[12] παρακαλούντων δή με ἁπάντων, ἰδίᾳ προσιόντων μοι, ἐπὶ τιμωρίαν τρέπεσθαι ὧν ἐπάθομεν ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὀνειδιζόντων μοι ἀνανδρότατον ἀνθρώπων εἶναι, εἰ οὕτως οἰκείως ἔχων τὰ πρὸς τούτους μὴ λήψομαι δίκην ὑπὲρ ἀδελφῆς καὶ κηδεστοῦ καὶ ἀδελφιδῶν καὶ γυναικὸς ἐμαυτοῦ, μηδὲ τὴν περιφανῶς εἰς τοὺς θεοὺς ἀσεβοῦσαν καὶ εἰς τὴν πόλιν ὑβρίζουσαν καὶ τῶν νόμων καταφρονοῦσαν τῶν ὑμετέρων εἰσαγαγὼν εἰς ὑμᾶς καὶ ἐξελέγξας τῷ λόγῳ ὡς ἀδικεῖ, κυρίους καταστήσω ὅ τι ἂν βούλησθε χρῆσθαι αὐτῇ,

[13] ὥσπερ καὶ Στέφανος οὑτοσὶ ἐμὲ ἀφῃρεῖτο τοὺς οἰκείους παρὰ τοὺς νόμους καὶ τὰ ψηφίσματα τὰ ὑμέτερα, οὕτω καὶ ἐγὼ τοῦτον ἥκω ἐπιδείξων εἰς ὑμᾶς ξένῃ μὲν γυναικὶ συνοικοῦντα παρὰ τὸν νόμον, ἀλλοτρίους δὲ παῖδας εἰσαγαγόντα εἴς τε τοὺς φράτερας καὶ εἰς τοὺς δημότας, ἐγγυῶντα δὲ τὰς τῶν ἑταιρῶν θυγατέρας ὡς αὑτοῦ οὔσας, ἠσεβηκότα δ᾽ εἰς τοὺς θεούς, ἄκυρον δὲ ποιοῦντα τὸν δῆμον τῶν αὑτοῦ, ἄν τινα βούληται πολίτην ποιήσασθαι· τίς γὰρ ἂν ἔτι παρὰ τοῦ δήμου ζητήσειε λαβεῖν δωρεάν, μετὰ πολλῶν ἀναλωμάτων καὶ πραγματείας πολίτης μέλλων ἔσεσθαι, ἐξὸν παρὰ Στεφάνου ἀπ᾽ ἐλάττονος ἀναλώματος, εἴ γε τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο γενήσεται αὐτῷ;

[14] ἃ μὲν οὖν ἀδικηθεὶς ἐγὼ ὑπὸ Στεφάνου πρότερος ἐγραψάμην τὴν γραφὴν ταύτην, εἴρηκα πρὸς ὑμᾶς· ὡς δ᾽ ἐστὶν ξένη Νέαιρα αὑτηὶ καὶ συνοικεῖ Στεφάνῳ τουτῳὶ καὶ πολλὰ παρανενόμηκεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ταῦτ᾽ ἤδη δεῖ μαθεῖν ὑμᾶς. δέομαι οὖν ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ἅπερ ἡγοῦμαι προσήκειν δεηθῆναι νέον τε ὄντα καὶ ἀπείρως ἔχοντα τοῦ λέγειν, συνήγορόν με κελεῦσαι καλέσαι τῷ ἀγῶνι τούτῳ Ἀπολλόδωρον.

[15] καὶ γὰρ πρεσβύτερός ἐστιν ἢ ἐγώ, καὶ ἐμπειροτέρως ἔχει τῶν νόμων, καὶ μεμέληκεν αὐτῷ περὶ τούτων ἁπάντων ἀκριβῶς, καὶ ἠδίκηται ὑπὸ Στεφάνου τουτουί, ὥστε καὶ ἀνεπίφθονον αὐτῷ τιμωρεῖσθαι τὸν ὑπάρξαντα. δεῖ δ᾽ ὑμᾶς ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας, τὴν ἀκρίβειαν ἀκούσαντας τῆς τε κατηγορίας καὶ τῆς ἀπολογίας, οὕτως ἤδη τὴν ψῆφον φέρειν ὑπέρ τε τῶν θεῶν καὶ τῶν νόμων καὶ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν. “Συνηγορία”

    Theomnestos says that Stephanos has offended against the laws, the gods, and the city by living with a non-citizen woman and passing off her children as citizens. He calls Apollodoros to speak.

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    παρακαλούντων δή με πάντων: “since, in fact, everybody is urging me...” beginning a long genitive absolute that stretches on into the next paragraph, leading to the climactic main verb, ἥκω (§13)

    δί: adverbial, “on one’s own, privately” (LSJ ἴδιος VI.2)

    νειδιζόντων μοι: “reproaching me with the charge that” + indirect statement

    οκείως χων: ἔχω + adverb = εἰμί + adjective

    χων τάDilts 2009 follows Lamb in deleting τά.

    λήψομαι < λαμβάνω + δίκην, “exact punishment.” λήψομαι is a future in an emotional future condition (also known as a future most vivid condition) (G. 648.b, S. 2328); so too καταστήσω, below.

    μηδκαταστήσω: take these together; μηδέ coordinates λήψομαι and καταστήσω.

    τνσεβοσαν: i.e., Neaira, the nominal defendant in the case (although the real target is Stephanos); ἀσέβεια was an offense taken very seriously by the Greeks.

    καταστήσω κυρίους: “render you empowered to,” i.e., enable you (legally) to. Supply as subject ὑμᾶς; governs the infinitive χρῆσθαι, “treat,” “handle” + dat.

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    φρετο: “sought to deprive,” conative imperfect (G. 459.a, S. 1895) + double acc.

    ες μς: “before you, in front of you”

    πιδείξων: “to show,” “to prove that” + acc. + ptc. (LSJ ἐπιδείκνυμι II.1)

    συνοικοντα < συνοικέω: this is the most common way of saying “be married to” in Greek.

    εσαγαγόντα ες τε τος φράτερας: male Athenian citizens introduced their sons (after 451/0 BCE, only those born to two citizen parents) to their phratries (or “brotherhoods”) during the first year of their lives; at the age of 14, boys were reintroduced to their fathers’ phratries. Introduction of one’s son into one’s phratry was, among other things, a way of acknowledging him as one’s legitimate citizen offspring.

    ες τος δημότας: every male citizen belonged to both a phratry and a deme (a self-governed geographic unit of Attica). Young men were registered in their demes at the age of 18 after undergoing a scrutiny.

    γγυντα: ἐγγυή was a common form of marriage in Greece, in which the girl’s guardian or κύριος (either father or brother) betrothed to her to her future husband.

    ταιρν: ἑταίρα is often translated as “courtesan”: it refers to a prostitute of relatively high status, though she was still often slave or freed slave, as opposed to the lower-status πορνή, a streetwalker or brothel prostitute (see further Kurke 1999: 175-219). Images of what scholars conventionally label as ἑταῖραι are common in Greek vase painting, but cf. Topper 2012: 105–35 on the difficulties of identifying such individuals as ἑταῖραι.

    κυρον...τν ατο: “powerless over its own affairs”

    ξόν < ἔξεστι; accusative absolute (G. 591, S. 2076)

    λάττονος: comparative degree of ὀλίγος

    ατ τοτο: “this same result,” i.e., bypassing the normal procedures for obtaining citizenship

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    ἅ...δικηθείς...γραψάμην: “With respect to which things having been wronged I lodged this indictment,” i.e., “The wrongs I suffered that led me to lodge this indictment.” The participial phrase is causal. The accusative ἅ can be taken as a cognate or internal accusative with ἀδικηθείς (G. 536).

    ατηί: on the deictic iota (-ι), see §1.

    παρανενόμηκεν < παρα-νομέω

    περ γομαι προσήκειν: “something which I consider it appropriate for” + acc. + infin.

    νέον τε ντα καὶ πείρως χοντα τοῦ λέγειν: claims to youth and inexperience are commonplace in Attic oratory.

    συνήγορον: it was not uncommon for speakers to use συνήγοροι (who were not professional advocates, but friends or family) to assist in delivering their speeches. In this case, the συνήγορος (Apollodoros) delivers the bulk of the speech.

    κελεσαι: dependent on δέομαι above; supply as subject ὑμᾶς.

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    τν πάρξαντα: “the one who started (the trouble),” i.e., Stephanos

    οτως δη: “only at that point,” having heard all the details

    πέρ: “in the interests of”

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    παρακαλέω παρακαλπαρεκάλεσα παρακέκληκα παρακέκλημαι παρεκλήθην: urge, encourage

    πρόσειμι: approach

    τιμωρία –ας : vengeance, payback

    νειδίζω νειδιῶ νείδισα νείδικα νειδίσθην: to reproach, berate

    νανδρος –ον: cowardly, unmanly

    δελφή –ς : sister

    κηδεστής : son-in-law; father-in-law; brother-in-law; kinsman

    δελφιδῆ: a brother’s or sister’s daughter, a niece

    μαυτοῦ ς: (of) myself

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

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

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

    καταφρονέω καταφρονήσω κατεφρόνησα καταπεφρόνηκα καταπεφρόνημαι κατεφρονήθην: disdain, scorn, despise

    εσάγω εσάξω εσήγαγον εσαγήοχα εσγμαι εσήχθην: to lead in, bring before

    ξελέγχω ξελέξω ξέλεξα ξέλεχα ξέλεγμαι ξελέχθην: to convict; to verify, to prove

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    Στέφανος: Stephanos

    ψήφισμα –ατος τό: decree

    πιδείκνυμι πιδείξω πέδειξα πιδέδειχα πιδέδειγμαι πεδείχθην: display, exhibit; show, prove

    ξένη: a female guest, a foreign woman

    συνοικέω συνοικήσω συνκησα συνκηκα συνκημαι συνκήθην: to dwell together, live together

    λλότριος –α –ον: belonging to another

    φράτηρ: a member of the same phratry

    δημότης –ου : member of a deme or of the same deme

    γγυάω: to betroth

    ταίρα –ας : comrade (female), companion (female), courtesan

    κυρος: without authority

    πολίτης –ου : citizen, freeman

    παρανομέω: to transgress the law, act unlawfully

    δωρεά –άς : a gift, present

    νάλωμα: expenditure, cost

    πραγματεία: event, labor, obligation

    ξεστι: it is possible

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    ρῶ ερηκα ρρήθην: say, tell, speak

    Νέαιρα: Neaira

    παρανομέω: to transgress the law, act unlawfully

    δέομαι δεήσομαι δεησάμην ––– δεδέημαι δεήθην: beg, ask

    δικαστής –οῦ : judge, juror

    πειρος –α –ον: inexperienced, ignorant

    συνήγορος: an advocate, supporting speaker

    πολλόδωρος: Apollodoros

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    πρεσβύτερος –α –ον: older

    μπειρος –ον: experienced in, acquainted with

    μέλω μέλησω μέλησα μεμέληκα ––– –––: be an object of care or interest

    νεπίφθονος: without reproach

    τιμωρέω τιμωρήσω τιμωρησάμην τετιμώρηκα τετιμώρημαι τιμωρήθην: help, avenge

    κρίβεια: exactness, minute accuracy, precision

    κατηγορία –άς : an accusation, charge

    πολογία: a speech in defense, defense

    ψφος –ου : small stone; vote; judgment

    συνηγορία: advocacy of anotherʼs cause

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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/12-15