Source edition
Antiphon. Minor Attic Orators, Vol. 1. Maidment, Kenneth John, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1941 (printing); 1960 (reprint).
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a courtroom oration delivered by a young man prosecuting his stepmother for the premeditated poisoning of his father. The speaker begins by expressing his anguish over the family dispute and argues for the justice of his cause, pointing out that the defense refused to allow the examination of household slaves under torture (basanos) to reveal the truth. He then narrates the tragic events of the crime: the stepmother conspired with the concubine of his father's friend, Philoneus, convincing her to administer a lethal poison under the guise of a love potion, which resulted in the deaths of both men. The prosecutor sharply criticizes his half-brothers for defending their mother and asserts that this refusal to test the slave testimony is decisive proof of guilt. Finally, he reveals that his dying father personally charged him with avenging his murder, and he concludes with an urgent appeal to the jury to deliver a just verdict of conviction.