Iuris fabulam agere : simbolismo e ritualità in Roma antica fra azione processuale e azione teatrale

The legal institutions of ancient Rome are characterized by a significant rituality which, as far as the procedural ones (legis actiones) are concerned, derives from the symbolic stylization of private violence that originally resolved the disputes. This rituality, which is found in the most ancient negotiating acts too, is also reflected in a series of terms such as agere, actus, actio, actor, common to theatrical performances. The most significant point of contact is highlighted in the in iure cessio, a fake trial in which a subject who is not the owner of a thing claims it in court: since the true owner, consenting, does not defend his right, the thing is recognized property of the actor by the magistrate.

The parallelism between procedural action and theatrical action does not fail even from the point of view of ascertaining the truth, since on the one hand one of the opposing statements of the parts is certainly false and on the other because the process is also subject to revision which can be promoted in the executive phase (manus iniectio). [Publisher's text]