Headword:

Adler number: beta,367

Translated headword: case of a cow-pat
Vetting Status: low
Translation:
[A proverb directed] against those undertaking lawsuits over trivia. For the law
of Solon punishes even those filching a cow-pat.[1]
Greek Original:
: .
.
Notes:
From the scholia to Aristophanes, Knights 658 (Web address 1), where the the phrase "I
was overcome by the cow-pats" (cf. beta 366) occurs.
See also Appendix Proverbiorum 1.58.
[1] This explanation is noteworthy in pointing to the severity of Solon's, rather
than Draco's, laws; contrast e.g. Plut. Solon 17.
Associated internet address:
Web address 1
Keywords: aetiology; comedy; daily life; ethics; law; proverbs; zoology
Translated by: David Whitehead on 20 October 2000@05:01:13.
Vetted by:
David Whitehead (added note and keywords; cosmetics) on 2 September
2002@05:51:51.
William Hutton (added link, set status) on 6 July 2003@11:00:00.
David Whitehead (more notes and keywords) on 6 March 2011@07:52:22.



Headword:
Adler number: delta,1495
Translated headword: Drakon, Draco
Vetting Status: low
Translation:
An Athenian lawgiver. This man [crossed] to Aegina for lawgiving purposes and was
being honoured by the Aeginetans in the theatre, but they threw so many hats and shirts
and cloaks on his head that he suffocated, and was buried in that selfsame theatre. He
lived in the time of the Seven Sages, or rather was even older than them; at any rate he
laid down the laws for the Athenians in the 39th Olympiad,[1] as an old man. He
wrote Instructions in three thousand verses.[2]
Greek Original:
, .

.
# , . #
. .
Notes:
On Draco and his lawcode (trad. 621/0 BCE; cf. alpha 3899) see generally OCD(3)
p.496. On the present entry, which contains the only biographical material we have on
him, see T.J. Figueira, "The strange death of Draco on Aegina," in Nomodeiktes: Greek
Studies in honor of Martin Ostwald (Ann Arbor 1993) pp.287-304.
[1] 624-621 BCE.
[2] The present entry is the sole authority for this statement; see on it Figueira pp.299-
200 (sceptical).
Keywords: biography; chronology; clothing; constitution; law; poetry
Translated by: David Whitehead on 22 July 2001@05:45:32.
Vetted by:
Catharine Roth (set status) on 23 July 2001@21:56:02.
Elizabeth Vandiver (Added italics; cosmetics) on 20 September 2003@16:42:41.
David Whitehead (cosmetics) on 21 September 2003@05:37:19.
David Whitehead (another keyword) on 11 November 2005@07:43:11.



Headword:
Adler number: epsilon,3877
Translated headword: ephetai, ephetae
Vetting Status: low
Translation:
Men over 40 years of age,who have led good lives and possess judgment. They used to
try homicide suits. Their law courts were called [the courts] of the ephetai.
Greek Original:
: # :
. ' .
Note:
As with e.g. Hellenotamiai (epsilon 841, epsilon 842, epsilon 843), the Suda's material
on the ephetai comes in three contiguous entries: see also epsilon 3876 and epsilon
3878 (which contain more controversial statements than does the present one).
References:
D.M.MacDowell, Athenian Homicide Law (Manchester 1963), esp. chap.5.
M.Gagarin, Drakon and Early Athenian Homicide Law (New Haven 1981)
OCD p.528.
E.M.Carawan, Rhetoric and the Law of Draco (Oxford 1998)
Keywords: constitution; definition; ethics; law
Translated by: Joseph Wrightson on 29 April 2000@17:20:54.
Vetted by:
Ross Scaife (added keyword) on 30 April 2000@22:48:15.
David Whitehead (modified headword and translation; added note and bibliography) on
20 September 2000@04:18:27.
David Whitehead (another keyword) on 9 October 2005@07:13:06.
David Whitehead (another keyword; tweaks and cosmetics) on 14 August
2009@07:15:36.