RHODIAN LAW
Rhodian law (roh-dee-<<schwa>>n). As legend would have it, the earliest known system or
code of maritime law, supposedly dating from 900 B.C. and adopted intact by the Romans. •
Rhodian law was purportedly developed by the people of the island Rhodes, located in the Aegean
Sea and now belonging to Greece. The ancient inhabitants of Rhodes are said to have controlled
the seas because of their commercial prosperity and naval superiority. Despite the uncertainties
about its history, Rhodian law has often been cited as a source of admiralty and maritime law.
“A strong tradition says that a maritime code was promulgated by the Island of Rhodes, in the
Eastern Mediterranean, at the height of its power; the ridiculously early date of 900 B.C. has even
been assigned to this suppositious code — a date accepted uncritically by some legal scholars. But
even the existence of such a code has been pretty well cast in doubt, and we know next to nothing
of its contents, if it existed. It is interesting to note, however, that the root-principle of the highly
distinctive maritime-law system of general average … is clearly stated in Justinian’s Digest, and
that the Rhodian Law is invoked as authority.” Grant Gilmore & Charles L. Black Jr., The Law of
Admiralty § 1-2, at 3–4 (2d ed. 1975). [Blacks Law 8th]