Against Neaera

Though the speech claims that the case was brought for personal reasons, the date of the prosecution has led scholars to believe that it was in fact politically motivated.

[b] In his introduction to the speech, Theomnestos says that he is bringing the case against Neaera in order to exact revenge against her partner[c] Stephanos for his previous attacks on Apollodoros.

[17] Specifically, the case against Neaera claimed that she was living with Stephanos as his wife, when it was illegal for non-Athenians to marry Athenian citizens.

She concludes that the case was ultimately to discredit Stephanos in preparation for a new proposal to redirect the money in the Theoric fund for military purposes.

[20] Carey suggests in fact it was an attempt to test public opinion to a challenge against the use of surplus money on the Theoric fund when it could instead have been used for defence against the threat of Philip of Macedon.

He spends most of the speech going over Neaera's life as a hetaera, from her purchase by Nikarete to her going to live with Stephanos, and the failure of Phano's two marriages.

[26] The outcome of the speech is unknown,[27] though modern commentators have criticised the evidence that Apollodoros put forward as failing to prove his case.

[28] Kapparis suggests, however, that despite the weak case for his position, Apollodoros may have been able to persuade the jury to his side by playing on their prejudices and fears.

[31] Accordingly, it is today frequently used in teaching about Athenian law and society,[32] though due to the focus on prostitution, it was "not deemed appropriate for undergraduates of earlier generations"[33] and so has only recently been the subject of much scholarly attention.