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Lysias: Selected Speeches: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 24

Lysias: Selected Speeches: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 24

Jeffrey A. Rydberg-Cox

University of Missouri - Kansas City

2003 • 1-58510-029-3 • paper • 112 pages • 5 ½ x 8 ½ • $18.95

|  About the Author  |  Contents  |  Preface |

 Description                                             

A commentary in the original Greek, with notes and an introductory essay. This unique text contains all the standard apparatus of a traditional commentary, plus it can work in conjunction with tools from the Perseus Project, allowing the student of Greek a transition to one of the most powerful tools available to the modern Classics student.

 Author                                                    

Jeff Rydberg-Cox. Chair, Department of English, Director, Classical Studies Program, Associate Professor, Departments of English and Religious Studies, and Computer Science, University of Missouri Kansas City.

 Table of Contents                                     

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Greek Text
     Lysias I: On the Murder of Eratosthenes
     Lysias II: Funeral Oration
     Lysias III: Defense Against Simon
     Lysias IV: On a Wound by Premeditation
     Lysias XXIV: On the Refusal of a Pention
Notes and Commentary
     Commentary on Lysias I
     Commentary on Lysias II
     Commentary on Lysias III
     Commentary on Lysias IV
     Commentary on Lysias XXIV
Vocabulary

 From the Preface                                   

     This book contains five works by Lysias. Four of these provide a window into the types of conflicts that were pursued in Athenian courts: On the Murder of Eratosthenes, Against Simon, On a Wound by Premeditation, and On the Refusal of a Pension.₇

     On the Murder of Eratosthenes is a defense speech delivered by a certain Euphiletus who was being prosecuted for the murder of Eratosthenes. Eratosthenes had been engaged in an affair with Euphiletus’ wife. After he learns about the affair, Euphiletus discovers Eratosthenes and his wife together in bed and he kills Eratosthenes. In his defense speech, Euphiletus admits to the killing but argues that he should not be convicted because the laws allow a husband to kill the person who has seduced his wife provided that he catches the offender in the act and does not premeditate the deed.

     Against Simon is a defense speech by an unnamed defendant against the prosecutor, Simon, on a charge of assault. These two men were engaged in a lengthy dispute about the possession of a young slave boy who they had purchased to be their companion. The dispute became violent several times and Simon brought charges of assault. Throughout, the defendant argues that these altercations were not premeditated and that Simon was the instigator.

     On a Premeditated Wound is a defense speech similar to Against Simon except that the litigants were involved in a dispute concerning a slave woman. The introduction and the description of the facts in this case are missing. The speech begins at the point where the speaker is denying that there is a long-standing dispute between the two men and then questions his accusers unwillingness to allow him to question the slave who had witnessed the assault.

     On the Refusal of a Pension is a somewhat different speech. The Athenians provided financial support to citizens who were poor and could not work. Periodically, however, the Athenian council would examine these people to determine whether they should continue to receive this pension. Although the speaker had received this support for many years, it was now being questioned in the council.

     This speech is an answer to the points raised against his receipt of the pension.

     The fifth work in this book is Lysias’ Funeral Oration and it has a tone and purpose that is very different from the other works in this book. In contrast to the petty and sordid disputes of the previous works, the funeral oration provides us with a glimpse of the Athenians’ idealized conception of their city and its place in the ancient world. According to the Thucydides, the Athenians honored those who had died in battle with a public funeral and a prominent citizen was chosen to deliver a speech. Athenian funeral orations are a highly conventional form in which the speaker praises the dead by comparing their actions with the great actions of previous generations of Athenians, including several mythic episodes and the Persian wars.

     This book is designed to help intermediate students who have worked through a beginning textbook but who have not read a great deal of other literature in Greek. It is not intended as a guide to the social or legal environment surrounding these trials. This book provides a guide to the syntax of difficult sections, help with the first principal parts of unfamiliar verbs, and a complete vocabulary list for every Greek word that appears in the text. It is not, however, possible for a commentator to provide assistance with every form and every word in a text. For this sort of help, the reader can avail themselves of the word study tools contained in the Perseus Digital Library on the World Wide Web.