The importance of oaths to ancient Greek culture can hardly be overstated, especially in the political and judicial fields; but they have never been the object of a comprehensive, systematic study. This volume derives from a research project on the oath in ancient Greece, and comprises seventeen chapters by experts in law, in political and social history, in literary criticism, and in cross-cultural studies, exploring a wide range of aspects of the subject. Topics covered include the nature of ancient Greek oaths; the functions they performed within communities and in relations between them; their exploitation in literary texts and at critical moments in history; and connections between Greek oath phenomena and those of other cultures with which Greeks came into contact, from the Hittites to the Romans. It is an important phenomenon of ancient society that has never before been systematically and comprehensively studied. Alan Sommerstein recently discussed the oath on Melvyn Bragg's "In our Time" (Radio 4). The volume will be of interest to scholars of ancient Greek religion, law and society, literature.