In the 23rd book of the Iliad, Menelaus loses second place in the chariot race because of a manoeuvre by Antilochus. So, after Antilochus claims the second prize as his and dares others to fight him for it with their fists, Menelaus rises before the assembled heroes, sceptre in hand, to initiate a formal proceeding against him . First he makes the charge: Antilochus has insulted his aretē and endangered his horses. He then calls upon the leaders of the Argives (...) to judge fairly between them. But at this point he states that he will judge the case himself – in both instances the verb for ‘to judge’ is δικάζειν. He then calls on Antilochus to follow an involved procedure and finally to swear an oath that in running the race he did not purposefully use a trick. But despite the fact that Menelaus said during the race that Antilochus would not take the prize without swearing an oath , we do not know later what the result might be if Antilochus were to accept Menelaus' challenge and to swear the oath. Homer has him sidestep the challenge and concede the prize. (shrink)

Phaenias of Eresus was a member of Aristotle's school, the "Peripatos"or "Lyceum,"and a friend and compatriot of Aristotle's successor, Theophrastus. Phaenias's scholarly interests stretched from strictly philosophical treatises to chronology and the history of philosophy and poetry; to the lives, fortunes, and manners of death of tyrants; to biographical and historical themes and details of famous Athenians; to botanical and zoological issues; and even entertaining, "novelistic"stories and strange reports. This volume includes new scholarship, with translation of source texts for the (...) writings, thought, and influence of Phaenias, as well as essays that take up various areas of his life and work in greater detail. The chapters of Phaenias of Eresus cover a remarkable range of intellectual areas, which is in keeping with the varied interests of the early Peripatetics in general. Phaenias is thus an ideal model for exploring issues of specialization and differentiation in research in the early Peripatos. (shrink)

In the Politics, Aristotle recognizes participation in law courts as an essential element in citizenship, yet there has been relatively little scholarship on how he sees this participation being realized. References to law courts are sprinkled widely through the Politics, Rhetoric, and Ethics, as well as the Athenaiôn politeia, where their importance is revealed most clearly. Ernest Barker took great pride in the English administration of law: if he had returned to write a more thorough treatment of Aristotle's political thought, (...) he might well have focused on the courts. (shrink)