Humanitext Reader

Plato · Laws §9.869

Homicide in Anger within Families and Justifiable Defense

Passage 130 of 186 · Greek

Summary

The Athenian stipulates the regulations for killings committed in anger among siblings, those committed against parents with or without forgiveness, and cases of self-defense, before transitioning the discussion to voluntary killings.

§9.869ΑΘ. καὶ ἐὰν ἀδελφὸς ἀδελφὸν ἢ ἀδελφήν, ἢ ἀδελφὴ ἀδελφὸν ἢ ἀδελφὴν θυμῷ κτείνῃ, τὰ μὲν τῶν καθαρμῶν καὶ ἀπενιαυτήσεων ὡσαύτως, καθάπερ εἴρηται τοῖς γονεῦσι καὶ τοῖς ἐκγόνοις, εἰρήσθω δεῖν γίγνεσθαι καὶ τούτοις—ὧν ἀδελφούς τε ἀδελφῶν καὶ γονέας ἐστέρηκε παίδων, τούτοις δὲ συνέστιος αὐτοῖς μηδέποτε γιγνέσθω μηδὲ κοινωνὸς ἱερῶν—ἐὰν δέ τις ἀπειθῇ, τῷ τῆς περὶ ταῦτα ἀσεβείας εἰρημένῳ νόμῳ ὑπόδικος ὀρθῶς ἂν γίγνοιτο μετὰ δίκης.
ATH. And if a brother kills a brother or a sister, or a sister a brother or a sister in anger, let it be ruled that the requirements of purifications and exiles must be the same for these as has been said for parents and offspring—and let him never share the hearth or share in the sacred rites with those very persons whom he has deprived of brothers and parents of children—and if anyone is disobedient, he would justly and with legal action be liable to the law mentioned concerning impiety in these matters.
ἐὰν δʼ ἄρα τις εἰς τοσοῦτον ἀκρατὴς θυμοῦ γίγνηται πρὸς τοὺς γεννήσαντας, ὥστε μανίαις ὀργῆς τῶν γεννητόρων τολμῆσαι κτεῖναί τινα, ἐὰν μὲν ὁ τελευτήσας πρὶν τελευτῆσαι τὸν δράσαντα φόνου ἀφιῇ ἑκών, καθάπερ οἱ τὸν ἀκούσιον φόνον ἐξεργασάμενοι καθαρθείς, καὶ τἆλλα ὅσαπερ ἐκεῖνοι πράξας, καθαρὸς ἔστω, ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀφῇ, πολλοῖς ἔνοχος ἔστω νόμοις ὁ δράσας τι τοιοῦτον·
But if anyone should become so uncontrolled in his anger toward his parents that, in a madness of rage, he dares to kill one of his parents, if the deceased before dying voluntarily releases the doer from the murder, let him be purified just like those who have committed involuntary murder, and having done all other things that they do, let him be clean; but if he does not release him, let the doer of such a deed be liable to many laws.
καὶ γὰρ αἰκίας δίκαις ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἔνοχος ἂν γίγνοιτο καὶ ἀσεβείας ὡσαύτως καὶ ἱεροσυλίας, τὴν τοῦ γεννητοῦ ψυχὴν συλήσας, ὥστʼ εἴπερ οἷόν τʼ ἦν τὸ πολλάκις ἀποθνῄσκειν τὸν αὐτόν, καὶ τὸν πατροφόνον ἢ μητροκτόνον, ἐξεργασάμενον θυμῷ τοῦτο, δικαιότατον θανάτων πολλῶν ἦν τυγχάνειν.
For he would be liable to the ultimate penalties for assault, and in like manner to impiety and temple-robbery, having robbed the parent of their life; so that if indeed it were possible for the same person to die many times, it would be most just for the parricide or matricide, who has committed this in anger, to meet with many deaths.
ᾧ γὰρ μόνῳ οὐδʼ ἀμυνομένῳ θάνατον, μέλλοντι ὑπὸ τῶν γονέων τελευτήσεσθαι, παρέξει νόμος οὐδεὶς κτεῖναι τὸν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, τοὺς εἰς φῶς τὴν ἐκείνου φύσιν ἀγαγόντας, ἀλλʼ ὑπομείναντα τὰ πάντα πάσχειν πρίν τι δρᾶν τοιοῦτον νομοθετήσει, πῶς τούτῳ δίκης γε ἄλλως προσῆκον τυγχάνειν ἂν γίγνοιτο ἐν νόμῳ;
For in the case where alone not even in defending himself against death, when about to be slain by his parents, will any law permit him to kill his father or mother, who brought his nature into the light, but rather will legislate that he must endure suffering everything before doing any such deed, how could it be fitting for this man to meet with any other penalty in the law?
κείσθω δὴ τῷ πατέρα ἢ μητέρα ἀποκτείναντι θυμῷ θάνατος ἡ ζημία.
Let death, indeed, be established as the penalty for the one who kills his father or mother in anger.
ἀδελφὸς δὲ ἂν ἀδελφὸν κτείνῃ ἐν στάσεσι μάχης γενομένης ἤ τινι τρόπῳ τοιούτῳ, ἀμυνόμενος ἄρχοντα χειρῶν πρότερον, καθάπερ πολέμιον ἀποκτείνας ἔστω καθαρός, καὶ ἐὰν πολίτης πολίτην, ὡσαύτως, ἢ ξένος ξένον.
And if a brother kills a brother in a conflict of civil strife or in some such manner, defending himself against one who laid hands on him first, let him be clean just as if he had killed an enemy; and if a citizen kills a citizen, likewise, or a stranger a stranger.
ἐὰν δὲ ἀστὸς ξένον ἢ ξένος ἀστὸν ἀμυνόμενος κτείνῃ, κατὰ ταὐτὰ ἔστω τοῦ καθαρὸς εἶναι.
And if a citizen kills a stranger or a stranger a citizen in self-defense, let it be on the same terms for being clean.
καὶ ἐὰν δοῦλος δοῦλον, ὡσαύτως· ἐὰν δὲ αὖ δοῦλος ἐλεύθερον ἀμυνόμενος ἀποκτείνῃ, καθάπερ ὁ κτείνας πατέρα, τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἔνοχος ἔστω νόμοις.
And if a slave kills a slave, likewise; but if a slave, in turn, kills a free man in self-defense, let him be liable to the same laws as the one who kills a parent.
ὃ δὲ περὶ τῆς ἀφέσεως εἴρηται φόνου πατρί, ταὐτὸν τοῦτο ἔστω περὶ ἁπάσης τῶν τοιούτων ἀφέσεως, ἐὰν ὁστισοῦν ὁτῳοῦν ἀφιῇ τοῦτο ἑκών, ὡς ἀκουσίου γεγονότος τοῦ φόνου, οἵ τε καθαρμοὶ γιγνέσθωσαν τῷ δράσαντι καὶ ἐνιαυτὸς εἷς ἔστω τῆς ἐκδημίας ἐν νόμῳ.
And what has been said about the release from murder for a father, let this same thing apply to all such releases: if anyone voluntarily releases anyone from this, on the ground that the murder occurred involuntarily, let the purifications be made for the doer, and let there be one year of exile in accordance with the law.
καὶ τὰ μὲν δὴ βίαιά τε καὶ ἀκούσια καὶ κατὰ τὸν θυμὸν γιγνόμενα περὶ φόνους μετρίως εἰρήσθω· τὰ δὲ περὶ τὰ ἑκούσια καὶ κατʼ ἀδικίαν πᾶσαν γιγνόμενα τούτων πέρι καὶ ἐπιβουλῆς διʼ ἥττας ἡδονῶν τε καὶ ἐπιθυμιῶν καὶ φθόνων, ταῦτα μετʼ ἐκεῖνα ἡμῖν λεκτέον.
And indeed, let the matters concerning violent, involuntary, and angry killings be moderately spoken of; but the matters concerning voluntary and entirely unjust killings, and those done with premeditation due to defeats by pleasures, desires, and envies, these we must speak of after those.
ΚΛ. ὀρθῶς λέγεις.
CLIN. You speak rightly.

Notes

  1. 869ὧν ἀδελφούς τε ἀδελφῶν καὶ γονέας ἐστέρηκε παίδων — The relative pronoun in the genitive ὧν refers forward to its antecedent τούτοις ... αὐτοῖς (those very people, i.e., the surviving relatives). The verb ἐστέρηκε (third-person singular perfect) has the killer as its subject. Based on the construction of the verb στερέω which takes a genitive of deprivation, it expresses a double structure of deprivation: 'whom he deprived of brothers from brothers, and parents of children.'
  2. 869cᾧ γὰρ μόνῳ οὐδʼ ἀμυνομένῳ θάνατον — The dative relative pronoun ᾧ restrictively points to the specific 'sole case' of the absolute prohibition of parricide/matricide. The participle ἀμυνομένῳ functions concessively, taking the accusative θάνατον to mean 'not even when defending oneself against death (inflicted by parents).'
  3. 869eφόνου πατρί — The dative πατρί is a dative of agent, referring back to the context of 869a (ἐὰν μὲν ὁ τελευτήσας ... ἀφιῇ—'if the deceased [parent] releases...'), thus meaning 'the release from murder granted by a father (parent).'

Cite this passage

Plato, Laws §9.869. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg034.humanitext-grc2:9.869

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