The first written code of laws drawn up at Athens, believed to have been introduced in 621 or 620 bc by a statesman named Draco. Although their details are obscure, they apparently covered a number of offences. The modern adjective “Draconian” (excessively harsh) reflects the fact that penalties laid down in the code were extremely severe: pilfering received the same punishment as murder—death. A 4th-century bc politician quipped that Draco wrote his laws not in ink, but in blood.