On the Estate of Philoctemon

They first urged Euctemon to cancel the will on the ground that it was not to the boys advantage; for no one would have any claim to the real estate on Euctemon's death except the daughters and their issue; whereas, if he sold part of the property and left it in cash, they would get secure possession of it.

Euctemon listened to them and immediately demanded the document back from Pythodorus and served upon him a summons to produce it. When Pythodorus appeared before the archon, Euctemon stated that he wished to annul the will.

Pythodorus was prepared to agree with Euctemon and Phanostratus, who was present, that the document should be destroyed; but, as Chaereas, who had been a party to its deposition, had left an only daughter, he suggested that it should be destroyed only in the presence of her legal representative, and the archon decided in favor of this course. Euctemon, after agreeing to this in the presence of the archon and his assessors, called many persons to witness that the will deposited by him no longer existed and then went his way.

In a very short time—and this was the object of their advice to Euctemon to annul the will—he sold a farm at Athmonon[*](The site of this place was near the modern Marusi, about seven miles north-east of Athens (See Frazer on Paus. 1.31.4).) to Antiphanes for seventy-five minas and the bath-house at Serangion[*](The site of these baths has been discovered below the eastern end of the hill on Munychia on the Peiraic peninsula. They consisted of a subterranean chamber with openings in different directions through the cliff (see Frazer's Pausanius 5. p. 477).) to Aristolochus for 3000 drachmas; and he realized a mortgage of forty-five minas on a house in Athens from the hierophant.[*](The official who displayed the sacred emblems at the Eleusinian mysteries; he was a member of the house of the Eumolpidae.) Further, he sold some goats with their goat-herd for thirteen minas and two pairs of mules, one for eight minas and the other for five hundred and fifty drachmas, and all the slaves he had that were craftsmen.

In all, the value of the property which he hurriedly sold after Philoctemon's death, was more than three talents. And to prove that I am speaking the truth, I will first call witnesses in support of each of my statements.

Witnesses

So much for these transactions. They then immediately began scheming to obtain the rest of the property and planned the most outrageous plot of all, which merits your careful attention. Seeing that Euctemon was completely incapacitated by old age and could not even leave his bed, they began to look about for a means whereby all his property should be under their control after his death. And what did they do?

They inscribed these two boys before the archon as adopted children of the sons of Euctemon who had died,[*](Philoctemon and Ergamenes (cf. Isaeus 6.44).) inscribing themselves as guardians, and requested the archon to grant a lease of the house-property as being the property of orphans, in order that part of the property might be leased and part might be used as a security, and mortgage notices adfixed to it in the children's names during the lifetime of Euctemon, and they themselves might become lessees and receive the income.

On the first day that the courts met, the archon put the lease up for auction and they offered to lease the property. Certain persons, however, who were present, denounced the plot to the relatives, and they came and informed the judges of the real state of affairs. The result was that the judges voted against allowing the houses to be leased. If the plot had not been detected, the whole property would have been lost. Please call as witnesses those who were present.

Witnesses

Before my opponents had made the woman's acquaintance and plotted with her against Euctemon, he and his son Philoctemon possessed so large a fortune that both of them were able to undertake the most costly public offices without realizing any of their capital, and at the same time to save out of their income, so that they continually grew richer. After the death of Philoctemon, on the other hand, the property was reduced to such a condition that less than half the capital remains and all the revenues have disappeared.

And they were not even content, gentlemen, with this misappropriation; but, when Euctemon died, they had the impudence, while he was lying dead in the house, to shut up the slaves, so that none of them might take the news to his two daughters or to his wife or to any of his relatives. Meanwhile, with the aid of the woman they conveyed the furniture from within to the adjoining house, which was leased and occupied by one of their gang, the infamous Antidorus.

When Euctemon's daughters and wife arrived, having learnt the news from others, even then they refused them admittance and shut the door in their faces, declaring that it was not their business to bury Euctemon. They only obtained admittance with difficulty about sunset.

When they entered, they found that he had been dead in the house for two days, as the slaves declared, and that everything in the house had been carried off by these people. While the women, as was right, were attending to the deceased, my clients here immediately called the attention of those who had accompanied them to the state of affairs in the house, and began by asking the slaves in their presence to what place the furniture had been removed.