28. ρίας καὶ ἄθλων καὶ ἱερῶν Ἀμφικτυονικῶν ὧσπερ τὸν Ἀθηναῖον κ-

29. τείναντα ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐνέχεσθαι, διαγιγνώσκειν δὲ τοὺς Ἐφέτας.

30. τοὺς δὲ ἀνδροφόνους ἐξεῖναι ἀποκτείνειν καὶ ἀπάγειν ἐν τῆι ἡμεδ-

31. απῆι, λυμαίνεσθαι δὲ μὴ, μηδ’ ἀποινᾶν ἢ διπλοῦν ὀφείλειν ὅσον ἂν κ-

32. αταβλάψηι ..............................

37. ..... ἐὰν δέ τις φέροντα ἢ ἄγοντα βίᾳ ἀδίκως εὐθὺς ἀμυνόμενο-

38. ς κτείνηι, νηποινεὶ τεθνάναι.[9]

This inscription has been restored, mainly, from quotations in the speeches of Demosthenes. But before attempting to translate it, we must point out that even in its restored form the inscription is archaic and obscure, and the meaning is not always certain. The first half of the inscription seems to refer to involuntary or accidental homicide. But the end of the second line, as it stands, cannot possibly be taken to refer to accidental homicide, because the verb βουλεύειν usually means ‘to plot’ or ‘to resolve,’ and therefore implies an element of deliberation. Wilful murder is not expressly mentioned, save in so far as the slaying of a homicide exile abroad is decreed to be equivalent to murder. There is also a reference to justifiable homicide in self-defence. But most of the fragment consists of an enumeration of the persons who are by law entitled to share in the acceptance of gifts of ‘appeasement’ from an involuntary slayer: and of the judges by whom the various kinds of homicide must be decided. We do not believe that any judicial distinction is intended in the use of the two verbs δικάζειν and διαγιγνώσκειν. Both words mean, we think, ‘to adjudicate.’ There is no question of preliminary investigation as distinct from final decision. In regard to the second line, the restoration ὡς βουλεύσαντα can only mean ‘on the ground of having plotted (to kill).’ Did the restorer mean by this clause ‘attempting murder’ (when death did not ensue) or ‘contriving murder’ (when death did ensue)? The noun βούλευσις can have both these meanings, but the verb βουλεύειν cannot, we think, denote attempts to kill. If the restorer meant ‘contriving murder,’ such an interpretation is open to the following objections: (1) ‘contriving murder’ ranked with wilful murder in Attic law, and was tried by the Areopagus, not by the Ephetae[10]: (2) it is rightly maintained[11] that the presence of καί at the beginning of the inscription indicates that a portion is missing, and it is natural to assume that this missing portion contained the law relating to the graver kinds of homicide, including not only wilful murder, but also contriving murder. In order to obviate such objections, Philippi abandons the verb βουλεύειν and proposes to read βουλεύσεως τὸν ἀεὶ βασιλεύσαντα, ‘the King-archon for the time being shall judge concerning attempted murder.’ But this suggestion is open to the following objections: (1) we are compelled to render διαγνῶναι (l. 13) ‘to adjudicate finally,’ and we do not think that it bears this meaning in the inscription; (2) τὸν ἀεὶ βασιλεύσαντα is a very questionable Greek rendering for ‘he who is King-archon for the time being’: (3) while it is true that attempted murder was tried, in Aristotle’s time,[12] in the Palladium, it has no real affinity with manslaughter. It is impossible to suppose that the ‘appeasement’ mentioned in the inscription could have ever been applied in cases of attempted murder. It would be absurd to compensate relatives who had lost nothing, and to ignore the person on whose life the attempt was made. Demosthenes definitely cites[13] this law of ‘appeasement’ as referring to manslaughter. Hence, as we believe that the second line of our inscription refers to manslaughter and as λευσαντα (sic) is found in the unrestored part of the inscription, we propose to restore μὴ βου]λεύσαντα instead of ὡς βου]λευσαντα and understanding κτεῖναι with αἰτιᾶται, we translate ‘if anyone accuses a person of slaying without deliberate resolve.’

We will now suggest a translation of this passage, reading μή instead of ὡς in the second line.

‘And if a man slays a man not with intent (to kill), let him be put on trial (φεύγειν), and let the “Kings” judge of the causes of death, or, if anyone accuses a person of slaying without deliberation (μὴ βουλεύσαντα), let the Ephetae adjudicate. And the “appeasement,” if there is a father or (and) brother(s) or (and) sons (of the slain), let all (accept) or let one objector hold the field: if there be none of these, let (the “appeasement” extend) to cousinship and cousins, provided all consent to be “appeased” having sworn the (customary) oath: if there be none of these (i.e. cousins) and if the man slays involuntarily, and the Fifty-one, the Ephetae, decide that he slew involuntarily, let ten phrateres permit his return from exile,[13A] if they (all) agree, and let the Fifty-one select these (ten) according to birth (or rank or merit—ἄριστίνδην), and let (all) previous slayers be bound by this law: ... and if any person slays a manslayer or causes (i.e. plots) his death while the manslayer abstains from the boundary markets and from Amphictyonic games and festivals, let him be liable to the same penalty as if he had slain an Athenian (citizen): and let the Ephetae judge the case: ... it is lawful to kill manslayers or to arrest them, in our territory (ἡμεδαπῇ) but it is not lawful to torture them or to amerce them: the fine payable shall be twice the amercement: ... if any person slays on the spur of the moment in self-defence a man who tries by violence unjustly to rob and plunder him, let his act of bloodshed go unpunished.’