Source edition
Demosthenes. Orationes, Vol. III. Rennie, W., editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1931.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a courtroom speech delivered in ancient Athens, centering on a dispute over the inheritance of a deceased man named Archiades. The speaker accuses the opponent, Leostratos, and his son Leochares, of illegally seizing the estate and filing a false protestation. To prove his case, the speaker first provides a detailed genealogy and legal evidence to demonstrate that his side is the closest male-line relative to Archiades. He then exposes the opponents' history of exploiting illegal adoptions across three generations in order to keep the estate within their lineage. Drawing on Athenian laws, particularly Solon's legislation, the speaker highlights the legal contradictions in the opponents' arguments regarding biological versus adopted status. Ultimately, the speech unmasks the opponents' greed and procedural dishonesty, reasserting the speaker's rightful claim as the closest male-line heir and appealing to the jury for a just verdict.