by Demosthenes
[84] καὶ ὅτι ταῦτ᾽ ἀληθῆ λέγω, τούτων ὑμῖν μάρτυρα αὐτὸν τὸν Θεογένην καλῶ καὶ ἀναγκάσω μαρτυρεῖν. κάλει μοι Θεογένην Ἑρχιέα.”Μαρτυρία
Θεογένης Ἑρχιεὺς μαρτυρεῖ, ὅτε αὐτὸς ἐβασίλευεν, γῆμαι Φανὼ ὡς Στεφάνου οὖσαν θυγατέρα, ἐπεὶ δὲ ᾔσθετο ἐξηπατημένος, τήν τε ἄνθρωπον ἐκβαλεῖν καὶ οὐκέτι συνοικεῖν αὐτῇ, καὶ Στέφανον ἀπελάσαι ἀπὸ τῆς παρεδρίας καὶ οὐκ ἐᾶν ἔτι παρεδρεύειν αὑτῷ.”
[84] To prove the truth of these statements of mine, I will call before you as witness to these facts Theogenes himself, and will compel him to testify.
Call, please, Theogenes of Erchia.”Deposition
Theogenes of Erchia deposes that when he was king he married Phano, believing her to be the daughter of Stephanus, and that, when he found he had been deceived, he cast the woman away and ceased to live with her, and that he expelled Stephanus from his post of assessor, and no longer allowed him to serve in that capacity.”
[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:
[85] Now take, please, the law bearing upon these matters, and read it; for I would have you know that a woman of her character, who has done what she has done, ought not only to have kept aloof from these sacred rites, to have abstained from beholding them, from offering sacrifices, and from performing on the city’s behalf any of the ancestral rites which usage demands, but that she should have been excluded also from all other religious ceremonials in Athens. For a woman who has been taken in adultery is not permitted to attend any of the public sacrifices, although the laws have given both to the alien woman and the slave the right to attend these, whether to view the spectacle or to offer prayer.
[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.
[86] No; it is to these women alone that the law denies entrance to our public sacrifices, to these, I mean, who have been taken in adultery; and if they do attend them and defy the law, any person whatsoever may at will inflict upon them any sort of punishment, save only death, and that with impunity; and the law has given the right of punishing these women to any person who happens to meet with them. It is for this reason that the law has declared that such a woman may suffer any outrage short of death without the right of seeking redress before any tribunal whatsoever, that our sanctuaries may be kept free from all pollution and profanation, and that our women may be inspired with a fear sufficient to make them live soberly, and avoid all vice, and, as their duty is, to keep to their household tasks. For it teaches them that, if a woman is guilty of any such sin, she will be an outcast from her husband’s home and from the sanctuaries of the city.
[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.”
[87] That this is so, you will see clearly, when you have heard the law read.
Take it please.”Law Regarding Adultery
When he has caught the adulterer, it shall not be lawful for the one who has caught him to continue living with his wife, and if he does so, he shall lose his civic rights and it shall not be lawful for the woman who is taken in adultery to attend public sacrifices; and if she does attend them, she may be made to suffer any punishment whatsoever, short of death, and that with impunity.”
[88] βούλομαι τοίνυν ὑμῖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ τοῦ δήμου τοῦ Ἀθηναίων μαρτυρίαν παρασχέσθαι, ὡς σπουδάζει περὶ τὰ ἱερὰ ταῦτα καὶ ὡς πολλὴν πρόνοιαν περὶ αὐτῶν πεποίηται. ὁ γὰρ δῆμος ὁ Ἀθηναίων κυριώτατος ὢν τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει ἁπάντων, καὶ ἐξὸν αὐτῷ ποιεῖν ὅ τι ἂν βούληται, οὕτω καλὸν καὶ σεμνὸν ἡγήσατ᾽ εἶναι δῶρον τὸ Ἀθηναῖον γενέσθαι, ὥστε νόμους ἔθετο αὑτῷ καθ᾽ οὓς ποιεῖσθαι δεῖ, ἐάν τινα βούλωνται, πολίτην, οἳ νῦν προπεπηλακισμένοι εἰσὶν ὑπὸ Στεφάνου τουτουὶ καὶ τῶν οὕτω γεγαμηκότων.
[88] I wish now, men of Athens, to bring before you the testimony also of the Athenian civic body, to show you how great care they take in regard to these religious rites. For the civic body of Athens, although it has supreme authority over all things in the state, and it is in its power to do whatsoever it pleases, yet regarded the gift of Athenian citizenship as so honorable and so sacred a thing that it enacted in its own restraint laws to which it must conform, when it wishes to create a citizen — laws which now have been dragged through the mire by Stephanus and those who contract marriages of this sort.
[89] ὅμως δ᾽ ἀκούοντες αὐτῶν βελτίους ἔσεσθε, καὶ τὰ κάλλιστα καὶ τὰ σεμνότατα δῶρα τοῖς εὐεργετοῦσι τὴν πόλιν διδόμενα γνώσεσθε ὡς λελυμασμένοι εἰσίν. πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ νόμος ἐστὶ τῷ δήμῳ κείμενος μὴ ἐξεῖναι ποιήσασθαι Ἀθηναῖον, ὃν ἂν μὴ δι᾽ ἀνδραγαθίαν εἰς τὸν δῆμον τὸν Ἀθηναίων ἄξιον ᾖ γενέσθαι πολίτην. ἔπειτ᾽ ἐπειδὰν πεισθῇ ὁ δῆμος καὶ δῷ τὴν δωρεάν, οὐκ ἐᾷ κυρίαν γενέσθαι τὴν
ποίησιν, ἐὰν μὴ τῇ ψήφῳ εἰς τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν ἐκκλησίαν ὑπερεξακισχίλιοι Ἀθηναίων ψηφίσωνται κρύβδην ψηφιζόμενοι.
[89] However, you will be the better for hearing them, and you will know that these people have debased the most honorable and the most sacred gifts, which are granted to the benefactors of the state.
In the first place, there is a law imposed upon the people forbidding them to bestow Athenian citizenship upon any man who does not deserve it because of distinguished services to the Athenian people. In the next place, when the civic body has been thus convinced and bestows the gift, it does not permit the adoption to become valid, unless in the next ensuing assembly more than six thousand Athenians confirm it by a secret ballot.
[90] τοὺς δὲ πρυτάνεις κελεύει τιθέναι τοὺς καδίσκους ὁ νόμος καὶ τὴν ψῆφον διδόναι προσιόντι τῷ δήμῳ πρὶν τοὺς ξένους εἰσιέναι, καὶ τὰ γέρρα ἀναιρεῖν, ἵνα κύριος ὢν αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ ἕκαστος σκοπῆται πρὸς αὑτὸν ὅντινα μέλλει πολίτην ποιήσεσθαι, εἰ ἄξιός ἐστι τῆς δωρεᾶς ὁ μέλλων λήψεσθαι. ἔπειτα μετὰ ταῦτα παρανόμων γραφὴν ἐποίησε κατ᾽ αὐτοῦ τῷ βουλομένῳ Ἀθηναίων, καὶ ἔστιν εἰσελθόντα εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον ἐξελέγξαι ὡς οὐκ ἄξιός ἐστι τῆς δωρεᾶς, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοὺς νόμους Ἀθηναῖος γέγονεν.
[90] And the law requires the presidents to set out the ballotboxes and to give the ballots to the people as they come up before the non-citizens have come in and the barriers have been removed, in order that every one of the citizens, being absolutely free from interference, may form his own judgement regarding the one whom he is about to make a citizen, whether the one about to be so adopted is worthy of the gift. Furthermore, after this the law permits to any Athenian who wishes to prefer it an indictment for illegality against the candidate, and he may come into court and prove that the person in question is not worthy of the gift, but has been made a citizen contrary to the laws.
[91] καὶ ἤδη τισὶ τοῦ δήμου δόντος τὴν δωρεάν, λόγῳ ἐξαπατηθέντος ὑπὸ τῶν αἰτούντων, παρανόμων γραφῆς γενομένης καὶ εἰσελθούσης εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον, ἐξελεγχθῆναι συνέβη τὸν εἰληφότα τὴν δωρεὰν μὴ ἄξιον εἶναι αὐτῆς, καὶ ἀφείλετο τὸ δικαστήριον. καὶ τοὺς μὲν πολλοὺς καὶ παλαιοὺς ἔργον διηγήσασθαι: ἃ δὲ πάντες μνημονεύετε, Πειθόλαν τε τὸν Θετταλὸν καὶ Ἀπολλωνίδην τὸν Ὀλύνθιον πολίτας ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου γενομένους ἀφείλετο τὸ δικαστήριον:
[91] And there have been cases ere now when, after the people had bestowed the gift, deceived by the arguments of those who requested it, and an indictment for illegality had been preferred and brought into court, the result was that the person who had received the gift was proved to be unworthy of it, and the court took it back. To review the many cases in ancient times would be a long task; I will mention only those which you all remember: Peitholas the Thessalian, and Apollonides the Olynthian, after having been made citizens by the people, were deprived of the gift by the court.
[92] ταῦτα γὰρ οὐ πάλαι ἐστὶ γεγενημένα ὥστε ἀγνοεῖν ὑμᾶς. οὕτως τοίνυν καλῶς καὶ ἰσχυρῶς τῶν νόμων κειμένων ὑπὲρ τῆς πολιτείας, δι᾽ ὧν δεῖ Ἀθηναῖον γενέσθαι, ἕτερός ἐστιν ἐφ᾽ ἅπασι τούτοις κυριώτατος νόμος κείμενος: οὕτω πολλὴν ὁ δῆμος πρόνοιαν ἐποιεῖτο ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ καὶ τῶν θεῶν ὥστε δι᾽ εὐσεβείας τὰ ἱερὰ θύεσθαι ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως. ὅσους γὰρ ἂν ποιήσηται ὁ δῆμος ὁ Ἀθηναίων πολίτας, ὁ νόμος ἀπαγορεύει διαρρήδην μὴ ἐξεῖναι αὐτοῖς τῶν ἐννέα ἀρχόντων γενέσθαι, μηδὲ ἱερωσύνης μηδεμιᾶς μετασχεῖν: τοῖς δ᾽ ἐκ τούτων μετέδωκεν ἤδη ὁ δῆμος ἁπάντων, καὶ προσέθηκεν ‘ἐὰν ὦσιν ἐκ γυναικὸς ἀστῆς καὶ ἐγγυητῆς κατὰ τὸν νόμον.’
[92] These are not events of long ago of which you might be ignorant.
However, although the laws regarding citizenship and the steps that must be taken before one may become an Athenian are so admirably and so securely established, there is yet another law which has been enacted in addition to all these, and this law is of paramount validity; such great precautions have the people taken in the interest of themselves and of the gods, to the end that the sacrifices on the state’s behalf may be offered in conformity with religious usage. For in the case of all those whom the Athenian people may make citizens, the law expressly forbids that they should be eligible to the office of the nine archons or to hold any priesthood; but their descendants are allowed by the people to share in all civic rights, though the proviso is added: if they are born from an Athenian woman who was betrothed according to the law.
[93] καὶ ὅτι ταῦτ᾽ ἀληθῆ λέγω, μεγάλῃ καὶ περιφανεῖ μαρτυρίᾳ ἐγὼ ὑμῖν δηλώσω. βούλομαι δ᾽ ὑμῖν τὸν νόμον πόρρωθεν προδιηγήσασθαι, ὡς ἐτέθη καὶ πρὸς οὓς διωρίσθη, ὡς ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς ὄντας καὶ βεβαίους φίλους περὶ τὸν δῆμον γεγονότας. ἐκ τούτων γὰρ ἁπάντων εἴσεσθε τήν τε τοῦ δήμου δωρεὰν τὴν ἀπόθετον τοῖς εὐεργέταις προ- πηλακιζομένην, καὶ ὅσων ὑμᾶς ἀγαθῶν κωλύουσι κυρίους εἶναι Στέφανός τε οὑτοσὶ καὶ οἱ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τούτῳ γεγαμηκότες καὶ παιδοποιούμενοι.
[93] That these statements of mine are true, I will prove to you by the clearest and most convincing testimony; but I wish first to go back to the origins of the law and to show how it came to be enacted and who those were whom its provisions covered as being men of worth who had shown themselves staunch friends to the people of Athens. For from all this you will know that the people’s gift which is reserved for benefactors is being dragged through the mire, and how great the privileges are which are being taken from your control by this fellow Stephanus and those who have married and begotten children in the manner followed by him.
[94] Πλαταιῆς γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μόνοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων ὑμῖν ἐβοήθησαν Μαραθῶνάδε, ὅτε Δᾶτις ὁ βασιλέως Δαρείου στρατηγὸς ἀναχωρῶν ἐξ Ἐρετρίας Εὔβοιαν ὑφ᾽ ἑαυτῷ ποιησάμενος, ἀπέβη εἰς τὴν χώραν πολλῇ δυνάμει καὶ ἐπόρθει. καὶ ἔτι καὶ νῦν τῆς ἀνδραγαθίας αὐτῶν ὑπομνήματα ἡ ἐν τῇ ποικίλῃ στοᾷ γραφὴ δεδήλωκεν: ὡς ἕκαστος γὰρ τάχους εἶχεν, εὐθὺς προσβοηθῶν γέγραπται, οἱ τὰς κυνᾶς τὰς Βοιωτίας ἔχοντες.
[94] The Plataeans, men of Athens, alone among the Greeks came to your aid at Marathon when Datis, the general of King Dareius, on his return from Eretria after subjugating Euboea, landed on our coast with a large force and proceeded to ravage the country. And even to this day the picture in the Painted Stoa exhibits the memorial of their valor; for each man is portrayed hastening to you
r aid with all speed — they are the band wearing Boeotian caps.
[95] πάλιν δὲ Ξέρξου ἰόντος ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα, Θηβαίων μηδισάντων, οὐκ ἐτόλμησαν ἀποστῆναι τῆς ὑμετέρας φιλίας, ἀλλὰ μόνοι τῶν ἄλλων Βοιωτῶν οἱ μὲν ἡμίσεις αὐτῶν μετὰ Λακεδαιμονίων καὶ Λεωνίδου ἐν Θερμοπύλαις παραταξάμενοι τῷ βαρβάρῳ ἐπιόντι συναπώλοντο, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἐμβάντες εἰς τὰς ὑμετέρας τριήρεις, ἐπειδὴ αὐτοῖς οἰκεῖα σκάφη οὐχ ὑπῆρχεν, συνεναυμάχουν ὑμῖν ἐπί τε Ἀρτεμισίῳ καὶ ἐν Σαλαμῖνι,
[95] And again, when Xerxes came against Greece and the Thebans went over to the side of the Medes, the Plataeans refused to withdraw from their alliance with us, but, unsupported by any others of the Boeotians, half of them arrayed themselves in Thermopylae against the advancing barbarian together with the Lacedaemonians and Leonidas, and perished with them; and the remainder embarked on your triremes, since they had no ships of their own, and fought along with you in the naval battles at Artemisium and at Salamis.