Legal Speeches of Democratic Athens

“An excellent, wide-ranging collection of Athenian speeches illuminating central topics of political, social, and legal history, including male and female sexuality, the ancient economy, Greek law, and major episodes of civic strife. Both accurate and faithful to the orators’ prose style, Wolpert and Kapparis’ new translations come accompanied by informative introductions and notes, a glossary of legal terms, and a helpful bibliography. Highly recommended for courses in the history of classical Athens, ancient rhetoric, and Greek law.” —Robert W. Wallace, Northwestern University

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26683g

Sources for Athenian History

Edited and Translated by Andrew Wolpert & Konstantinos Kapparis

2011 - 332 pp.

Grouped product items
Format ISBN Price Qty
Cloth 978-0-87220-928-2
$48.00
Paper 978-0-87220-927-5
$17.00
Instructor Examination (Review) Copy 978-0-87220-927-5
$3.00

eBook available for $14.95. Click HERE for more information.

“An excellent, wide-ranging collection of Athenian speeches illuminating central topics of political, social, and legal history, including male and female sexuality, the ancient economy, Greek law, and major episodes of civic strife. Both accurate and faithful to the orators’ prose style, Wolpert and Kapparis’ new translations come accompanied by informative introductions and notes, a glossary of legal terms, and a helpful bibliography. Highly recommended for courses in the history of classical Athens, ancient rhetoric, and Greek law.”
     —Robert W. Wallace, Northwestern University

 

“This collection offers a broad range of law court speeches from ancient Athens, including both those speeches addressing what we might call ‘criminal’ matters—homicide, assault, and so on—and those dealing with political matters. The translations are excellent, and the annotation learned.”
     —David Mirhady, Simon Fraser University

 

“A very thoughtful selection of speeches. . . . The translations are clear and accurate. The introductory notes are wonderfully helpful—written to be accessible to students but with insights that will be appreciated by specialists.”
     —Josiah Ober, Stanford University

 

"[Wolpert and Kapparis's] anthology . . . stands apart in a number of key ways. Virtually all of the translations, which are of very high quality, are new for this volume. . . .
    "Each of the introductions to the individual speeches is accompanied by a convenient outline, entitled ‘Key Information', of the important details about the dispute; this feature will be particularly welcome to undergraduates and other beginners, for whom Athenian forensic speeches often present at first glance a welter of soap opera-like complexity. In the summary that precedes Against Neaera, for example, the subheadings include 'Speaker', Supporting Speaker', 'Defendant', ‘Other Individuals' (particularly helpful), ‘Action', 'Penalty' and ‘Date'. Having this information collected in one handy location is very useful indeed.
    "One minor yet remarkably useful feature is that [Wolpert and Kapparis] have placed all cross-references to speeches included in the collection in bold typeface. This allows the reader to know immediately whether he need only flip the pages to see the passage in question or must reach for another volume. It is hoped that this will encourage busy undergraduates to take the trouble to follow up a cross-reference.
    "The introduction truly shines. Without getting bogged down in debatable minutiae, it provides a remarkably detailed and clear account of the law and oratory of ancient Athens. Divided into five sections, it begins with an account of Athenian legal development from the Draconian and Solonian periods to the fourth century. It then tackles Athenian politics and society, the court system (a particularly helpful section), the Attic orators (with a substantial biographical sketch of each orator whose speeches appear in the volume), and rhetorical technique and style. The introduction could even be used in a course where no speeches are read but students need to be given a quick, solid initiation into the legal culture of the classical period.
     —Classical Review

 

Contents:

  • Preface; Introduction; Abbreviations
  • Antiphon 6: On the Chorister
  • Lysias 1: On the Murder of Eratosthenes
  • Lysias 12: Against Eratosthenes
  • Lysias 16: For Mantitheus
  • Lysias 23: Against Pancleon
  • Lysias 24: On the Suspension of the Benefit of the Disabled Man
  • Isaeus 12: On Behalf of Euphiletus
  • Demosthenes 21: Against Meidias
  • Demosthenes 32: Against Zenothemis
  • Demosthenes 41: Against Spudias
  • [Demosthenes] 53: Apollodorus against Nicostratus
  • Demosthenes 54: Against Conon
  • [Demosthenes] 59: Against Neaera by Apollodorus
  • Aeschines 1: Against Timarchus
  • Glossary; Bibliography; Index 

 

About the Author:

Andrew Wolpert and Konstantinos Kapparis are Associate Professors of Classics, University of Florida.