Phrastor

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Phrastor from the Demos Aigilia was a wealthy citizen of Athens in the 4th century BC. He is known as the first husband of Phano , the daughter of the Athenian orator and politician Stephanos . The only source of Phrastor's life is the speech against Neaira , which was used as an accusation against Neaira , the life companion of Stephanos, by his adversary Apollodoros between 343 and 340 BC. Was held in court.

According to the information that Apollodorus has received to this day, Phrastor was “ a hard-working man who acquired his fortune through diligence ”. Between 358 and 353 BC Chr. Phrastor, who at that time was probably around 30 years old as usual, married Stephanos daughter Phano. It is not known if this was his first marriage, but he had no legitimate children at the time of the wedding. Phano, who may have had a different role model in the relationship between her father and Neaira, apparently couldn't fit into their marriage. Apparently she was used to more freedom from her previous life than her phrastor wanted to allow. Because of this intolerance and because, in his opinion, Phano did not show him enough respect, Phrastor simply threw his young wife out of the house after a year, which amounted to a divorce. At the time she was pregnant by him.

Of course, Stephanos couldn't be pleased. First and foremost, he reclaimed the 3,000 drachma dowry that Phano had brought into the marriage, and which Phano was entitled to again after the couple separated. But Phrastor refused to repay the money. As a result, his former father-in-law sued him. But Phrastor went on the counter-offensive and sued Stephanos for his part because he had allegedly given him a non-Athenian wife, Phano. That was forbidden in Athens. His former wife is said to have been the daughter of Neairas, who came from Corinth. However, he only found out later after the wedding. As a deceived one, he wanted to keep the money.

Almost all evidence today suggests that Phano was Stephanos' daughter. But this did not take the risk of litigation. Because the Athenian jurisdiction was in the hands of lay judges and the party whose rhetoric was most convincing often won in court , there was always the danger of blatant misjudgments. This fact caused Stephanos to withdraw his complaint, which Phrastor did the same shortly afterwards. For Stephanos, in the event of a defeat, not only the 3,000 drachmas were at stake, but also the loss of his civil and honorary rights, just as Phano's status as a citizen could have been revoked.

Shortly after this episode, Phrastor fell seriously ill. Despite everything that had happened, Phano and Neaira looked after him, probably not without ulterior motives. During his illness, Phrastor recognized in his will Phanos son - who was also his descendant - as a legitimate child and rightful heir. According to Apollodorus, however, this recognition came only because Phrastor was on the one hand near death and influenced by both women, on the other hand because he did not want to give his unloved relatives his inheritance. But Phrastor survived his illness. Shortly afterwards he married another Athenian citizen. Even afterwards he stood by his son with Phano and wanted to introduce him into his genos ( gennetai ) and his phratry . This was necessary because only those who were introduced to these community associations were fully fledged citizens with all civil rights. But Phrastor encountered resistance when attempting to introduce his son into his genos. That was not surprising, considering that he himself had brought a lawsuit against the boy's mother for allegedly lacking Athenian citizenship. Thereupon he filed a lawsuit against his own genos, the Brytiads . As is often the case in Athens, however, attempts were made to reach an agreement out of court, which led to an arbitration. It is not known how this arbitration turned out. But since Apollodoros does not report a negative result for Phrastor in his speech against Neaira, a success on his part is very possible, since Apollodoros is looking for a different result as proof of the non-Athenic origin of the Phano, which he wanted to prove in his speech would not have waived.

literature

  • Debra Hamel: The Neaira Case. The true story of a hetaera in ancient Greece . Primus-Verlag, Darmstadt 2004, ISBN 3-89678-255-X .

credentials

  1. ↑ Pseudo-Demosthenes 59.50 translated by Kai Brodersen
  2. ↑ Pseudo-Demosthenes 59.50
  3. ↑ Pseudo-Demosthenes 59: 50-53
  4. ↑ Pseudo-Demosthenes 59: 55-59
personal data
SURNAME Phrastor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Citizen of Athens
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 4th century BC Chr.