Source edition
Lysias. Lamb, W.R.M., editor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1930.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This speech is a defense oration delivered before an Athenian court by a citizen accused of taking bribes. Rather than focusing on direct refutations of the charge, the speaker begins by enumerating the extensive public services (leitourgia) and trierarchies he voluntarily performed for the state, demonstrating his patriotism and civic duty. In the middle section, he leverages this record of immense financial contribution and military merit in naval battles to plead against the confiscation of his property, emphasizing his exemplary conduct. Finally, he urges the jurors to reflect on his lifelong integrity in both public and private affairs, arguing that it would be highly unjust to convict a man who has only ever benefited the state. Through this appeal, the work vividly illustrates how civic and financial contributions were utilized as powerful instruments of self-defense in classical Athenian courts.