[107] οὔκουν δεινόν; πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀστυγείτονας καὶ ὁμολογουμένως ἀρίστους τῶν Ἑλλήνων εἰς τὴν πόλιν γεγενημένους οὕτω καλῶς καὶ ἀκριβῶς διωρίσασθε περὶ ἑκάστου, ἐφ᾽ οἷς δεῖ ἔχειν τὴν δωρεάν, τὴν δὲ περιφανῶς ἐν ἁπάσῃ τῇ Ἑλλάδι πεπορνευμένην οὕτως αἰσχρῶς καὶ ὀλιγώρως ἐάσετε ὑβρίζουσαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἀσεβοῦσαν εἰς τοὺς θεοὺς ἀτιμώρητον, ἣν οὔτε οἱ πρόγονοι ἀστὴν κατέλιπον οὔθ᾽ ὁ δῆμος πολῖτιν ἐποιήσατο;

[108] ποῦ γὰρ αὕτη οὐκ εἴργασται τῷ σώματι, ἢ ποῖ οὐκ ἐλήλυθεν ἐπὶ τῷ καθ᾽ ἡμέραν μισθῷ; οὐκ ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ μὲν πάσῃ, ἐν Θετταλίᾳ δὲ καὶ Μαγνησίᾳ μετὰ Σίμου τοῦ Λαρισαίου καὶ Εὐρυδάμαντος τοῦ Μηδείου, ἐν Χίῳ δὲ καὶ ἐν Ἰωνίᾳ τῇ πλείστῃ μετὰ Σωτάδου τοῦ Κρητὸς ἀκολουθοῦσα, μισθωθεῖσα ὑπὸ τῆς Νικαρέτης, ὅτε ἔτι ἐκείνης ἦν; τὴν δὴ ὑφ᾽ ἑτέροις οὖσαν καὶ ἀκολουθοῦσαν τῷ διδόντι τί οἴεσθε ποιεῖν; ἆρ᾽ οὐχ ὑπηρετεῖν τοῖς χρωμένοις εἰς ἁπάσας ἡδονάς; εἶτα τὴν τοιαύτην καὶ περιφανῶς ἐγνωσμένην ὑπὸ πάντων γῆς περίοδον εἰργασμένην ψηφιεῖσθε ἀστὴν εἶναι;

[109] καὶ τί καλὸν φήσετε πρὸς τοὺς ἐρωτῶντας διαπεπρᾶχθαι, ἢ ποίᾳ αἰσχύνῃ καὶ ἀσεβείᾳ οὐκ ἔνοχοι αὐτοὶ εἶναι; πρὶν μὲν γὰρ γραφῆναι ταύτην καὶ εἰς ἀγῶνα καταστῆναι καὶ πυθέσθαι πάντας ἥτις ἦν καὶ οἷα ἠσέβηκεν, τὰ μὲν ἀδικήματα ταύτης ἦν, ἡ δ᾽ ἀμέλεια τῆς πόλεως· καὶ οἱ μὲν οὐκ ᾔδεσαν ὑμῶν, οἱ δὲ πυθόμενοι τῷ μὲν λόγῳ ἠγανάκτουν, τῷ δ᾽ ἔργῳ οὐκ εἶχον ὅ τι χρήσαιντο αὐτῇ, οὐδενὸς εἰς ἀγῶνα καθιστάντος οὐδὲ διδόντος περὶ αὐτῆς τὴν ψῆφον. ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ ἴστε πάντες καὶ ἔχετε ἐφ᾽ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς καὶ κύριοί ἐστε κολάσαι, ὑμέτερον ἤδη τὸ ἀσέβημα γίγνεται τὸ πρὸς τοὺς θεούς, ἐὰν μὴ ταύτην κολάσητε.

    Given that even the Plataians were rigorously scrutinized, it would be terrible to let someone like Neaira go unpunished.

    107

    οκουν δεινόν: “is it, then, not an outrageous thing?” signalling the expected pivot to Neaira’s case

    φ’ ος: “on what terms”

    τν δέ: “but this woman,” emphatic, object of άσετε below (“let go unpunished”)

    πεπορνευμένην: “has prostituted herself” (mid.-pass.). Note that here, for the first time, Apollodoros uses a verb related to the noun πορνή rather than the less insulting ἑταίρα.

    λιγώρως: “negligently”; modifies, along with αἰσχρῶς, the verb ἐάσετε

    οἱ πρόγονοι: i.e., the ancestors of this woman

    ἀστήν: take as a predicate

    108

    ν Θετταλίκα Μαγνησί: “in Thessaly and Magnesia

    Λαρισαίου: “of Larissa” (this is the same Simos we learned of in §24)

    Μηδείου: “[son] of Medeios”

    ν Χίῳν ωνίᾳ: “on Chios and in Ionia

    Κρητός < Κρής

    φ’ τέροις: ὑπό = “under the power/control of”

    τ διδόντι: “the man who gives (money to her)”

    τος χρωμένοις: “those who have (intimate) dealings with her,” i.e., her sexual partners

    ετα...ψηφιεσθε: ”and so, will you really vote?” εἶτα introduces an indignant rhetorical question expecting the answer “of course not!” See LSJ II.

    π πάντων: take this with ἐγωσμένην

    περίοδον: accusative following the idea of motion implied by εἰργασμένην (that is, she moved around while working): see Kapparis 1999: 402.

    εργασμένην: participle in indirect statement initiated by ἐγνωσμένην. The rhetorician and critic Hermogenes of Tarsus (160–230 CE) says that the phrase ἀπὸ τριῶν τρυπημάτων τὴν ἐργασίαν πεποιῆσθαι (“doing the job from three orifices”) was obelized (marked as inauthentic) in this speech by some grammarians, presumably for being too obscene (Περὶ ἰδεῶν p. 325, ed. Rabe 1917); in fact, none of our manuscripts include it. Some scholars (e.g., Carey 1992: 141–42) think that this language was too explicit to have been used by Apollodoros; Kapparis 1999: 402–5, citing further evidence for the use of this expression, believes that it is genuine and was found either here (as suggested by Blass) or elsewhere in the speech.

    109

    διαπεπρχθαι...εναι: “that you have done...that you are”; infin. in indirect statement after φήσετε, with the same subject 

    νοχοι: “liable to the imputation of/penalty for” (+ dat.); predicate adjective agreeing with understood “you (pl.)”

    πάντας: accusative subject of πυθέσθαι

    τ μν δικήματα ταύτης ν, δ μέλεια τς πόλεως: “the misdeeds were this woman’s, the city’s the negligence,” i.e., the misdeeds belonged to this woman (alone), and the city’s misdeed was merely negligence. ταύτηςπόλεως: both are possessive genitives.

    ο μένο δέ: ”some…others”

    τ δ ργ: “in practice,” “practically speaking”

    εχον τι χρήσαιντο ατ: “did not have a way of dealing with her.” For this idiom, see §98.

    χετε: supply Neaira as object: “have got her in your hands”

    107

    στυγείτων –ον gen. –ονος: near or bordering on a city

    λλην –ος : Greek man

    διορίζω διορι διρισα διρικα διρισμαι διωρσθην: to define

    δωρεά –άς : a gift, present

    περιφανής –ές: visible from all sides; manifest, clear; adv. -νῶς conspicuously, notably, evidently

    λλας –αδος : Greece

    πορνεύω: to prostitute

    λίγωρος –ον: little-caring, scornful; negligent

    βρίζω βριζι βρισα βρικα βρισμαι βρίσθην: insult, offend, disrespect

    σεβέω σεβήσω σέβησα σέβηκα σέβημαι σεβήθην: to be impious, commit sacrilege, sin against

    τιμώρητος: unavenged

    πρόγονος –ου : ancestor

    στή –ς : fem. of ἀστός

    καταλείπω καλλείψω κάλλιπον καταλέλοιπα καταλέλειμμαι κατελείφθην: to leave behind

    πολτις: female citizen

    108

    ποι: to somewhere

    μισθός –ο : wages, pay, hire

    Πελοπόννησος –ου : the Peloponnesus

    Θεσσαλία: Thessaly

    Μαγνησία : Magnesia

    Σμος: Simos

    Λαρισαος (or Ληρισαος) : Larissaean, of or from Larissa

    Ερυδάμας -αντος : Eurydamas

    Μήδειος: Mede

    Χος: Chian, of Chios

    ωνία: Ionia 

    Σωτάδης: Sotades

    Κρής Κρητός : a Cretan

    κολουθέω κολουθήσω κολουθήσα κολουθήκα κολουθήμαι κολουθήθην: follow, go after, obey

    μισθόω: to let out for hire, farm out, let

    Νικαρέτη: Nikarete

    πηρετέω πηρετήσω πηρτησα πηρτηκα πηρτημαι πηρετήθην: to minister to, serve (+ dat.)

    γαα –ας : earth

    περίοδος : a going around, circuit

    ψηφίζω ψηφιζι ψήφισα ψήφικα ψήφισμαι ψήφισθην: vote

    109

    διαπράσσω διαπράξω διέπραξα διαπέπραχα (or διαπέπραγα) διαπέπραγμαι διεπράχθην: to accomplish, do

    ασχύνη –ης : shame, dishonor

    σέβεια –ας : ungodliness, impiety

    νοχος: accused, exposed, liable to + dat.

    οος –α –ον: such as, of what sort, like, (exclam.) what a!, how! ; οἷός τε (+infin.) fit or able to; οἷόν τε (+infin.) it is possible to

    δίκημα –ματος τό: a wrong done, a wrong, misdeed

    μέλεια –ας : indifference, negligence

    γανακτέω γανακτήσω γανακτήσα γανακτήκα γανακτήμαι γανακτήθην: be annoyed with

    ψφος –ου : small stone; vote; judgment

    κολάζω κολάσω κόλασα κεκόλακα κεκόλαμαι κολάσθην: chastise, punish

    σέβημα: an impious or profane act

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    Suggested Citation

    Deborah Kamen, Pseudo-Demosthenes: Against Neaira. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2018. ISBN: 978-1-947822-10-8.https://dcc.dickinson.edu/against-neaira/107-109