All plays

Lysias 1 - the murder of Eratosthenes

Notes  - masculinity 

characters - Eratosthenes, Euphiletos

• Speech written on behalf of Euphiletos who is accused of killing Eratosthenes 

• He argues that he caught Eratosthenes in the act of cheating with his wife, therefore the killing is legal  

• Heard at the delphinon, the court that tried homicide cases in which the accused admitted the act but maintained the act was allowed by law 

• An elderly female slave who has been sent by a woman with whom Eratosthenes was having an affair with. She tells him his wife is having an affair 

• Serving girl took Euphiletos when his wife was cheating and he took his neighbours as witnesses and went into the bedroom

Antiphone 1 - against the stepmother 

Notes - gender, law and justice  

characters - philoeos

• Written for the prosecution of a woman accused of causing the death of her husband by poisoning 

• Allegation is that she tricked another female into administering the poison 

• Is his son by his first marriage is the prosecutor 

• Her son by the dead man is her defendant 

• The prosecution wanted to torture the family slaves to get the truth but the defence did not allow 

• She befriended Philoneous slave mistress 

• Convinced her that she could make Philoneos love her 

• After a dinner between the men, she made the slave mistress give the poison to the men which killed them

Euripides’ Hippolytus

Oaths, justice, masculinity  

Characters - Aphrodite, Hippolytus, phaedra

• Aphrodite explains that she will cause Hippolytus death by having his stepmother fall in love with him 

• The nurse tells Hippolytus that Phaedra fell in love with him, she believes that the only solution is to commit suicide 

• This play no deals with the investigation and prosecution of the crime

• Phaedra writes a suicide letter saying that Hippolytus raped her even though he didnt 

• Theseus read this letter and cursed death on Hippolytus and sends him into exile 

• Hippolytus states his innocence

• Theseus curse works and Hippolytus starts dying and while this is happening he acquit Theseus for his murder 

Demosthenes 54 - Ariston

Honour, gender, masculinity 

characters - Ariston, Konon, Konons sons

• Private action for battery - Dike 

• Ariston claims to have been the victim of an attack from Konon 

• Ariston has first had come into contact with Konon's sons and had a bad experience 

• Next time they saw him they beat Ariston, stripped him 

• There were oaths used on both sides, evidence from doctors and a witnesses for both sides 

• Konon had witnesses that put him at a dinner party with them  

Antigone

Status, law/justice, women  

Characters - antigone, creon, eteocles, polyneices

• The play deals with the final hours of the young daughter of Oedipus, Antigone. After the death of Oedipus, his two sons (Antigone’s brothers), Eteocles and Polyneices, agreed to rule Thebes in alternating years, but Eteocles refused to give up the throne at the end of the year.

• Polyneices attacked his own city with the aid of a neighboring city state). He killed and was killed by his brother. Creon, Antigone’s uncle, takes over as king.

• Antigone prepares both brothers a grave, after Creon ruled that there would be no grave for Polyneices since he attacked his own city  

• Antigone does it anyways and Creon sentences her to death, she believes she should only have to listen to the laws from the gods 

• Antigone kills herself, her future husband (Creons son) kills himself and Creons wife kills herself

Lysias 3 - A reply to Simon 

Assault charge, masculinity

characters - simon and the speaker  

• Intentional wounding, dike 

• Simon is suing the speaker 

• Both fell in love with Theodotos and it made Simon act violent 

• Simon had broken into his house and had gone into the women's quarters, he then tried to attack him 

• Later Simon waited for him with his friends outside his house and attacked him and the boy