo sacer'' could fall upon one as a consequence of oath-breaking. An [[oath]] in antiquity was essentially a conditional self-cursing, i.e. invoking one or several deities and asking for their punishment in the event of breaking the oath. An oathbreaker was consequently considered the property of the gods whom he had invoked and then deceived. If the oathbreaker was killed, this was understood as the revenge of the gods in whose power he had given himself. Since the oathbreaker was already the property of the oath deity, he could no longer belong to human society, or be consecrated to another deity.
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The idea of the status of an [[outlaw]], a criminal who is declared as unprotected by the law and can consequently be killed by anyone with impunity, persists throughout the [[Middle Ages]], medieval perception condemning the entire human intrinsic moral worth of the condemned outlaw, dehumanizing the outlaw literally as a "wolf" or "wolf's-head" (in an era where hunting of wolves existed strongly, including a commercial element)<ref>Mary R. Gerstein, Berkeley, Ca., 1974, "Germanic Warg: The Outlaw as Werwolf", in G.J. Larson, ed., ''Myth in Indo-European Antiquity'', p. 132</ref> and is first revoked only by the English ''[[Habeas Corpus]]'' act of 1679 which declares that any criminal must be judged by a tribunal before being punished.
The idea of the status of an [[outlaw]], a criminal who is declared as unprotected by the law and can consequently be killed by anyone with impunity, persists throughout the [[Middle Ages]], medieval perception condemning the entire human intrinsic moral worth of the condemned outlaw, dehumanizing the outlaw literally as a "wolf" or "wolf's-head" (in an era where hunting of wolves existed strongly, including a commercial element)<ref>Mary R. Gerstein, Berkeley, Ca., 1974, "Germanic Warg: The Outlaw as Werwolf", in G.J. Larson, ed., ''Myth in Indo-European Antiquity'', p. 132</ref> and is first revoked only by the English ''[[Habeas Corpus]]'' act of 1679 which declares that any criminal must be judged by a tribunal before being punished.


[[Italy|Italian]] [[philosopher]] [[Giorgio Agamben]] takes the concept as the starting point of his main work ''[[Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life]]'' (1998). Halit Mustafa Tagma argues that although Agamben claims to correct Foucault, he betrays important methodological and epistemological elements of Foucault's work.<ref> Tagma, Halit Mustafa. "Homo Sacer vs. homo soccer mom: Reading Agamben and Foucault in the war on terror", Alternatives: Local, Global, Political. Volume: 34, No: 4, pp: 407-435, 2009.</ref> Tagma contrasts the treatment of the body of "Homo Sacers" in the "war on terror", with the obedient citizen-subject body of "Homo Soccer Mom." Although Agamben argues that "we are all homo sacer in the modern age", Tagma instead argues that the ideal subject of modern power is far from being an expendable body.
[[Italy|Italian]] [[philosopher]] [[Giorgio Agamben]] takes the concept as the starting point of his main work ''[[Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life]]'' (1998).


==See also==
==See also==
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==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.caip.cl/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=75&func=fileinfo&id=12 ''Homo sacer y violencia divina en el caso judío: lo insacrificable sometido a castigo'' de Ely Orrego]
*[ ''Homo sacer y violencia divina en el caso judío: lo insacrificable sometido a castigo'' de Ely Orrego]
*[http://www.theoria.ca/theoria/archives/2005/08/20/ Pirates, Terrorists, Homo Sacer] August 20, 2005
*[ Pirates, Terrorists, Homo Sacer] August 20, 2005
*[http://www.germanlawjournal.com/article.php?id=437 Interview with Giorgio Agamben – Life, A Work of Art Without an Author: The State of Exception, the Administration of Disorder and Private Life] By Ulrich Raulff, German Law Journal No. 5 - Special Edition, 1 May 2004)
*[ Interview with Giorgio Agamben – Life, A Work of Art Without an Author: The State of Exception, the Administration of Disorder and Private Life] By Ulrich Raulff, German Law Journal No. 5 - Special Edition, 1 May 2004)
*[http://www.uow.edu.au/law/LIRC/Projects/refugee/tsonisRefugee.html The Refugee & the Decline of the Nation State] A paper delivered by Andonis Tsonis at 'Forms of Legal Identity', 19th Annual Law & Society Conference, Melbourne, 10–12 December 2001
*[ The Refugee & the Decline of the Nation State] A paper delivered by Andonis Tsonis at 'Forms of Legal Identity', 19th Annual Law & Society Conference, Melbourne, 10–12 December 2001
*[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/24/opinion/24zizek.html Knight of the Living Dead] March 24, 2007 ''New York Times'' Op-Ed piece by Slavoj Zizek on Terrorism and normalization of torture.
*[ Knight of the Living Dead] March 24, 2007 ''New York Times'' Op-Ed piece by Slavoj Zizek on Terrorism and normalization of torture.
*[http://alt.sagepub.com/content/34/4/407.short Homo Sacer vs. homo soccer mom: Reading Agamben and Foucault in the war on terror", Tagma, Halit Mustafa, Alternatives: Local, Global, Political. Volume: 34, No: 4, pp: 407-435, 2009.]
*[ Homo Sacer vs. homo soccer mom: Reading Agamben and Foucault in the war on terror", Tagma, Halit Mustafa, Alternatives: Local, Global, Political. Volume: 34, No: 4, pp: 407-435, 2009.]


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Revision as of 16:26, 10 February 2013

Homo sacer (Latin for "the sacred man" or "the accursed man") is a figure of Roman law: a person who is banned, may be killed by anybody, but may not be sacrificed in a religious ritual.[1]

The meaning of the term sacer in Ancient Roman religion is not fully congruent with the meaning it took after Christianization, and which was adopted into English as [[:]]. In early Roman religion sacer, much like Hebrew [[:wikt:קדש|Template:Hebrew]] qōdeš, means anything "set apart" from common society, which equally covers the meanings of "hallowed" and "cursed". The homo sacer could thus also simply mean a person expunged from society and deprived of all rights and all functions in civil religion. Homo sacer is defined in legal terms as someone who can be killed without the killer being regarded as a murderer; and a person who cannot be sacrificed.[2] The sacred human may thus be understood as someone outside the law, or beyond it. In the case of certain monarchs in western legal traditions, the sovereign and the Homo Sacer have conflated.[3]

The status of homo sacer could fall upon one as a consequence of oath-breaking. An oath in antiquity was essentially a conditional self-cursing, i.e. invoking one or several deities and asking for their punishment in the event of breaking the oath. An oathbreaker was consequently considered the property of the gods whom he had invoked and then deceived. If the oathbreaker was killed, this was understood as the revenge of the gods in whose power he had given himself. Since the oathbreaker was already the property of the oath deity, he could no longer belong to human society, or be consecrated to another deity.

A direct reference to this status is found in the Twelve Tables (8.21), laws of the early Roman Republic written in the 5th century BC. The paragraph states that a patron who deceives his clients is to be regarded as sacer.

The idea of the status of an outlaw, a criminal who is declared as unprotected by the law and can consequently be killed by anyone with impunity, persists throughout the Middle Ages, medieval perception condemning the entire human intrinsic moral worth of the condemned outlaw, dehumanizing the outlaw literally as a "wolf" or "wolf's-head" (in an era where hunting of wolves existed strongly, including a commercial element)[4] and is first revoked only by the English Habeas Corpus act of 1679 which declares that any criminal must be judged by a tribunal before being punished.

Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben takes the concept as the starting point of his main work Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life (1998).

See also

References

  1. ^ Agamben, Giorgio. Heller-Roazen, trans. Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1998. 72.
  2. ^ Giorgio Agamben - Homo Sacer, 1995 (Valdisholm publishing company, Norwegian translation), 2. part (Homo Sacer) 1.1. referring Sextus Pompeius Festus.
  3. ^ § 5 Constitution of Norway -
  4. ^ Mary R. Gerstein, Berkeley, Ca., 1974, "Germanic Warg: The Outlaw as Werwolf", in G.J. Larson, ed., Myth in Indo-European Antiquity, p. 132
  • Agamben, Giorgio (1998), Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, ISBN 978-0-8047-3218-5. Trans. Daniel Heller-Roazen.
  • [ Homo sacer y violencia divina en el caso judío: lo insacrificable sometido a castigo de Ely Orrego]
  • [ Pirates, Terrorists, Homo Sacer] August 20, 2005
  • [ Interview with Giorgio Agamben – Life, A Work of Art Without an Author: The State of Exception, the Administration of Disorder and Private Life] By Ulrich Raulff, German Law Journal No. 5 - Special Edition, 1 May 2004)
  • [ The Refugee & the Decline of the Nation State] A paper delivered by Andonis Tsonis at 'Forms of Legal Identity', 19th Annual Law & Society Conference, Melbourne, 10–12 December 2001
  • [ Knight of the Living Dead] March 24, 2007 New York Times Op-Ed piece by Slavoj Zizek on Terrorism and normalization of torture.
  • [ Homo Sacer vs. homo soccer mom: Reading Agamben and Foucault in the war on terror", Tagma, Halit Mustafa, Alternatives: Local, Global, Political. Volume: 34, No: 4, pp: 407-435, 2009.]
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