Antiphon, On the murder of Herodes, ed. Kenneth John Maidment, 68

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[68] For instance, the murderers of one of your own citizens, Ephialtes,¹ have remained undiscovered to this day; it would have been unfair to his companions to require them to conjecture who his assassins were under pain of being held guilty of the murder themselves. Moreover, the murderers of Ephialtes made no attempt to get rid of the body, for fear of the accompanying risk of publicity—unlike myself, who, we are told, took no one into my confidence when planning the crime, but then sought help for the removal of the corpse.

On the murder of Herodes. Antiphon. ed. Kenneth John Maidment. London. 1941.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

On the Murder of Herodes (English) (Antiphon. Minor Attic Orators, Vol. 1. Maidment, Kenneth John, translator. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1941 (printing); 1960 (reprint).)

Editions (1)

Περὶ τοῦ Ἡρῷδου φόνου Perseus (Antiphon. Minor Attic Orators, Vol. 1. Maidment, Kenneth John, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1941 (printing); 1960 (reprint).) — 68 focus

[68] αὐτίκα Ἐφιάλτην τὸν ὑμέτερον πολίτην οὐδέπω νῦν ηὕρηνται οἱ ἀποκτείναντες· εἰ οὖν τις ἠξίου τοὺς συνόντας ἐκείνῳ εἰκάζειν οἵτινες ἦσαν οἱ ἀποκτείναντες Ἐφιάλτην,¹ εἰ δὲ μή, ἐνόχους εἶναι τῷ φόνῳ, οὐκ ἂν καλῶς εἶχε τοῖς συνοῦσιν. ἔπειτα οἵ γε Ἐφιάλτην ἀποκτείναντες οὐκ ἐζήτησαν τὸν νεκρὸν ἀφανίσαι, οὐδʼ ἐν τούτῳ κινδυνεύειν μηνῦσαι τὸ πρᾶγμα, ὥσπερ οἵδε φασὶν ἐμὲ τῆς μὲν ἐπιβουλῆς οὐδένα κοινωνὸν ποιήσασθαι τοῦ θανάτου, τῆς δʼ ἀναιρέσεως.

Notes on the current edition

On the murder of Herodes

1. The murder had been committed some forty-five years before (first half of 461). Ephialtes was an extreme radical, and in conjunction with Pericles was responsible for the violent attack made upon the prerogatives of the Areopagus in 462. His assassination was the result. Aristotle states that the crime was committed by Aristodicus of Tanagra , employed for the purpose by Ephialtes’ enemies. This may well be true, as it suited Antiphon’s requirements here to assume that the mystery had never been satisfactorily solved. Cf. Aristot. 35.5 , Dio. Sic. 11.77.6 , Plut. Per. 10 .

Antiphon On the murder of Herodes 68

ed. Kenneth John Maidment

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