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 pr ...
(
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 ...
: ; 384–322 BC) was a prominent
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 ...
statesman and
orator
An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled.
Etymology
Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...
of
ancient Athens. His orations constitute the last significant expression of Athenian intellectual prowess and provide a thorough insight into the politics and culture of
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...
. The ''Alexandrian Canon'' compiled by
Aristophanes of Byzantium and
Aristarchus of Samothrace
Aristarchus of Samothrace ( grc-gre, Ἀρίσταρχος ὁ Σαμόθραξ ''Aristarchos o Samothrax''; c. 220 – c. 143 BC) was an ancient Greek grammarian, noted as the most influential of all scholars of Homeric poetry. He was the h ...
recognized Demosthenes as one of the ten greatest
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 ...
and
logographers.
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
acclaimed him as "the perfect orator" and the one who "has pre-eminence over all others" ("inter omnes unus excellat"),
[Cicero, ''Brutus'', 35; ''Orator'' II.6] while
Quintilian extolled him as ''lex orandi'' ("the standard of oratory").
[Quintillian, ''Institutiones'', X, 1, 76]
Manuscript tradition
![Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1377 - Princeton University Library, AM 9051 - Demosthenes, De Corona 167–169](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Papyrus_Oxyrhynchus_1377_-_Princeton_University_Library%2C_AM_9051_-_Demosthenes%2C_De_Corona_167%E2%80%93169.jpg)
Demosthenes must have written down and put into circulation most of his orations. In the next generation after his death, texts of his speeches survived in at least two places: Athens and the
Library of Alexandria (early-mid third century BC). During this period,
Callimachus
Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide varie ...
was responsible for producing the catalogue of all the volumes contained in the Library. Demosthenes' speeches were incorporated into the body of classical Greek literature that was preserved, catalogued and studied by scholars of the
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
period. From then until the fourth century AD copies of his orations multiplied at a time when Demosthenes was deemed the most important writer in the rhetorical world and every serious student of rhetoric needed access to his writings. Texts of his speeches were in a relatively good position to survive the tense period from the sixth until the ninth century AD.
[H. Yunis, ''Demosthenes: On the Crown'', 28]
Scholars have recorded 258 Byzantine manuscripts of Demosthenes' speeches and 21 of extracts. Modern editions of these speeches are based on four of these manuscripts:
*The tenth-century ''Venetus Marcianus 416'' (called ''F''), including the sixty-one orations, which finally survived. The
Aldine edition was based on three manuscripts of the same family as F, though not on F itself; so the customary order of the speeches is of this family.
[R. Sealey, ''Demosthenes and His Time'', 222]
*The tenth- or eleventh-century ''Monacensis Augustanus 485'' (called ''A''), which includes fifty-four speeches. Those omitted are 12, 45, 46, 52, 60 and 61.
*The tenth- or eleventh-century ''Parisinus 2935'' (called ''Y''), which includes twenty-nine speeches (1-21, 23, 22, 24-26, 59, 61 and 60 in that order
).
*The tenth- or eleventh-century ''Parisinus 2934'' (called ''S'') considered to be the most reliable by many scholars.
[I. Kalitsounakis, ''Demosthenes'', 958; C.A. Gibson, ''Interpreting a Classic'', 1; K.A. Kapparis, ''Apollodoros against Neaira'', 62. The preference for ''S'' has been challenged by Dieter Irmer (''Zur Genealogie'', 95-99) and defended by Hermann Wankel (R. Sealey, ''Demosthenes and His Time'', 222).] It omits item 12 (''Philip's Letter'') but includes the 60 speeches. A facsimile of the codex was published in 1892-93, in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, by H. Omont.
[I. Kalitsounakis, ''Demosthenes'', 958; Maurenbrecher-Wagner-Freund, ''Grundzüge'', 176]
*
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 25, a third-century manuscript of ''De Corona'';
*
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 26, a second-century manuscript of ''Prooimia Demegorica'';
*
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 230, a second-century manuscript of ''De Corona'';
*
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 231, a second- or third-century manuscript of ''De Corona''.
Authorship
The authorship of many of the works attributed to Demosthenes have been disputed.
Arnold Schaefer
Arnold Dietrich Schaefer (16 October 1819 in Seehausen, today part of Bremen – 19 November 1883 in Bonn) was a German ancient historian, who was a professor of history at the University of Greifswald (1857-1865) and then at the University of Bon ...
, for instance, accepted only 29 of Demosthenes' speeches as genuine.
[A. Schaefer, ''Demosthenes und seine Zeit'', III, 111, 178, 247 and 257]
Some works are almost universally rejected. Most of the speeches given by
Apollodoros, for instance, are widely considered to have been written by Apollodoros himself, though the first speech "
Against Stephanos" has been considered authentic by many scholars.
Of these, at least two, "
Against Callipus" and "
Against Nicostratus", must have been composed by someone other than Demosthenes, as he would have been too young at the time they were composed. Similarly, "virtually everyone" believes that "
On the Halonessus" was written and delivered by
Hegesippus rather than Demosthenes.
At the other end of the spectrum, some works which have been doubted are now generally considered to be authentic. The third speech "
Against Aphobos", for instance, is now generally accepted to be authentic. Still other speeches have been generally considered authentic but have had some sections considered to be later additions. The "
Third Philippic The "Third Philippic" was delivered by the prominent Athenian statesman and orator, Demosthenes, in 341 BC. It constitutes the third of the four philippics.
Historical background
In 343 BC, the Macedonian arms were carried across Epirus and a year ...
", for instance, contains text which does not appear in all of the manuscript traditions; it has been suggested that this was a later addition by another writer.
Finally, one of the works which was transmitted as part of the Demosthenic corpus makes no claim to have been written by Demosthenes. This is number 12, the "Epistle of Philip", which claims to be the letter from
Philip 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 a ...
to the people of Athens to which Demosthenes 11, the "
Reply to Philip", is a response.
Douglas MacDowell believes that this is authentically Philip's letter.
Prologues
Fifty-five passages bearing the collective title ''prooimia'' (or ''prooimia dēmēgorika'') — ''(demegoric)
prologue
A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...
s'' or ''preambles'' — are extant. These were openings of Demosthenes' speeches, collected by Callimachus for the Library of Alexandria, and preserved in several of the manuscripts that contain Demosthenes' speeches.
[I. Worthington, ''Demosthenes'', 57] The passages vary somewhat in length, though most are about one page or slightly less.
[H. Yunis, ''Taming Democracy'', 287] The majority of the prologues bear no relation to Demosthenes' other extant speeches (only five correspond closely to the beginnings of five of Demosthenes' Assembly speeches), but we have only seventeen public orations by him. The topics that arise vary considerably, and there is no apparent order.
[ H. Yunis, ''Taming Democracy'', 287] The prologues give us insights into the Athenians' attitude to their democracy as well as to the reactions and even expectations of an audience at an Assembly.
[I. Worthington, ''Demosthenes'', 56] Callimachus believed that Demosthenes composed them, as also did
Julius Pollux
Julius Pollux ( el, Ἰούλιος Πολυδεύκης, ''Ioulios Polydeukes''; fl. 2nd century) was a Greek scholar and rhetorician from Naucratis, Ancient Egypt.Andrew Dalby, ''Food in the Ancient World: From A to Z'', p.265, Routledge, 2003
E ...
and
Stobaeus
Joannes Stobaeus (; grc-gre, Ἰωάννης ὁ Στοβαῖος; fl. 5th-century AD), from Stobi in Macedonia, was the compiler of a valuable series of extracts from Greek authors. The work was originally divided into two volumes containin ...
.
[I. Worthington, ''Oral Performance'', 135] Modern scholars are divided: Some of them reject them,
[I. Kalitsounakis, ''Demosthenes'', 957. In prologues 54-55, ]Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff
Enno Friedrich Wichard Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (22 December 1848 – 25 September 1931) was a German classical philologist. Wilamowitz, as he is known in scholarly circles, was a renowned authority on Ancient Greece and its literature ...
recognized parts of Athenian speeches of the third century BC (R. Sealey, ''Demosthenes and His Time'', 221). while others believe they were genuine.
[F. Blass, ''Die Attische Beredsamkeit'', 3.1, 281-287; H. Yunis, ''Taming Democracy'', 289: "No imitator ..could perfectly imitate Demosthenes in style and substance while excluding all inappropriate or anachronistic elements."]
Letters
Six letters are written under Demosthenes' name, but their authorship has been fiercely debated.
[F.J. Long, ''Ancient Rhetoric and Paul's Apology'', 102; M. Trap, ''Greek and Latin Letters'', 12] J.A. Goldstein regards Demosthenes's letters as authentic apologetic letters that were addressed to the Athenian assembly and asserts that "whether the letters had a spurious origin as propaganda or as rhetorical fictions, the aim of the author would be to present a defense of Demosthenes' career, a simulated self-defense".
[J.A. Goldstein, ''The Letters of Demosthenes'', 93] Ostensibly, the first four were written by Demosthenes during his exile in 323 BC, the fifth in his youth, and the sixth during the
Lamian War
The Lamian War, or the Hellenic War (323–322 BC) was fought by a coalition of cities including Athens and the Aetolian League against Macedon and its ally Boeotia. The war broke out after the death of the King of Macedon, Alexander the Great, ...
.
Citations and notes
References
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External links
The Speeches of Demosthenes- links to online translations
Works of Demosthenes at Project Gutenberg''Works of Demosthenes''at
LibriVox
LibriVox is a group of worldwide volunteers who read and record public domain texts, creating free public domain audiobooks for download from their website and other digital library hosting sites on the internet. It was founded in 2005 by Hugh Mc ...
(public domain audiobooks) (in English & Portuguese)
{{Demosthenes' works