Isaeus ( el, Ἰσαῖος ''Isaios''; fl. early 4th century BC) was one of the ten

Attic orators The ten Attic orators were considered the greatest orators and logographers of the classical era (5th–4th century BC). They are included in the "Canon of Ten", which probably originated in Alexandria. A.E. Douglas has argued, however, that it w ...

according to the

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

n canon. He was a student of

Isocrates Isocrates (; grc, Ἰσοκράτης ; 436–338 BC) was an ancient Greek rhetorician, one of the ten Attic orators. Among the most influential Greek rhetoricians of his time, Isocrates made many contributions to rhetoric and education throu ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, and later taught

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...

while working as a ''

metic In ancient Greece, a metic (Ancient Greek: , : from , , indicating change, and , 'dwelling') was a foreign resident of Athens, one who did not have citizen rights in their Greek city-state (''polis'') of residence. Origin The history of foreign m ...

'' logographer (speechwriter) for others. Only eleven of his speeches survive, with fragments of a twelfth. They are mostly concerned with inheritance, with one on

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary sty ...

compared his style to

Lysias Lysias (; el, Λυσίας; c. 445 – c. 380 BC) was a logographer (speech writer) in Ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace i ...

, although Isaeus was more given to employing

sophistry A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ' ...

Life

The time of his birth and death is unknown, but all accounts agree in the statement that he flourished () during the period between the

Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...

and the accession of

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

, so that he lived between 420 and 348 BC. He was a son of Diagoras, and was born at

Chalcis Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

; some sources say he was born in

, probably only because he came there at an early age and spent the greater part of his life there. He was instructed in oratory by

and

. He was afterwards engaged in writing judicial orations for others, and established a rhetorical school at Athens, in which

is said to have been his pupil. The ''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souidas ...

'' states that Isaeus instructed him free of charge, whereas

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

relates that he received 10,000

drachma The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fro ...

s; and it is further said that Isaeus composed for Demosthenes the speeches against his guardians, or at least assisted him in the composition. All particulars about his life are unknown, and were so even in the time of Dionysius, since

Hermippus Hermippus ( grc-gre, Ἕρμιππος; fl. 5th century BC) was the one-eyed Athenian writer of the Old Comedy, who flourished during the Peloponnesian War. Life He was the son of Lysis, and the brother of the comic poet Myrtilus. He was younger t ...

, who had written an account of the disciples of

, did not mention Isaeus at all.

Works

In antiquity there were 64 orations which bore the name of Isaeus, but only fifty were recognised as genuine by the ancient critics. Of these, only eleven have come down to us; but we possess fragments and the titles of 56 speeches ascribed to him. The eleven extant are all on subjects connected with disputed inheritances; and Isaeus appears to have been particularly well acquainted with the laws relating to inheritance. Ten of these orations had been known ever since the revival of letters in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

, and were printed in the collections of Greek orators; but the eleventh, ''On Menecles' legacy'' (), was first published in 1785 from a Florentine manuscript by Tyrwhitt, and later by

Orelli The name Orelli can refer to several different people: * Carlo Orelli (1894–2005) was, until his death, the oldest living Italian veteran of World War I *Johann Caspar von Orelli Johann Caspar von Orelli (Latin ''Iohannes Caspar Orellius''; 13 ...

in 1814. Also, in 1815 Mai discovered and published the greater half of Isaeus' oration ''On Cleonymus' legacy'' (). Isaeus is also known to have written a manual on speechwriting entitled the ''Technē'' or ''Idiai technai'' (, "Personal skills"), which, however, is lost. List of extant speeches (available at th
Perseus Digital Library

On The Estate of Cleonymus

On the Estate of Menecles

On The Estate Of Pyrrhus

On the Estate of Nicostratus

On the Estate of Dicaeogenes

On the Estate of Philoctemon

On The Estate of Apollodorus

On The Estate of Ciron

On the Estate of Astyphilus

On The Estate Of Aristarchus

On the Estate of Hagnias

On Behalf of Euphiletus

Oratorical style

Although his orations were placed fifth in the Alexandrian canon, still we do not hear of any of the grammarians having written commentaries on him, except

Didymus of Alexandria Didymus the Blind (alternatively spelled Dedimus or Didymous) (c. 313398) was a Christian theologian in the Church of Alexandria, where he taught for about half a century. He was a student of Origen, and, after the Second Council of Constantinopl ...

.Harpocrates, s.vv. , . But we still possess the criticism upon Isaeus written by

; and by a comparison of the orations still extant with the opinions of Dionysius, we come to the following conclusion. The oratory of Isaeus resembles in many points that of his teacher,

: the style of both is pure, clear, and concise; but while Lysias is at the same time simple and graceful, Isaeus evidently strives to attain a higher degree of polish and refinement, without, however, in the least injuring the powerful and impressive character of his oratory. The same spirit is visible in the manner in which he handles his subjects, especially in their skillful division, and in the artful manner in which he interweaves his arguments with various parts of the exposition, whereby his orations become like a painting in which light and shade are distributed with a distinct view to produce certain effects. It was mainly owing to this mode of management that he was envied and censured by his contemporaries, as if he had tried to deceive and misguide his hearers. He was one of the first who turned their attention to a scientific cultivation of political oratory; but excellence in this department of the art was not attained until the time of

Bibliography

* Forster, E.S. (ed., tr.) 1927, ''Isaeus'' (Cambridge, MA). * Roussel, P. (ed., tr.) 2003, ''Isée. Discours'', 3rd ed. (1st ed. 1922; Paris). * Thalheim, Th. (ed.) 1963, ''Isaei Orationes cum deperditarum fragmentis'', 2nd ed. (1st ed. 1903; Stuttgart). *

Life

Works

Oratorical style

Bibliography

References

Sources

Further reading