Athens Vs Euphiletos

On balance, in the case of The People of Athens vs. Euphiletos of Oea the court should rule in the affirmative. On all three arguments (1.a, 1.b, 2.a) made in the case, the side of the defense has won. In the first argument, we can prove the Section 11 of the Law of Athens permits one to lawfully kill a seducer. In the second argument, the fact that one can lawfully kill a seducer will help to justify the death of Eratosthenes of Oea. In the final argument, the defense can prove that the Laws of Drako do not require a penalty to be imposed on Euphiletos to be imposed on him in killing Eratosthenes. As such, Euphiletos should not be punished for his lawful killing of Eratosthenes of Oea.
SECTION ONE: Argument 1.A In the first argument 1.A ,
There are very few if any explanations provided by the plaintiff in explaining Eratosthenes laying naked on Euphiletos ’bed with his wife Melanthia. Furthermore, in Euphiletos’ testimony he states that an old woman who confronted him stated that "Eratosthenes…has not only seduced your wife but many other women, too. It's his specialty." (9). In this assessment, not only is Eratosthenes portrayed as an individual who committed a heinous crime, but he is also a repeat offender. Thus, there is an effort on the part of Euphiletos to rid himself and his community of someone who is a detriment to Athenian
As stated in Euphiletos’ testimony, he had no material or personal gain from killing Eratosthenes (44). There would have to be reasonable doubt at the least of the idea that Euphiletos would premeditatedly murder Eratosthenes. The Council in evaluating any and all evidence on the matter should realize that there is great ambiguity with the limited evidence presented to them. The possibility of him being innocent can be as high if not greater than that of him being guilty. On balance, the state of Athens would commit a greater injustice in punishing an innocent man than in freeing a guilty man. Due to this particular case having only access to Euphiletos’ testimony and the laws at hand, it would seem preferable for Euphiletos to be not punished in the court of law.
Overall, the defense has won on all three arguments (1.a,1.b, 2.a) in the case of the The People of Athens vs. Euphiletos of Oea. The defense has helped established that Section 11 of the Law of Athens permits the lawful killing of a seducer. It asserted that Euphiletos of Oea was justified in the laws provided in the killing of Eratosthenes. The defense also was persuasive in arguing for Euphiletos to not be punished for his actions. On the whole, the Council of Athens should rule in the favor of the