Legal Defense of Euphiletus: Adultery and Athenian Law
The Impossibility of Premeditation
For how could I have acted if he fell instantly wounded in the bedroom? If I twisted his arms back, and if many men were inside, he could not have escaped them, as he had no iron, stick, or anything else to defend himself from those who entered. Citizens, I think you also know that those who do not act justly do not recognize what their true enemies say. On the contrary, they are those who, with their lies and such procedures, excite the ire of listeners against those who act justly. Well, read the law first.
The Law of the Areopagus
Read the law of the wake of the Areopagus.
You hear, citizens, that the same court of the Areopagus—whose responsibility is rooted in tradition and which retains criminal jurisdiction today—has expressly decided not to convict for murder one who is charged with vengeance if he surprised an adulterer with his wife. The legislature considered this so just that in the case of married women, and even with concubines of lower estimate, it imposed the same penalty.
Legal Protections for the Household
It is obvious that if there were a greater punishment than this for the married, it would have been imposed. However, not being able to find one stronger, the law demanded it be the same for concubines. Read this law as well.
Seduction vs. Violent Rape
You hear, people: if someone dishonors a free man or boy violently, he owes double compensation. However, if it concerns a woman for whom killing is permitted, the same penalty is incurred. Thus, citizens, the law considers those who use seduction more deserving of punishment than rapists.
- Violent Rape: Results in a double penalty, as the victim hates the violator.
- Seduction: Results in the death penalty, as the seducer corrupts the soul.
Seducers make the woman more theirs than her husband's; the entire house comes into their hands, and it becomes uncertain who the children are—the husband's or the adulterer's. This is why the legislature imposed the death penalty.
The Importance of Upholding the Law
To me, therefore, citizens, the laws not only absolve me of crime but even ordered me to take such punishment. It depends on you whether these laws are to be sovereign or worthless. I believe that all states impose their laws for this purpose: so that we may go to them and consider what to do in cases where we have problems.
If you do not uphold these laws, you will grant adulterers such freedom that even thieves will claim to be adulterers. They will argue that guilt to enter the houses of others, knowing that nobody will hand them over. Everyone knows, in fact, that we must respect the laws on adultery and fear your vote, for this is the most valid authority in all matters of Athens.