Death on a road (Dem. 23.53)
Abstract
Scholarly consensus holds that a law quoted in Demosthenes (23.53) permitted one to
kill a highway robber who had lain in ambush and attacked one on a road. But the relevant
phrase says nothing explicit about ambush. Modern interpretation derives from Harpocration
and other ancient authorities. It is argued here that they were mistaken and that
the phrase referred to those who inadvertently killed a fellow traveler while overtaking
on a road.' The new interpretation may offer another way to think about the encounter
between Oedipus and Laius.
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Joshua D. Sosin
Associate Professor of Classical Studies
Pronouns: he/him.One of the things that I like best about Classics is the wide range
of intellectual opportunities it offers. As an undergraduate I was interested in early
Christianity and Latin love elegy, which are about as far from my current work as
you can get! But our discipline is built for roaming and many of its earliest practitioners
would not fit neatly into the boxes that we use today.
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