[85] λαβὲ δή μοι τὸν νόμον τὸν ἐπὶ τούτοις τουτονὶ καὶ ἀνάγνωθι, ἵν᾽ εἰδῆτε ὅτι οὐ μόνον προσῆκεν αὐτὴν ἀπέχεσθαι τῶν ἱερῶν τούτων τοιαύτην οὖσαν καὶ τοιαῦτα διαπεπραγμένην, τοῦ ὁρᾶν καὶ θύειν καὶ ποιεῖν τι τῶν νομιζομένων ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως πατρίων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν Ἀθήνησιν ἁπάντων. ἐφ᾽ ᾗ γὰρ ἂν μοιχὸς ἁλῷ γυναικί, οὐκ ἔξεστιν αὐτῇ ἐλθεῖν εἰς οὐδὲν τῶν ἱερῶν τῶν δημοτελῶν, εἰς ἃ καὶ τὴν ξένην καὶ τὴν δούλην ἐλθεῖν ἐξουσίαν ἔδοσαν οἱ νόμοι καὶ θεασομένην καὶ ἱκετεύσουσαν εἰσιέναι·

[86] ἀλλὰ μόναις ταύταις ἀπαγορεύουσιν οἱ νόμοι ταῖς γυναιξὶ μὴ εἰσιέναι εἰς τὰ ἱερὰ τὰ δημοτελῆ, ἐφ᾽ ᾗ ἂν μοιχὸς ἁλῷ, ἐὰν δ᾽ εἰσίωσι καὶ παρανομῶσι, νηποινεὶ πάσχειν ὑπὸ τοῦ βουλομένου ὅ τι ἂν πάσχῃ, πλὴν θανάτου, καὶ ἔδωκεν ὁ νόμος τὴν τιμωρίαν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν τῷ ἐντυχόντι. διὰ τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐποίησεν ὁ νόμος, πλὴν θανάτου, τἄλλα ὑβρισθεῖσαν αὐτὴν μηδαμοῦ λαβεῖν δίκην, ἵνα μὴ μιάσματα μηδ᾽ ἀσεβήματα γίγνηται ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς, ἱκανὸν φόβον ταῖς γυναιξὶ παρασκευάζων τοῦ σωφρονεῖν καὶ μηδὲν ἁμαρτάνειν, ἀλλὰ δικαίως οἰκουρεῖν, διδάσκων ὡς, ἄν τι ἁμάρτῃ τοιοῦτον, ἅμα ἐκ τε τῆς οἰκίας τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐκβεβλημένη ἔσται καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἱερῶν τῶν τῆς πόλεως.

[87] καὶ ὅτι ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει, τοῦ νόμου αὐτοῦ ἀκούσαντες ἀναγνωσθέντος εἴσεσθε. καί μοι λαβέ. “Νόμος Μοιχείας

ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἕλῃ τὸν μοιχόν, μὴ ἐξέστω τῷ ἑλόντι συνοικεῖν τῇ γυναικί· ἐὰν δὲ συνοικῇ, ἄτιμος ἔστω. μηδὲ τῇ γυναικὶ ἐξέστω εἰσιέναι εἰς τὰ ἱερὰ τὰ δημοτελῆ, ἐφ᾽ ᾗ ἂν μοιχὸς ἁλῷ· ἐὰν δ᾽ εἰσίῃ, νηποινεὶ πασχέτω ὅ τι ἂν πάσχῃ, πλὴν θανάτου.”

    Proofs (πίστεις) section of the speech: 85–125.

    Not only should Phano not have performed the sacred duties of the king archon’s wife, she should not have participated in any of the city’s rites, since adulteresses are banned from entering all public temples. Apollodoros has the law on adultery read aloud.

    85 

    λαβὲ δή μοι . . . καὶ ἀνάγνωθι “please take...and read aloud....” Imperatives addressed to the court clerk. μοι is an ethical dative (see §25, G. 523a, S.1486).

    ἀπέχεσθαι: governs a series of genitives: τῶν ἱερῶν τούτων; the articular infinitives τοῦ ὁρᾶν καὶ θύειν καὶ ποιεῖν; and τῶν . . . ἁπάντων. Being banned from the religious life of the city was akin to disenfranchisement (ἀτιμία) for a woman.

    τι τῶν νομιζομένων . . . πατρίων “any of the ancestral rites.”

    τῶν ἄλλων: other religious rites. 

    Ἀθήνησιν: locative (see §35).

    μοιχός: οf course, earlier Apollodoros said that the affair with Epainetos was not really μοιχεία since Phano was not a legitimate citizen; here, it serves his purposes to say that it was.

    γυναικί: take first in the sentence; dative with οὐκ ἔξεστιν, picked up again with αὐτῇ. 

    ἱερῶν τῶν δημοτελῶν: most likely public “temples,” rather than “sacred rites” (cf. the use of ἱερῶν earlier in this paragraph).

    ἐλθεῖν ἐξουσίαν ἔδοσαν: most editors (including Dilts 2009) delete ἐλθεῖν, which likely erroneously repeats the preceding ἐλθεῖν; the sense of ἐξουσίαν ἔδοσαν is completed by εἰσιέναι.

    θεασομένην . . . ἱκετεύσουσαν: note the future tense of these participles: “whether to view the spectacle or to offer prayer” (Murray).

    86

    μόναις: this is not strictly speaking true, since murderers were also barred from participating in the city’s religious activities.

    ἀπαγορεύουσιν: verbs of hindering take a infinitive, often with the redundant (untranslated) μή (G. 572, S. 2038).

    τιμωρίαν ὑπέρ “vengeance upon/against.”

    ἐποίησεν: introduces an indirect statement (accusative subject + infinitive). 

    τἄλλα: accusative of respect, to be taken closely with ὑβρισθεῖσαν; looks back to πλὴν θανάτου, that is, “things other than death.”

    ὑβρισθεῖσαν αὐτὴν μηδαμοῦ λαβεῖν δίκην “that she, having been mistreated, may seek redress nowhere,” i.e., before no court or tribunal. μηδαμοῦ is an adverb.

    τοῖς ἱεροῖς “holy places,” “sanctuaries,” “temples” (LSJ III.2).

    τοῦ σωφρονεῖν: articular infinitive expressing purpose (G. 576), “so that they might have self-control.” 

    διδάσκων: νόμος is the antecedent. 

    ἄν = ἐάν. 

    87

    εἴσεσθε < οἶδα

    ἕλῃ: supply as subject τις.

    85

    ἀναγιγνώσκω ἀναγνώσομαι ἀνέγνων ἀνέγνωκα ἀνέγνωσμαι ἀνεγνώσθην: to read aloud

    ἀπέχω ἀφέξω (or ἀποσχήσω) ἀπέσχον ἀπέσχηκα ––– –––: keep off, away from

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

    πάτριος –α –ον: ancestral, hereditary

    Ἀθῆναι –ῶν αἱ: Athens

    μοιχός –οῦ ὁ: an adulterer, paramour, debaucher

    ἔξεστι: it is possible

    ἰερόν –οῦ τό: temple

    δημοτελής: at the public cost, public, national

    ξένη: a female guest, a foreign woman

    δούλη –ης ἡ: slave

    ἐξουσία –ας ἡ: power, authority, resources

    θεάομαι θεάσομαι ἐθεσάμην ––– τεθέαμαι ἐθεσαμήθην: to look on, behold, view

    ἱκετεύω ἱκετεύσω ἱκέτευσα ἱκέτευκα: to approach as a suppliant

    εἴσειμι: to go into

    86

    ἀπαγορεύω ἀπηγόρευσα: to forbid

    παρανομέω: to transgress the law, act unlawfully

    νηποινεί: with impunity

    τιμωρία –ας ἡ: help, vengeance, torture

    ἐντυγχάνω ἐντεύξομαι ἐνέτυχον ἐντετύχηκα ––– –––: meet with

    ὑβρίζω ὑβριζιῶ ὕβρισα ὕβρικα ὕβρισμαι ὑβρίσθην: insult, offend, disrespect

    μηδαμοῦ: nowhere

    μίασμα –ατος τό: stain, defilement

    ἀσέβημα: an impious or profane act

    σωφρονέω σωφρονήσω ἐσωφρόνησα σεσωφρόνηκα σεσωφρόνημαι: be temperate, be moderate, be chaste

    οἰκουρέω: to stay home, keep house

    ἐκβάλλω ἐκβαλῶ ἐξέβαλον ἐκβέβληκα ἐκβέβλημαι ἐξεβλήθην: throw, cast out, produce

    87

    ἐπειδάν: whenever (ἐπειδή + ἄν, in indefinite or general clauses with subjunctive)

    συνοικέω συνοικήσω συνῴκησα συνῴκηκα συνῴκημαι συνῳκήθην: to dwell together, live together

    ἄτιμος –ον: dishonored; deprived of civic rights, disenfranchised

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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/el/against-neaira/85-87