THE TESTIMONY OF CHRYSOTHEMIS

 

Socrates: The defense calls Chrysothemis.

Bailiff: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Chrysothemis: To which God am I swearing to?

Bailiff: Uh…Artemis?

C: Never! Never! That goddess took revenge against my father Agamemnon because he killed one of her sacred deers, and—

Bailiff: Okay, okay. You can swear to your god or goddess of your choice.

C: Okay, that’s better.

Judge: Be seated.

Socrates: Will you state your name for the court?

Chrysothemis: Chrysothemis.

S: What is your relation to the defendant Clytemnestra?

C: I am the daughter of Clytemnestra.

S: Can you describe to the court how Clytemnestra treated you and her other children?

Plato: Objection, your honor. This question is irrelevant under Rule 401 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. Chrysothemis’ and her sisters’ relationship with their mother has no bearing on Clytemnestra’s guilt here.

Socrates: Your honor, may we have a sidebar?

Judge: Will both counsels come up?

Socrates: Your honor, this question is indeed relevant because it addresses the motive issue. Clytemnestra justifies her actions by claiming that when Agamemnon sacrificed one of her children, she became enraged because she so loved her children. This question addresses that point exactly.

Judge: Well, I’ll allow this line of questioning. Under Rule 104(b)’s standard, I believe that a reasonable jury may find it relevant and the evidence may make the determination of the issue more or less probable than without it.

Plato: But your honor, the appeals court will never accept this. This line of—

Judge: (looking at Chrysothemis): You may answer the question.

Socrates: (aside to Plato): This serves you right: Don’t you now wish that you actually paid attention in my class in law school? And you thought that the Socratic dialogue would never come in handy. Ha!

Chrysothemis: I fear my mother’s wrath, so I dutifully obey her and do not speak out against her. I also fear my stepfather, Aegisthus. "I must bow to the king and queen." (340). For example, when my mother told me to place offerings on the grave of our father after she had a dream bout him, I complied. I dare not speak out against them because I am much too weak and scared to do so—for I am not a man, but a mere young girl. And my big sister, Electra, keeps on telling me that we will never get married because our parents will never allow us—

Plato: Objection, your honor! What Electra told Chrysothemis is pure hearsay.

Judge: Sustained. (To Chrysothemis): Please refrain from repeating statements uttered out of the court.

Chrysothemis: Okay. Anyway, I’m scared of my mother, but I don’t think it’s smart to speak out against her. But Electra is very bold, and she gets into fights with mother all the time.

Socrates: Do you warn Electra not to be so bold?

Chrysothemis: Yes because I had overheard that—

Plato: Objection, this is hearsay. Chrysothemis is merely repeating what she overheard.

Judge: Sustained.

Socrates: What did Electra say to you about Clytemnestra outside of the palace on the same day that Orestes arrived ?

Plato: Objection, your honor. This is hearsay.

Judge: Sustained. Counselor, let’s move on. Let Electra testify for herself when she’s on the stand.

 

Socrates: Okay, you mentioned before that your mom wanted you to put offerings on your father’s grave because she had a dream about him. Can you describe the dream?

C: Yes, I heard about it from a "slave who was by her side when [Clytemnestra] told it at the altar of Helios, god of the sun." (425-27).

Plato: Objection, your honor. This is hearsay again. This court cannot allow an out-of-court statement allegedly said by Clytemnestra to Helios, which was supposedly overheard by a slave, and then told to Chrysothemis. This is absurd—it has all the infirmities of a textbook hearsay example: it’s bound to be inaccurate, prone to exaggeration, and the slave’s memory might be faulty.

Socrates: Your honor, we’re not offering it for the truth of the matter asserted. We’re not saying that Clytemnestra actually had that specific dream about Agamemnon. Rather, we’re offering it to show that—

Judge: (angrily): Mr. Socrates, I am not happy with your attempts to taint the jury by trying to sneak in evidence that is hearsay. I will not tolerate it in my courtroom. Please move on.

Socrates: Can you tell the court Clytemnestra’s reaction to the dream?

Plato: Objection, again, your honor. This is hearsay: Counsel wants to introduce what the slave said regarding Clytemnestra.

Judge: Sustained.

Socrates: Did you give offerings to your father's grave as requested by your mom?

C: No.

S: Why not?

C: Because Electra ordered me not to because it would dishonor my father’s memory. Instead, I offered my own lock of hair at the grave of my father. At the grave, I went down on my knees to beg him to rise from the grave to help us by bringing back Orestes, who can overthrow Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. I did it, although I was afraid. "If our mother [found] out what I [had] done, What I [had] dared, my tears [would have been] the price." (468-69).

S: No further questions, your honor.

 

CROSS-EXAMINATION OF CHRYSOTHEMIS BY PLATO

Plato: Electra did not like your mother, right?

Chrysothemis: Yes, Electra did not like mother—because she killed our father!

Plato: You thought Electra was rash, isn’t that true?

C: Well, yes, but—

P: You also thought she was out of her mind for thinking of plans against her mother, right?

C: Yes, but—

P: Isn’t it true you told Electra to give up her anger?

C: Yes, but—

P: And you thought Electra’s schemes against her mother were foolish and unwarranted, right?

C: I thought they were foolish, but only because I didn’t want to rock the boat. I thought it would make things just worse.

P: You had a sister, Iphigenia, right?

C: Yes

P: You loved her, right?

C: Yes.

P: Who killed her?

C: My father.

P: No further questions.

 

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