Conflict resolutions between trierarchs: the case of Apollodorus [Dem.] 47,Against Eubulus and Mnesibulus
Conflict resolutions between trierarchs: the case of Apollodorus [Dem.] 47,Against Eubulus and Mnesibulus

Summary/Abstract: There was a financial crisis of the Athenian navy which compelled the city to enact laws and decrees in order to deal with difficulties in the preparation of triremes for war. These legal measures aimed to rearrange the assignment of trierarchies and to give authority to trierarchs to use formally self-help. Matters of public concern were turned into personal actions of individuals, which in turn caused rivalries and conflicts between trierarchs. In some cases, such as the long conflict between the two syntrierarchs as presented in Apollodorus [Dem.] 47, Against Evergus and Mnesibulus, a series of legal actions and private initiatives were needed in order to resolve the differences. Profit that was expected to be gained on each side was the motivation for the conflicts; thus, self-help, when was legally employed, involved violence, hostility and greed. As will be shown, litigation was unavoidable and decisive to resolve conflicts that had arisen between trierarchs in midfourth century Athens.

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