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Epainetos brought a suit for false imprisonment against Stephanos, stating that Phano was not Stephanos’ daughter but Neaira’s by another man, that Neaira knew of Epainetos’ relationship with Phano, and that sleeping with a prostitute (which is essentially what Phano was) was not adultery. Stephanos submitted the matter to arbitration.

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εἱρχθῆναι (and εἵρξῃ, below) < ἔργω. It was generally illegal for an individual to imprison a free person, but it was allowed (albeit temporarily) if the latter was caught in an act of adultery.

γράψασθαι…εἱρχθῆναι: the first infinitive is governed by κελεύει; the second is governed by γράψασθαι.

δόξῃ: impersonal: “it is decided”

ἀθῷον εἶναι αὐτόν: i.e., the falsely imprisoned man gets off scot-free.

παραδοῦναι αὐτὸν κελεύει τοὺς ἐγγυητάς: sc. ὁ νόμος as the subject of κελεύει; τοὺς ἐγγυητάς is the object of κελεύει; αὐτόν is the object of παραδοῦναι.

τῷ ἑλόντι: although ὁ ἑλών is generally used in legal contexts to refer to the successful prosecutor, here it likely refers to the person who literally seized (< αἱρέω) the adulterer in flagrante (see a similar use of the participle in §87). Cf. Kapparis (1999: 66), who argues that in this instance, ὁ ἑλών refers to the successful defendant, explaining that this deviation from the normal meaning of the term has to do with the “peculiarity” of the case, where it was the prosecutor (the alleged adulterer) who faced a greater danger than the defendant (who captured him).

ἄνευ ἐγχειριδίου: this does not mean that the captor cannot punish the adulterer physically, simply that he cannot use a blade. We hear in comedy of anal penetration with a radish and depilation of pubic hair as common (humiliating) punishments for adulterers.

χρῆσθαι: supply as subject the man’s captor; supply as object the imprisoned man.

μοιχῷ: dative agreeing with (dat.) understood object of χρῆσθαι

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χρῆσθαι: here, with sexual sense (+ dat.)

Στέφανου θυγατέρα αὐτὴν εἶναι: αὐτήν is the subject of εἶναι in indirect statement governed by an understood verb of saying; take Στέφανου θυγατέρα predicatively.

μητέρα: subject of συνειδέναι

πλησιάζουσαν: agrees with (an understood) Phano

ἀνηλωκέναι…τρέφειν: supply as subject Epainetos.

ἐπιδημήσειεν: “he visited (Athens)”

τόν τε νόμον: Dilts prints another τόν after τόν τε νόμον, following Hude.

ἐπὶ τούτοις: “in addition” (LSJ ἐπί B.I.e)

παρεχόμενος: “bringing forward (as supporting evidence)”

ταύτῃσι: Blass restored this old (Ionic) dative feminine plural form, since this appears to be a quotation from a Solonic law (on which see Lysias 10.19 and Plutarch, Solon 23.1).

ἐργαστηρίου: literally a workshop, this is a common euphemism for brothel.

καθῶνται < κάθημαι: “sitting in brothels” is a common way of describing prostitutes.

πωλῶνται: ”walk up and down (the streets)” < πωλέομαι, an old poetic word not generally seen in classical prose. πωλέομαι makes more sense than the passive of πωλέω, “are sold,” since the two groups being discussed are brothel prostitutes and streetwalkers, both of whom were sold.

ἀποπεφασμένως: “openly” (< ἀποφαίνω)

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δίαιταν…πρὸς τὸν Ἐπαίνετον: “(private) arbitration vis-à-vis Epainetos”; Stephanos did this because he realized he might not win the case for unlawful imprisonment.

ἐπιτρέπει: “referred” the arbitration, see §45 and LSJ ἐπιτρέπω I.A.3.

ἀνελέσθαι < ἀναιρέω; in middle, ”rescind” (LSJ ἀναιρέω B.III); take τὸν Ἐπαίνετον as the subject.