The first written Athenian Constitution was written by the statesman Draco, from whence we get the term "Draconian". In Draco's constitution the penalty for alm

The first written Athenian Constitution was written by the statesman Draco, from whence we get the term "Draconian". In Draco's constitution the penalty for almost all (if not all) offenses was execution. Plutarch writes, > And Draco himself, they say, being asked why he made death the penalty for most offences, replied that in his opinion the lesser ones deserved it, and for the greater ones no heavier penalty could be found. It should be noted, however, that one of the reasons that execution was so common only a couple of centuries ago is that prisons are a modern invention. The idea of the state holding people for any amount of time just didn't exist, if only because it was cost prohibitive. It was something that only ever happened to royalty, though even then such prisoners tended to disappear. Slavery was a common punishment, but slaves lived within the community, so that wouldn't work for violence-prone individuals, or even serial thieves.