Antiphon of
Rhamnus (; grc-gre,
Ἀντιφῶν
Antiphon of Rhamnus (Greek archaeological site), Rhamnus (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἀντιφῶν, Ἀντιφῶν ὁ Ῥαμνούσιος; 480–411 BC) was the earliest of the ten Attic orators, and an important figure in fifth-century Athe ...
ὁ Ῥαμνούσιος; 480–411 BC) was the earliest 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 ...
, and an important figure in fifth-century Athenian political and intellectual life.
There is longstanding uncertainty and scholarly controversy over whether the
Sophistic works of Antiphon
The name Antiphon the Sophist (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἀντιφῶν, Ἀντιφῶν) is used to refer to the writer of several Sophist, Sophistic treatises. He probably lived in Athens in the last two decades of the 5th century BC, but almost nothin ...
and a treatise on the ''
Interpretation of Dreams'' were also written by Antiphon the Orator, or whether they were written by a separate man known as Antiphon the Sophist. This article only discusses Antiphon the Orator's biography and oratorical works.
Life
Antiphon was a
statesman
A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level.
Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to:
Newspapers United States
* ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a ...
who took up
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate par ...
as a profession. He was active in political affairs in
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 a ...
, and, as a zealous supporter of the
oligarchical
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
party, was largely responsible for the establishment of the
Four Hundred
400 (four hundred) is the natural number following 399 and preceding 401.
Mathematical properties
400 is the square of 20. 400 is the sum of the powers of 7 from 0 to 3, thus making it a repdigit in base 7 (1111).
A circle is divided into 4 ...
in 411 (see
Theramenes
Theramenes (; grc-gre, Θηραμένης; died 404 BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian statesman, prominent in the final decade of the Peloponnesian War. He was particularly active during the two periods of Oligarchy, oligarchic government at ...
); upon restoration of the
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...
shortly afterwards, he was accused of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
and condemned to death.
Thucydides
Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...
famously characterized Antiphon's skills, influence, and reputation:
Antiphon may be regarded as the founder of political
oratory, but he never addressed the people himself except on the occasion of his trial. Fragments of his speech then, delivered in defense of his policy (called ) have been edited by J. Nicole (1907) from an
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
ian
papyrus
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to ...
.
His chief business was that of a
logographer (), that is a professional speech-writer. He wrote for those who felt incompetent to conduct their own cases—all disputants were obliged to do so—without expert assistance. Fifteen of Antiphon's speeches are extant: twelve are mere school exercises on fictitious cases, divided into
tetralogies
A tetralogy (from Greek τετρα- ''tetra-'', "four" and -λογία ''-logia'', "discourse") is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works. The name comes from the Attic theater, in which a tetralogy was a group of three tragedies f ...
, each comprising two speeches for prosecution and defence—accusation, defence, reply, counter-reply; three refer to actual legal processes. All deal with cases of
homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
(). Antiphon is also said to have composed a or art of Rhetoric.
List of extant speeches
This is a list of extant speeches by Antiphon:
#
Against the Stepmother for Poisoning "Against the Stepmother for Poisoning" ( grc, Φαρμακείας κατὰ τῆς μητρυιᾶς) is one of fifteen extant speeches by the Athenian orator Antiphon. It is a speech for the prosecution in the case of a woman accused by her step ...
()
The First Tetralogy: Anonymous Prosecution For Murder()
The Second Tetralogy: Prosecution for Accidental Homicide()
The Third Tetralogy: Prosecution for Murder Of One Who Pleads Self-Defense()
On the Murder of Herodes()
On the Choreutes ()
Notes
References
* Edition, with commentary, by
Eduard Maetzner (1838)
* Text by
Friedrich Blass (1881)
*
R. C. Jebb, ''Attic Orators''
*
Ps.-Plutarch, ''Vitae X. Oratorum'' o
''Lives of the Ten Orators''*
Philostratus
Philostratus or Lucius Flavius Philostratus (; grc-gre, Φιλόστρατος ; c. 170 – 247/250 AD), called "the Athenian", was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period. His father was a minor sophist of the same name. He was born probab ...
, ''Vit. Sophistarum'', i. 15
* Frank Louis Van Cleef, ''Index Antiphonteus'', Ithaca, N.Y. (1895)
"Antiphon" at Swansea University's website.* Michael Gagarin, ''Antiphon the Athenian'', 2002, U. of Texas Press. Argues for the identification of Antiphon the Sophist and Antiphon of Rhamnus.
* Gerard Pendrick, ''Antiphon the Sophist: The Fragments'', 2002, Cambridge U. Press. Argues that Antiphon the Sophist and Antiphon of Rhamnus are two, and provides a new edition of and commentary on the fragments attributed to the Sophist.
David Hoffman, "''Antiphon the Athenian: Oratory, Law and Justice in the Age of the Sophists''/''Antiphon the Sophist: The Fragments''" ''Rhetoric Society Quarterly'', summer 2006. A review of Gagarin 2002 and Pendrick 2002.
* Jordi Redondo, 'Antifont. Discursos I-II', Barcelona, Fundació Bernat Metge, 2003-2004 ( et 84-7225-840-8). Argues for the identification of both authors.
Further reading
*
External links
Antiphon's Apology, the Papyrus Fragments, French 1907 edition from the Internet Archive*
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...
'
''Memorabilia'' 1.6.1-.15presents a dialogue between Antiphon the Sophist and Socrates.
''Speeches''by Antiphon of Rhamnus on Perseus
* A biography on Antiphon of Rhamnus b
Richard C. Jebb, ''The Attic Orators from Antiphon to Isaeos'', 1876on Perseus
*
* The
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') combines an online encyclopedia of philosophy with peer-reviewed publication of original papers in philosophy, freely accessible to Internet users. It is maintained by Stanford University. E ...
article
Callicles and Thrasymachus discusses the views of Antiphon the Sophist.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antiphon
Ancient Greek rhetoricians
Ancient Greek mathematicians
5th-century BC Athenians
5th-century BC writers
411 BC deaths
Sophists
Attic orators
480 BC births
5th-century BC mathematicians