Processo a un'avvelenatrice : la prima orazione di Antifonte

Athenian women often used herbs to concoct love potions, whose effects could sometimes be lethal. A notorious case of poisoning is discussed in the first speech of Antiphon, traditionally but maybe erroneously known as “Against the stepmother”: a woman, represented in court by his son as his kyrios, is accused of having poisoned his husband, father of the prosecutor, using another woman – known as “pallakè of Philoneus” – to administer the drug. The purpose of this paper is to focus on some of the most relevant problems of the speech: what was the charge against the ‘stepmother’ and, consequently, where did the trial take place? What did the defendant argue against the prosecutor? Is it indeed a weak case for Antipho? What is the relationship between the so called ‘stepmother’, the victim and the prosecutor? The answers to these questions can also shed some light on the juridical and social position of women in ancient Athens.