Killing of Eratosthenes between reality and mime (or, was Lysias 1 really pronounced?)

Abstract

Lysias' speech On the Murder of Eratosthenes deals with a case of a husband (named Euphiletus) who caught an adulterer (called Eratosthenes) in flagrante delicto with his wife, killed him and pleaded before a court that what he had done was in keeping with law. In a stimulating article written in 1997, J. R. Porter pointed out many parallels with plots of mimes and adduced some additional arguments from comparison with other Athenian court speeches, which led him to suggest that the speech has never been pronounced and is actually a rhetorical exhibition, made by Lysias in order to advertise his skill. The main purpose of this paper is to challenge this assumption. Further, a tentative suggestion concerning the date of the speech's composition is made. A problem of a familiarity of average Athenian with mimic productions is raised, too.