Διαμαρτυρία

and [sc. also attested is the related verb] to affirm by affidavit. Testimony [marturi/a] was one means of lodging an 'objection' [paragrafh/];¹ for before the case was brought into the lawcourt, anyone who wished to could 'affirm by affidavit' that the case was actionable or not actionable. [Affidavit] differs from objection in the fact that an affidavit comes not only from the defendants but also from the plaintiffs. Even earlier, in fact, the plaintiff used to put forward someone who affirmed by affidavit that the case was actionable, and on this matter the first judgment was directed toward the very person who had testified by affidavit, not toward the one on trial from the outset. If the plaintiff should fail to put forward a witness, then the defendant was allowed to bring on someone who testified that the case was not actionable, and once again the case was directed toward the one who had affirmed [this] by affidavit. They used to bring charges of perjury in affidavits too, just as in [sc. regular] testimonies. Perhaps in cases of desertion of guardianship affirming by affidavit had been disallowed, but not in cases of lacking guardianship.²