Lycurgus, Against Leocrates, ed. J. O. Burtt, 76

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

← Previous Next →

[76] There is an oath which you take, sworn by all citizens when, as ephebi,¹ they are enrolled on the register of the deme, not to disgrace your sacred arms, not to desert your post in the ranks, but to defend your country and to hand it on better than you found it. If Leocrates has sworn this oath he has clearly perjured himself and, quite apart from wronging you, has behaved impiously towards the god. But if he has not sworn it, it becomes immediately plain that he has been playing tricks in the hope of evading his duty; and for this you would be justified in punishing him, on your own and Heaven’s behalf.

Against Leocrates. Lycurgus. ed. J. O. Burtt. London. 1954.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Against Leocrates (Greek) (Lycurgus. Minor Attic Orators, Vol. 2. Burtt, J. O., translator. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1954 (printing).)

Editions (1)

Κατὰ Λεωκράτους Perseus (Lycurgus. Minor Attic Orators, Vol. 2. Burtt, J. O., editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1954 (printing).) — 76 focus

[76] ὑμῖν γὰρ ἔστιν ὅρκος, ὃν ὀμνύουσι πάντες οἱ πολῖται, ἐπειδὰν εἰς τὸ ληξιαρχικὸν γραμματεῖον ἐγγραφῶσι καὶ ἔφηβοι γένωνται, μήτε τὰ ἱερὰ ὅπλα καταισχυνεῖν¹ μήτε τὴν τάξιν λείψειν, ἀμυνεῖν δὲ τῇ πατρίδι καὶ ἀμείνω παραδώσειν. ὃν εἰ μὲν ὀμώμοκε Λεωκράτης, φανερῶς ἐπιώρκηκε, καὶ οὐ μόνον ὑμᾶς ἠδίκηκεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τὸ θεῖον ἠσέβηκεν². εἰ δὲ μὴ ὀμώμοκεν εὐθὺς δῆλός ἐστι παρασκευασάμενος³ ὡς⁴ οὐδὲν ποιήσων⁵ τῶν δεόντων, ἀνθʼ ὧν δικαίως ἂν αὐτὸν καὶ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν θεῶν τιμωρήσαισθε.⁶

Notes on the current edition

Against Leocrates

1. The Ephebate, an organization for training the young men of Athens , chiefly in military matters, had existed since the fifth century but was reorganized by Lycurgus (v. Life of Lycurgus). The oath was taken in the temple of Aglaurus, daughter of Cecrops (cf. Hdt. 8.53 ; Dem. 19.303 ), probably at the age of eighteen when the youth underwent an examination ( δοκιμασία) and had his name entered on the deme register. He was then an ephebus until the age of twenty.Cf. Aristot. Const. Ath. 42 .

Lycurgus Against Leocrates 76

ed. J. O. Burtt

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers