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 work is a courtroom oration set in Athens during the restoration of democracy, where an anonymous defendant asserts his innocence against charges of conspiring to subvert the democracy simply because he remained in the city under the oligarchic rule of the Thirty Tyrants. The defendant argues that political loyalty is based on personal interest and conduct rather than innate ideology, highlighting his own clean record of public service and non-violence during the oligarchy. He urges the jury not to punish citizens who merely survived, but to target actual criminals and deceitful accusers who threaten the city's peace. Ultimately, the speech appeals for the preservation of civic harmony and the strict adherence to the reconciliation oaths to prevent mutual suspicion and protect the state.