1. Theomnestus' father-in-law is Apollodorus; his sister is Apollodorus' wife; his wife is Apollodorus' daughter. This becomes clear in the immediately following section of the speech. Follow this link to a chart of the family relationships. 5. Stephanus brought against Apollodorus a graphe paranomon (see Fine, page 413, for a description of this suit). 9. Follow the links to the deme map and to see the location of the deme Aphidna in relation to Acharnai, Apollodorus' deme, follow this link. 9. If a homicide charge was brought before the court at the Palladium, then it must have been for unpremeditated (unintentional) homicide. 21. Lysias the sophist is the well-known orator. He was the son of Cephalus, a metic from Syracuse and a friend of Socrates, who appears as a character in Plato's Republic. 21. Lysias wanted to undertake the expense of having Metaneira intitiated in the Eleusinian mysteries. 28. Note that Hipparchus comes from Athmonon, the same deme as Theomnestus. 30. Follow this link for the deme map and the location of Phrynion's deme, Paeania. 30. The price for an ordinary prostitute was a drachma, but courtesans charged more. The legendary Athenian courtesan Phryne reported charged a mina (100 drachmae). The price for Neaera's eventual freedom was twenty times this: 20 minae = 2000 drachmae, of which her Corinthian lovers contributed half, and the other half of which she obtained from Phrynion and other lovers. 33. archonship of Socratidas = 373 BCE. Note that the date of this oration is 349 BCE. 33. The temple of Athena Colias was on a promontory on the Bay of Phalerum, which was one of Athens' two harbors (the other being the Piraeus). 34. Xypete and Cydathenaeum were both city demes. Aexone, Chabrias' deme, was a coastal deme a few miles south of Athens. 35. archonship of Asteius = 372 BCE 37. archonship of Phrasicleide = 371 BCE 37. Since Neara takes Stephanus as her patron, the clear implication is that she intends to live in Athens as a metic. 40. Neaera had to post a bond because her status--slave or metic--was not yet determined. 45. Pay attention to how the arbitration is arranged, and to what its terms are as regards Neaera. What does the settlement imply about her and her status? 50. Note the size of the dowry for Phano. How does it compare with the amount which purchased Neaera's freedom? 52. alimony: this is not an exact translation. The Greek says "a suit for maintenance," which could be brought against the guardian of a minor or woman for the failure to provide for the individual's maintenance. There was another suit, the dike proikos, suit for return of the dowry, which was normally brought against a husband for return of the dowry. 52. nine obols/mina = 18%
Thus, 9 obols a month for a year = 108 obols or 1.8 drachmae/year for each mina. 53. What do you think the withdrawal of actions by both parties says about the character of the dispute? Note the order in which the deposition says that the suits were brought, and contrast this with the narrative in the speech. 66. There is a different view of adultery here than the one given in Blundell (and based on another oration in which the adulterer is killed by the outraged husband). Compare the two accounts and see what you can derive from them together in terms of an Athenian view of adultery. Compare also what Apollodorus says about adultery in sections 86-87 below. 69. another indictment withdrawn and another potential lawsuit settled by arbitration. What does this say to you about the Athenian judicial system, and how do these incidents alter the impression you derived from Fine's description of it? 70. Why do you think Epanetus agrees to contribute to Phano's dowry? Note the difference in the size of this dowry and the one given with Phano to Phrastor (section 50). 1000 drachmae = 10 minae. 71. What do the terms of this settlement say about Phano's status? 72. That is, he was to be the archon basileus, the king archon. 73. The oath is cited below, in section 78. The ritual described in this and the following sections was celebrated on the third day of the Anthesteria, a spring festival in honor of Dionysus. The elements of the festival included: the opeing of the new wine, a drinking contest, rites performed in honor of the dead, and the hieros gamos ("sacred marriage") at which Dionysus married the wife of the king archon. The last ritual took place on the last day (which began on the evening before). It entailed a procession from the Limnaion (a sanctuary of Dionysus whose exact location is unknown) to the Boukolion, the seat of the archon basileus in the agora. While in the Limnaion, fourteen women made offerings at the fourteen altars in the sanctuary. Two separate processions brought the basilinna (wife of the king archon) to the Boukolion, and Dionysus to the basilinna, after which the sacred union took place. 89. These sections are very revealing about the meaning of "citizenship" in Athens. Think over their implications as they apply to women. And reflect that they are being reviewed by someone who was himself a naturalized citizen and the son of a former slave. 89. barriers. These separated the voting from the non-voting members of the assembly. The latter would have been spectators, either visiting foreign dignitaries or perhaps also interested metics. 92. Note the restrictions on naturalized citizens, which do not apply to their descendants. What do they say about the particular offices concerned and their importance to the polis? 107. Note the implications of this statement that it was possible for women also to become naturalized citizens. 108. The word used here for citizen woman (aste) is the same one used in the decree concerning the Plataeans. 110. What are the implications of this hypothetical conversation for the views of Athenian woman on the matter of citizenship? Contrast this conversation about political affairs with the one reported in the Ecclesiazusae. Which do you think is more likely to be realistic? 113. How does Apollodorus identify the rights and privileges of Athenian citizen wives? Does what he says alter your views on the subject? 115. Does the reference to Neaera's appearance suggest that she was present in the courtroom? 116. hierophant = high priest of the temple at Eleusis. Note that he is punished in part for usurping the rights of the priestess. 119. the word used for "mistress" is hetaira, not the one for concubine (pallake) 122. Mistresses = hetairas; concubines = pallakai
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