Against Theomnestus 2

Lysias. Lamb, W.R.M., editor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1930.

Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.

This work is a courtroom oration set in ancient Athens, in which the prosecutor sues the defendant, Theomnestus, for defamation. The prosecutor seeks justice after being falsely accused of "patricide" by the defendant. He first demonstrates that the crime was physically impossible given his young age at the time of his father's death. The core of the argument then shifts to the interpretation of legal language; in response to the defendant's excuse that he did not use the specific prohibited term "murderer" but merely said the prosecutor "killed his father," the prosecutor argues that the two terms are legally synonymous. The speech vividly illustrates the debate over whether laws should be interpreted literally or by their underlying intent.