On The Murder Of Eratosthenes Analysis

“On the Murder of Eratosthenes”, written by Lysias, was the defense argument used by Euphiletos during his murder trial. Euphiletos killed fellow Athenian Eratosthenes for committing adultery with his wife. He was on trial to determine if the killing was premeditated murder or justice. While the verdict of the trial is not known, the trial can be evaluated and much can be learned about daily life in an Athenian family and the Athenian views on women from this case that took place ca. 403-380 B.C. Euphiletos began his case by stating that he did not commit the killing for anything other than justice. At Euphiletos’s mother’s funeral, his wife met Eratosthenes. Eratosthenes was able to seduce Euphiletos’s wife by passing messages through the
In most Athenian households, the husband would sleep downstairs next to the door (Hamric), however, Euphiletos trusted his wife enough that he slept upstairs with her, even allowing her to sleep downstairs with the baby on occasion (98). The man would sleep near the door to control access in and out of the house, as he had more social power and responsibility than the woman. The patriarchal Athenian society is evident in the case since Eratosthenes committed adultery by sleeping with another man’s wife, yet Euphiletos having “...a go at the serving girl…” (98) was not seen as adultery. The Athenian view that it is only adultery when it is with another man’s wife (Hamric), shows that women had little value in Athens unless they were married to a man. Another aspect of Athenian lifestyle displayed by Euphiletos’s speech is that slaves were actively involved in the life of Athenians, doing chores and other work, freeing Athenian men to focus on other endeavors (Book, 74). This is observed in Euphiletos’s interaction with the elderly slave messenger (98) and his servant girl running various errands (97, 99). Athenian slaves also could face harsh punishment at the hands of their owners. Euphiletos threatens his serving girl with being “...whipped and thrown into a mill and never have any release from miseries of this sort…” (99). The views on women and slaves expressed by Euphiletos in his
Euphiletos killed Eratosthenes, who was having an affair with Euphiletos’s wife. Euphiletos had to prove that him killing Eratosthenes was not premeditated. Euphiletos’s five day period after learning about the affair and gathering of neighborhood men show that he did contemplate killing Eratosthenes. While the verdict is not known, the speech shows the patriarchal and slave based society of Athens. Cases such as this covey much about Athenian society and justice, and demonstrate how society has evolved and, in some cases, stayed the same in the thousands of years since Euphiletos gave his