On the Murder of Eratosthenes

by Lysias, Malcolm Campbell (Editor)

This is part one of a four-part prose reading course designed for beginners in Greek and other learners wishing to consolidate their reading skills. Particular attention is paid to idiomatic usage (both in Greek and English), word order and the use of particles and particle-combinations, while practical guidance is given on mastering the verbal systems and other features of the language which beginners generally find problematic. The four units may be studied in succession as part of a progressive course, but each unit is sufficiently self-contained to permit the pursuit of particular interests.

Genres: Nonfiction, Classics

65 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 401

About the author

Lysias (Greek: Λυσίας) (ca. 445 BC – ca. 380 BC) was a logographer (speech writer) in Ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace in the third century BC.

Reviews

[ella daisy]

niche but if u are a classics student taking greek from scratch this is an absolute essential. lysias 1 being the first greek text i read in its entirety, this was practically indespensable 2 the process. ^_^

[Julia Deptuła]

*ancient lit*

[Ava]

Read in Greek, of course. This is an astoundingly eloquent speech! I’m not sure if I buy Dionysius’ claim that Lysias uses particularly “common” speech, but I did really enjoy all the rhetorical strategies Lysias utilized. The diegesis portion was great, and the legal argument was a bit flimsy, but this is less so a detriment to the text and more so a detriment to Euphiletus’ chances of survival. Great text, cornerstone of Greek literature, and definitely forced me to review the perfect verb forms.

[Emma Whear]

An excellent display of court-room oratory.

At first, I was dismayed. Guess that's just classic proemiums with the flowery prose.
Lysias quickly segues into a thrilling narrative (with lots of nuance, i.e. οικίδιον), and then follows with a solid amount of arguments – aka, every possible defense under the sun.

Home boy finishes strong, with elegant, class A greek.

[Jane]

lol just realised i can technically count this; I don't know if I can say that I read it, more like shed tears over it
i swear translating 7 sections a day (not that I always managed) just about killed me (:

[Rachel Thijssen]

An interesting case and a strong defense for a man in ancient times. It was easy to translate and a great way to get back into reading ancient Greek.

[gold dust woman]

the judges should also blame the wife for cheating

[no soul]

Lu partiellement pour la fac.

[Catherine]

The rhetoric of Lysias in this speech is phenomenal. He stacks argument upon argument and uses all kinds of subtle wordplay to guide the jury into hopefully siding with his client, Euphilitus, against the family of Eratosthenes, the now-dead lover of Mrs Euphilitus. This speech could either be a real-life speech written for Euphilitus to defend himself in front of a jury or as a rhetorical exercise for speech-writing practice as a lawyer. Either way, it was worth the struggle of getting through the Greek to read it.

[Silvio Curtis]

An ancient Athenian court speech. The speaker has been accused of murder. His defense is that he caught his wife and the victim in adultery, and by Athenian law it was perfectly legal to kill him. Gives a straightforward - and unpleasant - window into ancient Greek sexual law and gender roles.

[La Sofi]

Uno spaccato di vita di V secolo interessantissimo! Permette di riflettere attorno alle tecniche giuridiche così come alla condizione della donna. Peccato solo che non siamo a conoscenza dell'esito del processo...

[Naomi]

Though a slightly questionable defence speech from a modern perspective, this was an extremely enjoyable (though at times frustrating) piece to both translate and read!

[J. R. González García]

This work will make you doubt about how Latin-distinctive perfect and pluperfect periphrastic constructions actually are.