ABSTRACT
In a 'measured-through day', used only for public cases, the total amount of time allowed for the speeches in a trial was 11 amphoreis, equivalent to 132 khoes, taking 396 minutes; one third of this time was allocated to the prosecution, one third to the defence, and one third to the speeches on the assessment of the penalty. Time taken for other proceedings, including the allocation of jurors to courts, voting, and payment of jurors at the end of the day, was additional. In fact there must have been many cases in which the assessment required speeches of some length. In the case of Aphobos, in which the sum at issue was more than 5,000 drachmas, the defendant's time for speaking on the assessment would have been half of 13 khoes, working out at nearly 20 minutes, enough time for Aphobos to put forward his proposal of one talent and for Onetor to shed his tears too.
