Malcolm Heath
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199259205
- eISBN:
- 9780191717932
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259205.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book reassesses the late 3rd-century Greek rhetorician Menander of Laodicea (Menander Rhetor). Menander is generally regarded as a specialist in epideictic, as such, he is often considered an ...
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This book reassesses the late 3rd-century Greek rhetorician Menander of Laodicea (Menander Rhetor). Menander is generally regarded as a specialist in epideictic, as such, he is often considered an exemplary rhetorician of an age which saw the triumph of epideictic eloquence. But detailed examination of the fragments shows that he was an expert on judicial and deliberative oratory whose most influential work was a commentary on Demosthenes. Source-critical analysis of the Demosthenes scholia shows that his commentary can be partially reconstructed. The book presents its reassessment of Menander’s significance in the context of a new reconstruction of the history of later Greek rhetoric, ranging from the theoretical innovations of the 2nd century AD to the comparatively unknown sophists of 5th-century Alexandria. Particular attention is given to the evolving structure of the rhetorical curriculum and to the practices of the rhetorical education, with an emphasis on the practical orientation of training in rhetoric and its predominant focus on techniques of forensic and deliberative oratory. These characteristics of rhetorical teaching raise questions about the nature and functions of rhetoric in this period. It is argued that rhetoric was concerned fundamentally with teaching students how to devise arguments and articulate them in a persuasive way, and that these skills still had a direct application in the subsequent careers of the rhetoricians’ pupils.Less
This book reassesses the late 3rd-century Greek rhetorician Menander of Laodicea (Menander Rhetor). Menander is generally regarded as a specialist in epideictic, as such, he is often considered an exemplary rhetorician of an age which saw the triumph of epideictic eloquence. But detailed examination of the fragments shows that he was an expert on judicial and deliberative oratory whose most influential work was a commentary on Demosthenes. Source-critical analysis of the Demosthenes scholia shows that his commentary can be partially reconstructed. The book presents its reassessment of Menander’s significance in the context of a new reconstruction of the history of later Greek rhetoric, ranging from the theoretical innovations of the 2nd century AD to the comparatively unknown sophists of 5th-century Alexandria. Particular attention is given to the evolving structure of the rhetorical curriculum and to the practices of the rhetorical education, with an emphasis on the practical orientation of training in rhetoric and its predominant focus on techniques of forensic and deliberative oratory. These characteristics of rhetorical teaching raise questions about the nature and functions of rhetoric in this period. It is argued that rhetoric was concerned fundamentally with teaching students how to devise arguments and articulate them in a persuasive way, and that these skills still had a direct application in the subsequent careers of the rhetoricians’ pupils.
Malcolm Heath
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199259205
- eISBN:
- 9780191717932
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259205.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter investigates the nature of Menander’s commentary on Demosthenes by examining selected material from the Demosthenes scholia. It is shown that the commentary was primarily didactic and ...
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This chapter investigates the nature of Menander’s commentary on Demosthenes by examining selected material from the Demosthenes scholia. It is shown that the commentary was primarily didactic and practical in its orientation, and appears to be based on lectures to advanced students of rhetoric. Menander’s main interest was in analysing Demosthenes’ rhetorical techniques, especially his techniques of argument, and he repeatedly draws attention to features which his pupils can imitate in their own practice. A more detailed examination of Menander’s treatment of three of Demosthenes’ speeches (On the False Embassy, Against Meidias, and Fourth Philippic) shows that his rhetorical analysis was sophisticated, though sometimes based on questionable interpretations, and that his manner of exposition was sometimes unnecessarily confusing.Less
This chapter investigates the nature of Menander’s commentary on Demosthenes by examining selected material from the Demosthenes scholia. It is shown that the commentary was primarily didactic and practical in its orientation, and appears to be based on lectures to advanced students of rhetoric. Menander’s main interest was in analysing Demosthenes’ rhetorical techniques, especially his techniques of argument, and he repeatedly draws attention to features which his pupils can imitate in their own practice. A more detailed examination of Menander’s treatment of three of Demosthenes’ speeches (On the False Embassy, Against Meidias, and Fourth Philippic) shows that his rhetorical analysis was sophisticated, though sometimes based on questionable interpretations, and that his manner of exposition was sometimes unnecessarily confusing.
Douglas M. MacDowell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199287192
- eISBN:
- 9780191713552
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287192.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Concentrating on Demosthenes' texts rather than his politics, this book describes and assesses all his speeches, including those for the lawcourts as well as the addresses to the Ekklesia. Besides ...
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Concentrating on Demosthenes' texts rather than his politics, this book describes and assesses all his speeches, including those for the lawcourts as well as the addresses to the Ekklesia. Besides the genuine speeches, it also covers those which probably are wrongly ascribed to Demosthenes, such as those written for delivery by Apollodoros. It considers the Epistles, the Prooimia, and the Erotic Speech. The arguments of each speech are analysed. The question whether the texts reproduce accurately what was actually spoken is approached cautiously. There is a short survey of Demosthenes' prose style, with examples quoted in Greek. In the rest of the book quotations are given in the author's own translations, with the Greek words added in footnotes where appropriate.Less
Concentrating on Demosthenes' texts rather than his politics, this book describes and assesses all his speeches, including those for the lawcourts as well as the addresses to the Ekklesia. Besides the genuine speeches, it also covers those which probably are wrongly ascribed to Demosthenes, such as those written for delivery by Apollodoros. It considers the Epistles, the Prooimia, and the Erotic Speech. The arguments of each speech are analysed. The question whether the texts reproduce accurately what was actually spoken is approached cautiously. There is a short survey of Demosthenes' prose style, with examples quoted in Greek. In the rest of the book quotations are given in the author's own translations, with the Greek words added in footnotes where appropriate.
Emily Greenwood
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199575244
- eISBN:
- 9780191722189
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199575244.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter complicates the idea of any easy balance sheet of appropriation in which misappropriation always falls on the side of empire and colonialism and appropriation on the side of the ...
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This chapter complicates the idea of any easy balance sheet of appropriation in which misappropriation always falls on the side of empire and colonialism and appropriation on the side of the anti‐ and postcolonial. The argument examines the different ways in which C. L. R. James and Eric Williams attempted to harness Athens as an empowering model for Trinidadian national identity. Although James and Williams approached Athens in different ways, they shared the determination to take back Classics from the colonial archive via which it had been transmitted. In the case of James, the discussion concentrates on his repeated analogies between the culture and society of Trinidad and the culture and society of classical Athens. In the case of Williams, the discussion focuses on his ability to make political capital out of his classical education in his early political career, focusing on his lectures and speeches for the PEM and PNM in the 1950s and 1960s.Less
This chapter complicates the idea of any easy balance sheet of appropriation in which misappropriation always falls on the side of empire and colonialism and appropriation on the side of the anti‐ and postcolonial. The argument examines the different ways in which C. L. R. James and Eric Williams attempted to harness Athens as an empowering model for Trinidadian national identity. Although James and Williams approached Athens in different ways, they shared the determination to take back Classics from the colonial archive via which it had been transmitted. In the case of James, the discussion concentrates on his repeated analogies between the culture and society of Trinidad and the culture and society of classical Athens. In the case of Williams, the discussion focuses on his ability to make political capital out of his classical education in his early political career, focusing on his lectures and speeches for the PEM and PNM in the 1950s and 1960s.
Katherine Clarke
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199291083
- eISBN:
- 9780191710582
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291083.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter focuses on a different form of evidence for the creation of the Athenian past, namely its public oratory. Through the public speeches of Demosthenes, Aeschines, and Isocrates, as well as ...
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This chapter focuses on a different form of evidence for the creation of the Athenian past, namely its public oratory. Through the public speeches of Demosthenes, Aeschines, and Isocrates, as well as of fragmentary texts, it examines the parameters of plausibility within which the orator was free to construct history, both buying into a commonly shared past and moulding that past for his audience. It considers whether orators favoured particular exemplary moments in history and, if so, whether these were the same as those which were dominant in local historiography. The orator, like the historian or the dramatist, played a vital role in helping the polis to formulate a past which was relevant to the present through its inclusion both of exemplary figures and events and of characteristics, which remained constant across time.Less
This chapter focuses on a different form of evidence for the creation of the Athenian past, namely its public oratory. Through the public speeches of Demosthenes, Aeschines, and Isocrates, as well as of fragmentary texts, it examines the parameters of plausibility within which the orator was free to construct history, both buying into a commonly shared past and moulding that past for his audience. It considers whether orators favoured particular exemplary moments in history and, if so, whether these were the same as those which were dominant in local historiography. The orator, like the historian or the dramatist, played a vital role in helping the polis to formulate a past which was relevant to the present through its inclusion both of exemplary figures and events and of characteristics, which remained constant across time.
Malcolm Heath
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199259205
- eISBN:
- 9780191717932
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259205.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter assembles all the testimonia and fragments in which Menander is explicitly named; the Greek text is accompanied by an English translation and commentary. The collection is overwhelmingly ...
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This chapter assembles all the testimonia and fragments in which Menander is explicitly named; the Greek text is accompanied by an English translation and commentary. The collection is overwhelmingly dominated by the fragments of Menander’s commentary on Demosthenes. He may also have written commentaries on Aeschines and Aelius Aristides. Commentaries on works of rhetorical theory by Minucianus and Hermogenes are also attested. Two works on epideictic oratory have been transmitted under his name, and it is argued that only the second of the two was actually written by Menander.Less
This chapter assembles all the testimonia and fragments in which Menander is explicitly named; the Greek text is accompanied by an English translation and commentary. The collection is overwhelmingly dominated by the fragments of Menander’s commentary on Demosthenes. He may also have written commentaries on Aeschines and Aelius Aristides. Commentaries on works of rhetorical theory by Minucianus and Hermogenes are also attested. Two works on epideictic oratory have been transmitted under his name, and it is argued that only the second of the two was actually written by Menander.
Gunther Martin
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199560226
- eISBN:
- 9780191721427
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560226.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The corpus of the Attic orators has long been recognized as a source for information about the mindset and life of ordinary Athenians. This book contributes to a differentiated understanding of ...
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The corpus of the Attic orators has long been recognized as a source for information about the mindset and life of ordinary Athenians. This book contributes to a differentiated understanding of religion in the Athenian public discourse by studying the references to religion and the use made of them in the corpus; it explores how the prominent orators differ in the sets of motifs they employ, in their strategies of persuasion, and thus in the image they convey of themselves. Part I analyses the rhetorical strategies behind the employment of religion in each of Demosthenes' public forensic speeches and links them with their legal, historical, and social background, showing that argumentation based on religion is not used randomly. Part II deals with deliberative and private speeches, in which religion plays a much less prominent role, and orators dispense with denigration and most other open use of religious argumentation; in the assembly the use of religious ideas serves instead as a signal helping to characterize the political situation, whereas in the private speeches it is most prominently the religious form of procedural elements that is exploited. This book presents various factors that could influence the appropriateness of references to religion, showing that careful consideration e.g. of the public relevance of a case is necessary in the interpretation of speeches.Less
The corpus of the Attic orators has long been recognized as a source for information about the mindset and life of ordinary Athenians. This book contributes to a differentiated understanding of religion in the Athenian public discourse by studying the references to religion and the use made of them in the corpus; it explores how the prominent orators differ in the sets of motifs they employ, in their strategies of persuasion, and thus in the image they convey of themselves. Part I analyses the rhetorical strategies behind the employment of religion in each of Demosthenes' public forensic speeches and links them with their legal, historical, and social background, showing that argumentation based on religion is not used randomly. Part II deals with deliberative and private speeches, in which religion plays a much less prominent role, and orators dispense with denigration and most other open use of religious argumentation; in the assembly the use of religious ideas serves instead as a signal helping to characterize the political situation, whereas in the private speeches it is most prominently the religious form of procedural elements that is exploited. This book presents various factors that could influence the appropriateness of references to religion, showing that careful consideration e.g. of the public relevance of a case is necessary in the interpretation of speeches.
Douglas M. MacDowell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199287192
- eISBN:
- 9780191713552
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287192.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter gives information about Demosthenes' family and relatives, including his grandfathers — Demomeles and Gylon — and his parents, Demosthenes senior and Kleoboule. A genealogical table is ...
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This chapter gives information about Demosthenes' family and relatives, including his grandfathers — Demomeles and Gylon — and his parents, Demosthenes senior and Kleoboule. A genealogical table is included. It surveys his date of birth, his childhood, his nickname Batalos, and his difficulties in learning to make speeches. It discusses the evidence for his marriage and children. It raises the question whether he was bisexual and analyses the Erotic Speech ascribed to him.Less
This chapter gives information about Demosthenes' family and relatives, including his grandfathers — Demomeles and Gylon — and his parents, Demosthenes senior and Kleoboule. A genealogical table is included. It surveys his date of birth, his childhood, his nickname Batalos, and his difficulties in learning to make speeches. It discusses the evidence for his marriage and children. It raises the question whether he was bisexual and analyses the Erotic Speech ascribed to him.
Douglas M. MacDowell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199287192
- eISBN:
- 9780191713552
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287192.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter lists the assets left by Demosthenes senior at his death. They included a house, slaves (knife-makers and bed-makers), and money out on loan. Aphobos, Demophon, and Therippides were ...
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This chapter lists the assets left by Demosthenes senior at his death. They included a house, slaves (knife-makers and bed-makers), and money out on loan. Aphobos, Demophon, and Therippides were appointed as guardians of his two children. When Demosthenes came of age, he did not receive as much from his guardians as he expected, and so he prosecuted them. The speeches Against Aphobos (Orations 27 and 28), Against Aphobos for Phanos (Oration 29), and Against Onetor (Orations 30 and 31 ) are analysed.Less
This chapter lists the assets left by Demosthenes senior at his death. They included a house, slaves (knife-makers and bed-makers), and money out on loan. Aphobos, Demophon, and Therippides were appointed as guardians of his two children. When Demosthenes came of age, he did not receive as much from his guardians as he expected, and so he prosecuted them. The speeches Against Aphobos (Orations 27 and 28), Against Aphobos for Phanos (Oration 29), and Against Onetor (Orations 30 and 31 ) are analysed.
Gunther Martin
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199560226
- eISBN:
- 9780191721427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560226.003.0011
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Few private speeches contain significant references to religious concepts that go beyond the procedural acts of the previous chapter. This chapter presents the most obvious examples from Demosthenes ...
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Few private speeches contain significant references to religious concepts that go beyond the procedural acts of the previous chapter. This chapter presents the most obvious examples from Demosthenes 47, 54, 57, and Isaeus 6. These instances partly start from ritual acts mentioned in Chapter 8, but are all close to motifs that have been found in the public speeches.Less
Few private speeches contain significant references to religious concepts that go beyond the procedural acts of the previous chapter. This chapter presents the most obvious examples from Demosthenes 47, 54, 57, and Isaeus 6. These instances partly start from ritual acts mentioned in Chapter 8, but are all close to motifs that have been found in the public speeches.
Gunther Martin
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199560226
- eISBN:
- 9780191721427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560226.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter deals with Demosthenes' public speeches shows how Demosthenes gradually introduces a religious component in or. 21, which appears not to have been the basis or a necessary element of the ...
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This chapter deals with Demosthenes' public speeches shows how Demosthenes gradually introduces a religious component in or. 21, which appears not to have been the basis or a necessary element of the case. However, he does not use the religious aspect to portray Midias as an impious person to be condemned on these grounds; instead, the religious connotations of the offence contribute to characterizing his opponent as incompatible with society. Demosthenes avoids open religious accusation regarding the attack at the Dionysia, only to use it when he defends himself against similar accusations from Midias.Less
This chapter deals with Demosthenes' public speeches shows how Demosthenes gradually introduces a religious component in or. 21, which appears not to have been the basis or a necessary element of the case. However, he does not use the religious aspect to portray Midias as an impious person to be condemned on these grounds; instead, the religious connotations of the offence contribute to characterizing his opponent as incompatible with society. Demosthenes avoids open religious accusation regarding the attack at the Dionysia, only to use it when he defends himself against similar accusations from Midias.
Ian Worthington
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199931958
- eISBN:
- 9780199980628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199931958.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter serves as an introduction to the book, mentioning the aftermath of the battle of Chaeronea and moving to Demosthenes' failed policy to resist Philip. This chapter outlines Demosthenes' ...
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This chapter serves as an introduction to the book, mentioning the aftermath of the battle of Chaeronea and moving to Demosthenes' failed policy to resist Philip. This chapter outlines Demosthenes' youth, upbringing, rhetorical style, and anti-Macedonian policy and discusses the sources on him.Less
This chapter serves as an introduction to the book, mentioning the aftermath of the battle of Chaeronea and moving to Demosthenes' failed policy to resist Philip. This chapter outlines Demosthenes' youth, upbringing, rhetorical style, and anti-Macedonian policy and discusses the sources on him.
Ian Worthington
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199931958
- eISBN:
- 9780199980628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199931958.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter discusses Demosthenes' birth year, family, trouble youth and upbringing, being swindled by his guardians, his successful indictment of them, his early career as a speechwriter, how he ...
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This chapter discusses Demosthenes' birth year, family, trouble youth and upbringing, being swindled by his guardians, his successful indictment of them, his early career as a speechwriter, how he overcame his speech defects, his marriage and sexuality and his oratorical style.Less
This chapter discusses Demosthenes' birth year, family, trouble youth and upbringing, being swindled by his guardians, his successful indictment of them, his early career as a speechwriter, how he overcame his speech defects, his marriage and sexuality and his oratorical style.
Sviatoslav Dmitriev
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195375183
- eISBN:
- 9780199896721
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195375183.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
Chapter 2 shows that Philip’s Macedonian peace served as a framework for his own military alliance, the League of Corinth. Philip reorganized all the other Greek alliances in the name of freedom, ...
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Chapter 2 shows that Philip’s Macedonian peace served as a framework for his own military alliance, the League of Corinth. Philip reorganized all the other Greek alliances in the name of freedom, posing as the protector of freedom for individual cities in Greece. Having inherited this system, Alexander (the Great) started a new trend, using “freedom” and “autonomy” to define the status of individual Greek cities in return for their loyalty to him. This chapter also examines the development of particular aspects of the status of Greeks cities during Alexander’s reign, which would survive into the Hellenistic and Roman periods. My examination shows that neither the obligation of the city to pay tribute (with or without other contributions) nor its obligation to accept a garrison was relevant to its status as a “free” and “autonomous” city.Less
Chapter 2 shows that Philip’s Macedonian peace served as a framework for his own military alliance, the League of Corinth. Philip reorganized all the other Greek alliances in the name of freedom, posing as the protector of freedom for individual cities in Greece. Having inherited this system, Alexander (the Great) started a new trend, using “freedom” and “autonomy” to define the status of individual Greek cities in return for their loyalty to him. This chapter also examines the development of particular aspects of the status of Greeks cities during Alexander’s reign, which would survive into the Hellenistic and Roman periods. My examination shows that neither the obligation of the city to pay tribute (with or without other contributions) nor its obligation to accept a garrison was relevant to its status as a “free” and “autonomous” city.
Andrew Lintott
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199699711
- eISBN:
- 9780191745164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199699711.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter presents a chronology of the life of Demosthenes from 384 to 279.
This chapter presents a chronology of the life of Demosthenes from 384 to 279.
Ian Worthington
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199931958
- eISBN:
- 9780199980628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199931958.003.0009
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter discusses Philip's military actions and the declining relations between him and Athens, together with Demosthenes' next political speeches urging the people to make war on the king, and ...
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This chapter discusses Philip's military actions and the declining relations between him and Athens, together with Demosthenes' next political speeches urging the people to make war on the king, and then the outbreak of a fresh war between Athens and Philip in 340.Less
This chapter discusses Philip's military actions and the declining relations between him and Athens, together with Demosthenes' next political speeches urging the people to make war on the king, and then the outbreak of a fresh war between Athens and Philip in 340.
Paul Woodruff
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195304541
- eISBN:
- 9780199850747
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195304541.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
Just like the life struggle of Demosthenes to promote democracy against the Macedonians, democracy is messy and never perfect. In a philosophical way, the democratic idea applies the flawed and ...
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Just like the life struggle of Demosthenes to promote democracy against the Macedonians, democracy is messy and never perfect. In a philosophical way, the democratic idea applies the flawed and human—to make it into a perfect utopia is to destroy it. This chapter discusses primitive democracy as it appeared in ancient Greek culture, in the midst of civilizations at war, including foreign conquerors and fellow city states. Athens, which upheld the early representation of democracy, did not fully implement the ideals of democracy. They promoted the people's citizenship which excluded slaves and women in the government system, valued peace and harmony, but ran the empire in tyranny. Democracy was officially lost at the time of the Macedonian Conquest, but despite its loss for many years, Athenians still continued to pursue it.Less
Just like the life struggle of Demosthenes to promote democracy against the Macedonians, democracy is messy and never perfect. In a philosophical way, the democratic idea applies the flawed and human—to make it into a perfect utopia is to destroy it. This chapter discusses primitive democracy as it appeared in ancient Greek culture, in the midst of civilizations at war, including foreign conquerors and fellow city states. Athens, which upheld the early representation of democracy, did not fully implement the ideals of democracy. They promoted the people's citizenship which excluded slaves and women in the government system, valued peace and harmony, but ran the empire in tyranny. Democracy was officially lost at the time of the Macedonian Conquest, but despite its loss for many years, Athenians still continued to pursue it.
Ian Worthington
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199931958
- eISBN:
- 9780199980628
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199931958.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Demosthenes' resolute and courageous defiance of Philip II of Macedonia earned for him a reputation as one of history's outstanding patriots. He also enjoyed a brilliant and lucrative career as a ...
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Demosthenes' resolute and courageous defiance of Philip II of Macedonia earned for him a reputation as one of history's outstanding patriots. He also enjoyed a brilliant and lucrative career as a speechwriter, and is regarded as Greece's greatest orator, as proved by the rhetorical style of his surviving speeches. Yet he was a sickly child who suffered from several physical and speech impediments, had an interrupted education, and was swindled out of much of his family estate by unscrupulous guardians. His story is certainly one of triumph over adversity. Demosthenes has been lauded as Greece's greatest patriot and condemned as an opportunist who misjudged situations and contributed directly to the end of Greek freedom. This book aims to determine which of these two people he was: self-serving cynic or patriot—or both. The book discusses Demosthenes' troubled childhood and youth, the obstacles he faced in his public career, his successes and failures, and even his posthumous influence as a politician and orator. The book offers new insights into Demosthenes' motives and how he shaped his policy to achieve political power, set against the history of Greece and Macedonia. The book gives extensive quotations in translation from his speeches to sum up their main points and help to illustrate his rhetorical style, which the book also discusses.Less
Demosthenes' resolute and courageous defiance of Philip II of Macedonia earned for him a reputation as one of history's outstanding patriots. He also enjoyed a brilliant and lucrative career as a speechwriter, and is regarded as Greece's greatest orator, as proved by the rhetorical style of his surviving speeches. Yet he was a sickly child who suffered from several physical and speech impediments, had an interrupted education, and was swindled out of much of his family estate by unscrupulous guardians. His story is certainly one of triumph over adversity. Demosthenes has been lauded as Greece's greatest patriot and condemned as an opportunist who misjudged situations and contributed directly to the end of Greek freedom. This book aims to determine which of these two people he was: self-serving cynic or patriot—or both. The book discusses Demosthenes' troubled childhood and youth, the obstacles he faced in his public career, his successes and failures, and even his posthumous influence as a politician and orator. The book offers new insights into Demosthenes' motives and how he shaped his policy to achieve political power, set against the history of Greece and Macedonia. The book gives extensive quotations in translation from his speeches to sum up their main points and help to illustrate his rhetorical style, which the book also discusses.
Daniel S. Richter
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199772681
- eISBN:
- 9780199895083
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199772681.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Post classical rhetoricians applied and adapted philosophical and scientific ideas about the nature of the human soul and the human community to describe the world as they saw it and wanted it to be. ...
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Post classical rhetoricians applied and adapted philosophical and scientific ideas about the nature of the human soul and the human community to describe the world as they saw it and wanted it to be. This chapter explores the tension between the desire to order experience into tidy dyads and the need to confront the multiplicity and variability of an ever-expanding and diversifying world. In doing so, this chapter turns from philosophy to rhetoric. While the Hellenistic and Roman Stoa turned away, for the most part, from the dyadic classification of the world into Greek and barbarian, post-classical public speech tended to preserve classical notions of “us” and “them.” The question is, what happens to mutually exclusive and all-encompassing divisions of the human community in the increasingly plural and fluid Mediterranean? It is true that peoples had been criss-crossing the Mediterranean for millennia prior to the fifth-century BCE and that cultural exchange had long defined Mediterranean as well as Near Eastern and North African history. What is of interest here is a moment at which certain intellectuals in Athens came to rethink the meaning of these movements in an effort to define lines between insiders and outsiders.Less
Post classical rhetoricians applied and adapted philosophical and scientific ideas about the nature of the human soul and the human community to describe the world as they saw it and wanted it to be. This chapter explores the tension between the desire to order experience into tidy dyads and the need to confront the multiplicity and variability of an ever-expanding and diversifying world. In doing so, this chapter turns from philosophy to rhetoric. While the Hellenistic and Roman Stoa turned away, for the most part, from the dyadic classification of the world into Greek and barbarian, post-classical public speech tended to preserve classical notions of “us” and “them.” The question is, what happens to mutually exclusive and all-encompassing divisions of the human community in the increasingly plural and fluid Mediterranean? It is true that peoples had been criss-crossing the Mediterranean for millennia prior to the fifth-century BCE and that cultural exchange had long defined Mediterranean as well as Near Eastern and North African history. What is of interest here is a moment at which certain intellectuals in Athens came to rethink the meaning of these movements in an effort to define lines between insiders and outsiders.
Ian Worthington
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199931958
- eISBN:
- 9780199980628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199931958.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter discusses the Fourth Sacred War as a means to allow Philip reenter Greece with an army, the second war between him and Athens, Demosthenes' alliance with Thebes, culminating in Philip's ...
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This chapter discusses the Fourth Sacred War as a means to allow Philip reenter Greece with an army, the second war between him and Athens, Demosthenes' alliance with Thebes, culminating in Philip's defeat of the Greeks at Chaeronea in 338 and imposition of Macedonian hegemony.Less
This chapter discusses the Fourth Sacred War as a means to allow Philip reenter Greece with an army, the second war between him and Athens, Demosthenes' alliance with Thebes, culminating in Philip's defeat of the Greeks at Chaeronea in 338 and imposition of Macedonian hegemony.
