Source edition
Demosthenes. Orationes, Vol. II, Part 2. Rennie, W., editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1921.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This judicial oration addresses a property dispute between the speaker and Onetor, the brother-in-law of the speaker's former guardian, Aphobus, following the speaker's successful lawsuit against Aphobus. Onetor has occupied the land that should be transferred to the speaker, using the pretext of reclaiming his sister's dowry after her alleged divorce from Aphobus. The speaker argues that no such dowry was ever actually paid, and that the divorce itself is a sham designed to hide Aphobus's assets. To prove this, the speaker highlights the suspicious lack of witnesses during the supposed dowry transactions and points out that Aphobus continues to live with his wife and cultivate the land. Furthermore, the speaker emphasizes Onetor's stubborn refusal to allow the interrogation of slaves under torture (basanos), which would have revealed the truth. Through these arguments, the speaker aims to expose the conspiracy between the two men and secure his rightful claim to the occupied property.