ABSTRACT
Expert legal knowledge is commonly thought to have been frowned upon in classical Athens, so why does the speaker of Lysias 10, in his allegation that Theomnestus slandered him by accusing him of murdering his own father, give such detailed attention to the archaic wording of Solon’s law on defamation? Both the specific circumstances and the legal framework of the case turn on the question of who belongs fully to the citizen community and how people can be effectively forced out of that community. By portraying Theomnestus as someone who has not bothered to learn the basics of Athenian law and legal culture, Lysias implies that a working familiarity with legal institutions is a mark of good citizenship - and one which is shared by the speaker and the jurors. The speaker’s literal ‘performance’ of the laws, when he repeats the words already read out by the secretary, constitutes a metaphorical performance of civic identity.
