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ἀντὶ σοῦ λέξει τὰ σά. At Athens, as elsewhere, a slave had no locus standi in a law-court, and could plead to a charge only through his master. Cp. frag. adesp. 304 (Nauck p. 897) “δοῦλος πέφυκας, οὐ μέτεστί σοι λόγου”. In Plat. Gorg. 483B incapacity for self-defence generally (“αὐτὸς αὑτῷ βοηθεῖν”) is noted as characteristic of the servile condition. Cp. O.T. 410 f. (n.), where Teiresias says that he is not the “δοῦλος” of Oedipus, and therefore has the right “ἴσ᾽ ἀντιλέξαι”, instead of pleading only by Creon's mouth.


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    • Plato, Gorgias, 483b
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