54-57 | Dickinson College Commentaries

[54] κάλει μοι Φράστορα Αἰγιλιέα. “Μαρτυρία

Φράστωρ Αἰγιλιεὺς μαρτυρεῖ, ἐπειδὴ ᾔσθετο Νεαίρας θυγατέρα ἐγγυήσαντα αὑτῷ Στέφανον ὡς ἑαυτοῦ οὖσαν θυγατέρα, γράψασθαι αὐτὸν γραφὴν πρὸς τοὺς θεσμοθέτας κατὰ τὸν νόμον, καὶ τὴν ἄνθρωπον ἐκβαλεῖν ἐκ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ οἰκίας καὶ οὐκέτι συνοικεῖν αὐτῇ, καὶ λαχόντος αὑτῷ Στεφάνου εἰς Ὠιδεῖον σίτου διαλύσασθαι πρὸς αὑτὸν Στέφανον, ὥστε τὴν γραφὴν ἀναιρεθῆναι παρὰ τῶν θεσμοθετῶν καὶ τὴν δίκην τοῦ σίτου ἣν ἔλαχεν ἐμοὶ Στέφανος.”

[55] φέρε δὴ ὑμῖν καὶ ἑτέραν μαρτυρίαν παράσχωμαι τοῦ τε Φράστορος καὶ τῶν φρατέρων αὐτοῦ καὶ γεννητῶν, ὡς ἔστι ξένη Νέαιρα αὑτηί. οὐ πολλῷ χρόνῳ γὰρ ὕστερον ἢ ἐξέπεμψεν ὁ Φράστωρ τὴν τῆς Νεαίρας θυγατέρα, ἠσθένησε καὶ πάνυ πονηρῶς διετέθη καὶ εἰς πᾶσαν ἀπορίαν κατέστη. διαφορᾶς δ᾽ οὔσης αὐτῷ παλαιᾶς πρὸς τοὺς οἰκείους τοὺς αὑτοῦ καὶ ὀργῆς καὶ μίσους, πρὸς δὲ καὶ ἄπαις ὤν, ψυχαγωγούμενος ἐν τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ τῇ θεραπείᾳ τῇ ὑπό τε τῆς Νεαίρας καὶ τῆς θυγατρὸς αὐτῆς (ἐβάδιζον γὰρ πρὸς αὐτόν,

[56] ὡς ἠσθένει καὶ ἔρημος ἦν τοῦ θεραπεύσοντος τὸ νόσημα, τὰ πρόσφορα τῇ νόσῳ φέρουσαι καὶ ἐπισκοπούμεναι· ἴστε δήπου καὶ αὐτοὶ ὅσου ἀξία ἐστὶν γυνὴ ἐν ταῖς νόσοις, παροῦσα κάμνοντι ἀνθρώπῳ) ἐπείσθη δὴ τὸ παιδίον, ὃ ἔτεκεν ἡ θυγάτηρ ἡ Νεαίρας ταυτησὶ ὅτ᾽ ἐξεπέμφθη ὑπὸ τοῦ Φράστορος κυοῦσα, πυθομένου ὅτι οὐ Στεφάνου εἴη θυγάτηρ ἀλλὰ Νεαίρας, καὶ ὀργισθέντος ἐπὶ τῇ ἀπάτῃ, πάλιν λαβεῖν καὶ ποιήσασθαι υἱὸν αὑτοῦ,

[57] λογισμὸν ἀνθρώπινον καὶ εἰκότα λογιζόμενος, ὅτι πονηρῶς μὲν ἔχοι καὶ οὐ πολλὴ ἐλπὶς εἴη αὐτὸν περιγενήσεσθαι, τοῦ δὲ μὴ λαβεῖν τοὺς συγγενεῖς τὰ αὑτοῦ μηδ᾽ ἄπαις τετελευτηκέναι ἐποιήσατο τὸν παῖδα καὶ ἀνέλαβεν ὡς αὑτόν· ἐπεὶ ὅτι γε ὑγιαίνων οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἔπραξεν, μεγάλῳ τεκμηρίῳ καὶ περιφανεῖ ἐγὼ ὑμῖν ἐπιδείξω.

notes

Stephanos reached a settlement with Phrastor, and both men withdrew their suits. Phrastor then fell ill, was tended to by Neaira and Phano, and was persuaded by them to acknowledge his son with Phano as legitimate, since he wanted an heir.

Μαρτυρία: note that Phrastor gives a different order of events than Apollodoros does. This (among other peculiarities in the deposition) might indicate that the document is a forgery, though Dilts 2009 does not bracket it in his text.

ᾐσθετο < αἰσθάνομαι

λάχοντος: supply δίκην.

διαλύσασθαι πρὸς αὑτὸν Στέφανον: literally, “that he reconciled Stephanos to himself,” i.e., he arranged a reconcilation with Stephanos. See LSJ διαλύω A.4.b.

φέρε: the imperative of φέρω can be used as an adverb meaning “come on.”

γεννητῶν: members of a γένος, a kin-based subgroup of a phratry. Although all Athenian citizens belonged to phratries, not all belonged to γένη.

ἠσθένησε < ἀσθενέω; this is an ingressive aorist (S. 1924).

διετέθη < διατίθημι

διαφορᾶς: the fact that Phrastor was quarreling with his relatives is significant because they would be first to inherit if he didn’t produce an heir.

πρὸς δέ: adverbial, “in addition”

τῇ θεραπείᾳ τῇ ὑπό: “by the care (which he received) from”

ἔρημος: governs τοῦ θεραπεύσοντος (“lacking someone to take care of [him]”)

ἐπισκοπούμεναι < ἐπισκοπέω

ἴστε < οἶδα

αὐτοὶ: “you yourselves,” the jurors, subject of ἴστε

ἐπείσθη: governs the infinitives λαβεῖν and ποιήσασθαι (of which τὸ παιδίον is the object)

ἔτεκεν < τίκτω

ποιήσασθαι ὑιὸν αὐτοῦ: i.e., he acknowledged the boy as his (legitimate) son. Although ποιεῖσθαι can be used in a technical sense to mean “to adopt,” that doesn’t seem to be the sense here (Kapparis 1999: 285–86; cf. Patteson 1978: 91).

αὐτὸν περιγενήσεσθαι: “that he (Phrastor) would survive” the illness

τοῦ...μὴ λαβεῖν...μηδ᾽ ἄπαις τετελευτηκέναι: articular infinitives with τοῦ; genitives of the articular infinitive can be used to express purpose, often a negative purpose (G. 576, S. 2032e): “so that...wouldn’t get, and so that he would not die childless.”

συγγενεῖς: accusative subject of λαβεῖν

ἐπεί: this word can be omitted in translation, or treated like γάρ (G. 629a, S. 2244).

ὑγιαίνων: conditional circumstantial participle; the present participle stands in for an imperfect indicative in a contrary-to-fact condition.

vocabulary

Φράστωρ: Phrastor

Αἰγιλιεύς: of the deme Aigilia

μαρτυρία –ας ἡ: witness, testimony, evidence

μαρτυρέω μαρτυρήσω ἐμαρτύρησα μεμαρτύρηκα μεμαρτύρημαι ἐμαρτυρήθην: witness to

ἐγγυάω: to betroth

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

ἐκβάλλω ἐκβαλῶ ἐξέβαλον ἐκβέβληκα ἐκβέβλημαι ἐξεβλήθην: throw, cast out; divorce

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

λαγχάνω λήξομαι ἔλαχον εἴληχα ––– –––: to obtain by lot; to file suit (absol. and with δίκην)

ᾨδεῖον: the Odeon of Pericles

σῖτος –ου ὁ: grain; bread

διαλύω διαλύσω διαέλυσα διαλέλυκα διαλέλυμαι διαελύθην: reconcile

φράτηρ: a member of the same phratry

γεννητής –οῦ ὁ: a parent

ξένη: a female guest, a foreign woman

ἐκπέμπω ἐκπέμψω ἐξέπεμψα ἐκπέπομφα ἐκπέπεμμαι ἐξεπέμφθην: send out

ἀσθενέω: be weak, be ill

διατίθημι διαθήσω διέθηκα διατέθηκα ––– διετέθην: to dispose

ἀπορία –ας ἡ: difficulty, perplexity

ὀργή –ῆς ἡ: natural impulse, temperament; anger

μῖσος –ους or –εος τό: hate, hatred

ἄπαις: childless

ψυχαγωγέω: persuade, allure, cajole

ἀσθένεια –ας ἡ: weakness, sickness

θεραπεία ἡ: a waiting on, service

βαδίζω βαδιοῦμαι ἐβάδισα βεβάδικα ––– –––: go on foot; walk, go

ἐρῆμος –η –ον: bereft of (+ gen.), alone

θεραπεύω θεραπεύσω ἐθεράπευσα τεθεράπευκα τεθεράπευμαι ἐθεραπεύθην: be attendant, to serve

νόσημα –ατος τό: a sickness, disease, plague; an evil

πρόσφορος –ον: needed, useful, profitable

ἐπισκοπέω ἐπισκέψομαι ἐπεσεψάμην ––– ἐπέσκεμμαι ἐπεσεψαμήθην: to visit (especially the sick)

δήπου: perhaps, maybe; surely

κάμνω καμοῦμαι ἔκαμον κεκήμακα ––– –––: work, labor, win by toil

παιδίον –ου τό: a child

κυέω κυήσω ἐκύησα κεκύηκα κεκύημαι ἐκυήθην: to bear in the womb, to be pregnant with

ὀργίζω ὀργιῶ ὤργισα ––– ὤργισμαι ὠργίσθην: to make angry, provoke to anger, irritate; (mid.) become angry

ἀπάτη –ης ἡ: a trick, fraud, deceit

λογισμός –οῦ ὁ: counting, calculation

ἀνθρώπινος –η –ον: human, characteristic of people

λογίζομαι λογιζιοῦμαι ἐλογισάμην λελόγισμαι λελόγισμαι ἐλογίσθην: count, reckon

περιγίγνομαι (Ion. περιγίνομαι) περιγενήσομαι περεγενόμην περιγέγονα περιγεγένημαι περιεγενήθην: to be superior to; to survive

συγγενής –ές: of the same kin, descent, or family; (subst.) kinsman, relative

ἀναλαμβάνω ἀναλήψομαι ἀνέλαβον ἀνείληφα ἀνείλημμαι ἀνελήφθην: to take up, undertake, repair

ὑγιαίνω ὑγιανῶ ὑγίᾱνα (Ion. ὑγίηνα): to be sound, healthy

τεκμήριον –ου τό: sign; proof

περιφανής –ές: visible from all sides; manifest

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

Suggested Citation