16-17

[16] ἃ μὲν ἠδικημένος, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὑπὸ Στεφάνου ἀναβέβηκα κατηγορήσων Νεαίρας ταυτησί, Θεόμνηστος εἴρηκεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς· ὡς δ᾽ ἐστὶ ξένη Νέαιρα καὶ παρὰ τοὺς νόμους συνοικεῖ Στεφάνῳ, τοῦτο ὑμῖν βούλομαι σαφῶς ἐπιδεῖξαι. πρῶτον μὲν οὖν τὸν νόμον ὑμῖν ἀναγνώσεται, καθ᾽ ὃν τήν τε γραφὴν ταυτηνὶ Θεόμνηστος ἐγράψατο καὶ ὁ ἀγὼν οὗτος εἰσέρχεται εἰς ὑμᾶς. “Νόμος

ἐὰν δὲ ξένος ἀστῇ συνοικῇ τέχνῃ ἢ μηχανῇ ᾑτινιοῦν, γραφέσθω πρὸς τοὺς θεσμοθέτας Ἀθηναίων ὁ βουλόμενος οἷς ἔξεστιν. ἐὰν δὲ ἁλῷ, πεπράσθω καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ οὐσία αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ τρίτον μέρος ἔστω τοῦ ἑλόντος. ἔστω δὲ καὶ ἐὰν ἡ ξένη τῷ ἀστῷ συνοικῇ κατὰ ταὐτά, καὶ ὁ συνοικῶν τῇ ξένῃ τῇ ἁλούσῃ ὀφειλέτω χιλίας δραχμάς.”

[17] τοῦ μὲν νόμου τοίνυν ἀκηκόατε, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὃς οὐκ ἐᾷ τὴν ξένην τῷ ἀστῷ συνοικεῖν οὐδὲ τὴν ἀστὴν τῷ ξένῳ, οὐδὲ παιδοποιεῖσθαι, τέχνῃ οὐδὲ μηχανῇ οὐδεμιᾷ· ἐὰν δέ τις παρὰ ταῦτα ποιῇ, γραφὴν πεποίηκεν κατ᾽ αὐτῶν εἶναι πρὸς τοὺς θεσμοθέτας, κατά τε τοῦ ξένου καὶ τῆς ξένης, κἂν ἁλῷ, πεπρᾶσθαι κελεύει. ὡς οὖν ἐστι ξένη Νέαιρα αὑτηί, τοῦθ᾽ ὑμῖν βούλομαι ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀκριβῶς ἐπιδεῖξαι.

    16–126: The rest of the speech is delivered by Apollodoros.

    Apollodoros has the law read out specifying the penalties for non-citizen men who marry citizen women, and for citizen men who marry non-citizen women, and promises to prove that Stephanos and Neaira are an instance of the latter. 

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    ἃ μν δικημένος...ναβέβηκα: for the construction, see §14ναβέβηκα < ἀναβαίνω, “to mount the speaker’s platform (βῆμα)” (LSJ II.6).

    κατηγορήσων < κατηγορέω

    ναγνώσεται: ”will read aloud” < ἀναγιγνώσκω; supply as subject the clerk in the courtroom.

    Νόμος: there is some doubt about the authenticity of documents preserved in the corpus of the Attic orators. Carey 1992: 92 thinks that this law is likely genuine since it includes details that don’t appear in Apollodoros’ paraphrase of the law (i.e., that only citizens can prosecute; the reward for a successful prosecutor and the punishment for an Athenian citizen convicted of marrying a foreign woman). Kapparis 1999 also argues that it is genuine on the basis of “linguistic criteria, the comparison with the context and an analysis of the content”: namely, the use of standard forensic language, and the fact that the law contains information not in the surrounding text and doesn’t incorporate some elements that are (p. 198). Kapparis argues that this and the law in §52 are parts of the same law, which he dates to the 380s (1999: 202) (other scholars date it all the way back to Pericles or to around 350).

    τέχν: “way, manner” (LSJ I 3)

    τινιον < ὁστισοῦν, “anybody, anything whatsoever” (the indefinite pronoun ὅστις is made more indefinite in this compound with οὖν)

    γραφέσθω...ος ξεστιν: “let anyone who wishes, from among the Athenians having the right (to do so), indict him before the Thesmothetai”

    ξεστιν: impersonal; here it refers to citizens who are not disenfranchised

    θεσμοθέτας: the θεσμοθέται were the six “junior archons”; like the other archons, they were selected by lot and held their post for only one year. They were in charge of legal and judicial matters.

    λ < ἁλίσκομαι (aor. ἑάλων), “is convicted”

    πεπράσθω < πιπράσκω

    λόντος < αἱρέω (aor. εἶλον), “the one who convicted” (LSJ A.II.4)

    κατὰ τατά: lit., “in accordance with the same things”

    τῇ ξένῃ τῇ λούσ: “the foreign woman so convicted,” dat. with συνοικῶν 

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    παιδοποιεσθαι: here, refers to the bearing of legitimate citizen children

    παρὰ τατα: “contrary to these things”

    πεποίηκεν: supply as subject “the law”; ποιέω (+ infinitive): “to bring it about that”

    16

    Ἀθηναῖος –α –ον: Athenian

    Στέφανος: Stephanos

    ἀναβαίνω ἀναβήσομαι ἀνέβην ἀναβέβηκα ––– –––: board, go up; mount the speaker's platform

    Νέαιρα: Neaira

    Θεόμνηστος: Theomnestos

    ἐρῶ εἴρηκα ἐρρήθην: say, tell, speak

    ξένη: a female guest, a foreign woman

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

    ἐπιδείκνυμι ἐπιδείξω ἐπέδειξα ἐπιδέδειχα ἐπιδέδειγμαι ἐπεδείχθην: display, exhibit; show, prove

    ἀναγιγνώσκω ἀναγνώσομαι ἀνέγνων ἀνέγνωκα ἀνέγνωσμαι ἀνεγνώσθην: to read

    εἰσέρχομαι εἰσελεύσομαι εἰσῆλθον εἰσελήλυθα ––– –––: to come to court

    ἀστή –ῆς ἡ: fem. of ἀστός

    μηχανή –ῆς ἡ: device

    θεσμοθέτης: a lawgiver; at Athens, οἱ θεσμοθέται = the six junior archons

    ἔξεστι: it is possible

    πιπράσκω πωλήσω/ἀποδώσομαι ἀπεδόμην πέπρακα πέπραμαι ἐπράθην: to sell

    ἀστός –οῦ ὁ: a townsman, citizen

    ταὐτός –ή –όν: identical

    ὀφείλω ὀφειλήσω ὤφελον ὠφείληκα ––– ὠφειλήθην: to owe, be obliged

    χίλιοι –αι –α: a thousand

    δραχμή –ῆς ἡ: drachma

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    δικαστής –οῦ ὁ: judge, juror

    παιδοποιέω: to beget children

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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/16-17