Phaeax (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: ) was an
Athenian
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 ...
orator and statesman. The son of Erasistratus, his date of his birth is not known, but he was a contemporary of
Nicias
Nicias (; Νικίας ''Nikias''; c. 470–413 BC) was an Athenian politician and general during the period of the Peloponnesian War. Nicias was a member of the Athenian aristocracy and had inherited a large fortune from his father, which was inve ...
and
Alcibiades
Alcibiades ( ; grc-gre, Ἀλκιβιάδης; 450 – 404 BC) was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last of the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He played a major role in t ...
.
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 ...
(''Alcib.'' 13) says, that he and Nicias were the only rivals whom Alcibiades feared when he entered upon public life.
In 422 BC, Phaeax, with two others, was sent as an ambassador to Italy and
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
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, demographi ...
, to endeavor to persuade the
Magna Graecian allies of the Athenians and the other
Siceliotes
The Siceliotes (singular and adjectival form: Siceliot), formed a distinct ethno-cultural group in Sicily from about the 8th century BCE until their assimilation into the general Sicilian population. As Hellenic colonists (often reputedly of Dori ...
to aid the
Leontines against the
Syracusans. He succeeded with
Camarina
Kamarina ( grc, Καμάρινα, Latin, Italian, & scn, Camarina) was an ancient city on the southern coast of Sicily in southern Italy. The ruins of the site and an archaeological museum are located south of the modern town of Scoglitti, a ...
and
Agrigentum
Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...
, but his failure at
Gela
Gela (Sicilian and ; grc, Γέλα) is a city and (municipality) in the Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province of Cal ...
led him to abandon the attempt as hopeless. On his way back he assisted the Athenian cause among the states of Italy. (
Thucyd. v. 4, 5.) According to
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...
(ap. Plut.) it was Phaeax, and not Nicias, with whom Alcibiades united for the purpose of ostracizing
Hyperbolus
Hyperbolus ( grc-gre, Ὑπέρβολος, ''Hyperbolos''; died 411 BC) was an Athenian politician active during the first half of the Peloponnesian war, coming to particular prominence after the death of Cleon. In 416 or 415 he was the last Ath ...
. Most authorities, however, are of the view that it was Nicias. (Plut. ''l.c. Nic.'' 11, ''Aristid.'' 7.)
In the "Lives of the Ten Orators" (''Andoc.'') there is mention of a contest between Phaeax and
Andocides
Andocides (; grc-gre, Ἀνδοκίδης, ''Andokides''; c. 440 – c. 390 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 an ...
, and a defence of the latter against the former. It is difficult to say exactly when this content took place. Andocides did not come into notice until after the affair of the
mutilation of the Hermae.
Phaeax was an engaging personality, but had no great abilities as a speaker. According to
Eupolis
Eupolis ( grc-gre, Εὔπολις; c. 446c. 411 BC) was an Athenian poet of the Old Comedy, who flourished during the time of the Peloponnesian War.
Biography
Nothing whatsoever is known of his personal history. His father was named Sosipolis. ...
(ap. Plut. ''Alcib.'' 13) he was a fluent talker, but quite unable to speak. (Comp. A. Gellius, ''N. A.'' i. 15.)
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
gives a description of his style of speaking (''Equit.'' 1377, etc.), from which it would seem that, on one occasion, he was brought to trial for some capital offence and acquitted.
There has been a good deal of controversy regarding the speech against Alcibiades, commonly attributed to Andocides, which Taylor maintained to be prepared by Phaeax. Plutarch (''Alcib.'' 13), according to the opinion of most editors, speaks of an oration against Alcibiades, as prepared by Phaeax. It seems likely that he was referring to the very oration which is extant, the passage which he quotes (though not quite accurately) being found in the speech in question, which could not have been written by Andocides, as the author speaks of the rival claim of himself, Nicias, and Alcibiades being decided by ostracism. There are, however, strong reasons for believing that it is the product of some rhetorician writing in the name of Phaeax. The style does not at all resemble what the notice in Aristophanes would lead us to expect; and the writer betrays himself by various inaccuracies. If then the speech was written as if by Phaeax, and reliance can be placed on the biographical notices in it (which are in part at least borne out by good authorities), Phaeax was subject to being tried for his life four times, and each time he was acquitted (§ 8, 36. Comp. Aristoph. ''l.c.''). He was sent as ambassador to
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
,
Macedon
Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...
ia,
Molossia
The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On thei ...
, and
Thesprotia
Thesprotia (; el, Θεσπρωτία, ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital and largest town is Igoumenitsa. Thesprotia is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the ...
, besides Sicily and Italy, and was awarded various prizes. (Taylor, ''Led. Lys.'' c. 6; Valckenaer, ''Advers.'' ap. Sluiter, ''Lect. Andoc.'' pp. 17–26; Ruhnken, ''Hist. Crit. Orat. Gr.'' Opusc. p. 321, ''et seq.''; Becker, ''Andokides'', pp. 13 ''et seq.'', 83-108; and especially Meier, ''Comment. de Andocidis quae vulgo fertur oratione contra Alcibiadem''.)
References
*{{SmithDGRBM
Ancient Greek rhetoricians
Ancient Athenians
5th-century BC Greek people