Neutrality, political, Greece and Rome

The ancient notion of neutrality had a political and diplomatic connotation, but was lacking in a strictly legal definition, that is a standard Greek/Latin formula delimiting the concept and a code for rights and duties of neutral states. In the Greek world, the main obstacle to the full development of neutrality into a recognized legal status was the hostility towards individuals and states that refused to participate in specific conflicts. Perceived as an abdication of responsibility, the abstention from domestic conflicts was sanctioned in Athens by a law attributed to Solon with the loss of civil rights (atimia).