Apollodorus ( grc-gre, Ἀπολλόδωρος, Apollodōros; 394 – after 343 BCE) of Acharnae in

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean ...

was an Athenian politician known from several ancient forensic speeches which were preserved as part of the Demosthenic corpus. He was the son of

Pasion Pasion (also Pasio; grc, Πασίων; before 430 – 370 BC) was a slave in Ancient Athens in the early 4th century BC, who rose to become a successful banker and Athenian citizen. Life Pasion was born some time before 430 BC. It is unkn ...

, a wealthy banker who had been granted Athenian citizenship in thanks for the gifts he had made to the city of Athens.

Life

Apollodorus was the son of the banker

, and was born when his father was not yet an Athenian citizen. His mother was called Archippe. Some time between the birth of Apollodorus and 376 BCE, Pasion was made an Athenian citizen, along with his sons. In 370 BCE, when Apollodorus was 24, his father died, leaving part of his property in the hands of his bank manager Phormion. Following the death of Pasion, Apollodorus' mother remarried to Phormion, a non-Greek who was the ex-slave of Pasion. Due to the wealth he had inherited from Pasion, Apollodoros was responsible for a number of liturgies. He was trierarch twice, once before his father's death and once in 368, and syntrierarch thrice more. He was also '' choregos'' in 352–1, winning the prize at the

Dionysia The Dionysia (, , ; Greek: Διονύσια) was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and, from 487 BC, comedies. It was the ...

. Apollodorus married by 365 BCE, and had two daughters, born around 365 and 363 respectively. In 360 Apollodorus' mother died, leaving Phormion, whom she had married after the death of Pasion, as the guardian of Apollodorus' brother Pasicles. Politically, Apollodorus allied himself with Demosthenes and his anti-

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...

ian opinions, in 349–8 BCE proposing the use of the

Theoric Fund The Theorica ( grc-gre, Θεωρικά), also called the Theoric Fund or Festival Fund, was the name for the fund of monies in ancient Athens expended on festivals, sacrifices, and public entertainments of various kinds. The fund was, in certain c ...

for military purposes. This proposal, though it was passed by the Assembly, was found to be illegal, and Apollodorus was fined one talent.

Litigation

In 350 BCE, Apollodorus brought a lawsuit against Phormion. Demosthenes wrote a speech for the defence, which survives as ''

For Phormion "For Phormion" ( grc, Παραγραφὴ ὑπὲρ Φορμίωνος, Paragraphe Hyper Phormionos) was a speech composed by the Athenian logographer Demosthenes. It was delivered on Phormion's behalf, possibly by Demosthenes himself, probably in ...

''. A rumour later circulated that Demosthenes leaked the defence speech to Apollodorus before the trial. Apollodorus was involved in many lawsuits, and seven speeches written for him in these cases are preserved as part of the Demosthenic corpus. Six of these speeches, however, are generally attributed to a

pseudo-Demosthenes The speeches of Pseudo-Demosthenes are those preserved among the speeches of Demosthenes, but not thought to have been authored by him. Among the Pseudo-Demosthenic works are six of those written for Apollodorus of Acharnae Apollodorus ( grc-gre, ...

, often identified as Apollodorus himself. Apollodorus' final preserved speech is ''

Against Neaera "Against Neaera" was a prosecution speech delivered by Apollodorus of Acharnae, Apollodoros of Acharnae against the freedman, freedwoman Neaera. It was preserved as part of the Works of Demosthenes, Demosthenic corpus, though it is widely conside ...

'', which dates to between 343 and 340 BCE, after which we know nothing of his life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apollodorus of Acharnae 394 BC births Ancient Greek lawyers 4th-century BC Athenians Demosthenes