Ἐπωβελία
obol-fine
Translated by David Whitehead21 Dec 2007Vetting: high4 revisions
Translation
With many people blackmailing, for money, the decent and apolitical citizens, and particularly doing this when those borrowing in the import market for bottomry loans were being slandered, [the] Athenians put in place a penalty, against the complainants, of paying an obol if they did not convict those against whom they were complaining. They named this penalty epobelia.
Greek original · Adler’s text
Ἐπωβελία· πολλῶν εἰς χρήματα συκοφαντούντων τοὺς ἐπιεικεῖς καὶ ἀπράγμονας τῶν πολιτῶν καὶ μάλιστα τοῦτο πράττειν διαβαλλομένων τῶν περὶ τὸ ἐμπόριον συμβαλλόντων ἐπὶ ναυτικοῖς τόκοις, Ἀθηναῖοι ζημίαν ἔταξαν κατὰ τῶν ἐγκαλούντων ὀβολὸν ἐκτείνειν, εἰ μὴ καθ' ὧν ἐνεκάλουν, τούτους ἕλοιεν. ταύτην τὴν ζημίαν ἐπωβελίαν ὠνόμασαν.