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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 century), Latin ''orator'' ("speaker"), from ''orare'' ("speak before a court or assembly; plead"), derived from a Proto-Indo-European base *''or-'' ("to pronounce a ritual formula"). The modern meaning of the word, "public speaker", is attested from c. 1430. History In ancient Rome, the art of speaking in public (''Ars Oratoria'') was a professional competence especially cultivated by politicians and lawyers. As the Greeks were still seen as the masters in this field, as in philosophy and most sciences, the leading Roman families often either sent their sons to study these subjects under a famous master in Greece (as was the case with the young Julius Caesar), or engaged a Greek teacher (under pay or as a slave). In the young rev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demosthenes
Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC. Demosthenes learned rhetoric by studying the speeches of previous great orators. He delivered his first judicial speeches at the age of 20, in which he successfully argued that he should gain from his guardians what was left of his inheritance. For a time, Demosthenes made his living as a professional speechwriter ( logographer) and a lawyer, writing speeches for use in private legal suits. Demosthenes grew interested in politics during his time as a logographer, and in 354 BC he gave his first public political speeches. He went on to devote his most productive years to opposing Macedon's expansion. He idealized his city and strove throughout his life to restore Athens' suprema ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lycurgus Of Athens
Lycurgus (; ; 390 – 325 BC) was a statesman and logographer in Ancient Greece. In the aftermath of the Athenian defeat at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, he became the leading figure in Athenian politics, taking control of Athenian finances and pushing through a range of measures which drastically increased Athens' revenues. This money was used to expand the navy, improve the city's fortifications, develop the temples and religious ceremonies, and to build up a hefty reserve. He also encouraged the restoration of traditional values and prosecuted those who fell short of his expectations of civic behaviour. Because of his leading role, the period from 338 to 324 BC is often known in modern scholarship as the "Age of Lycurgus." He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace in the third century BC. His only surviving speech is the ''Against Leocrates''. He should not be confused wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lysias
Lysias (; ; c. 445 – c. 380 BC) was a Logographer (legal), 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 in the third century BC. Life According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the author of the life ascribed to Plutarch, Lysias was born in 459 BC, which would accord with a tradition that Lysias reached, or passed, the age of eighty. This date was evidently obtained by reckoning back from the foundation of Thurii (444 BC), since there was a tradition that Lysias had gone there at the age of fifteen. Modern critics, in general, place his birth later, c. 445 BC, and place the trip to Thurii around 430 BC. Cephalus#Historical persons, Cephalus, his father, was a native of Syracuse, Italy, Syracuse, and on the invitation of Pericles had settled at Athens. The opening scene of Plato's ''The Republic (Plato), Republic'' is set at the hous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Attic Orators
The ten Attic orators were considered the greatest Greek 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 was not until the second century AD that the canon took on the form that is recognised today. Alexandrian "Canon of Ten" * Aeschines * Andocides * Antiphon * Demosthenes * Dinarchus * Hypereides * Isaeus * Isocrates * Lycurgus * Lysias As far as Homer (8th or 9th century BC), the art of effective speaking was of considerable value in Greece. In Homer's epic, the ''Iliad,'' the warrior, Achilles, was described as "a speaker of words and a doer of deeds".Iliad 9.443 Until the 5th century BC, however, oratory was not formally taught. It was not until the middle of that century that the Sicilian orator, Corax, along with his pupil, Tisias, began a formal study of rhetoric. In 427 BC, another Sicilian named Gorgias of Leontini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiphon (person)
Antiphon of Rhamnus (; ; 480–411 BC) was the earliest of the ten Attic orators, and an important figure in fifth-century Athenian political and intellectual life. Many people named Antiphon in ancient Greece, and many scholars have confused them due to a lack of resources.There is longstanding uncertainty and scholarly controversy over whether the Sophistic works of Antiphon 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 Early Life Antiphon was born around 480 and from an old wealthy family from the deme Rhamnus. Though Pseudo-Plutarch says he was born at the time of Persian wars in ''Live of the Ten Orators'', Ostwald believed the date of Antiphon’s birth is inconsistent with the age when he began publishing his speeches, which is about sixty, and h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andocides
Andocides (; , ''Andokides''; ) 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 in the third century BC. Life Andocides was the son of Leogoras, and was born in Athens around 440 BC. He belonged to the ancient Eupatrid family of the Kerykes, who traced their lineage up to Odysseus and the god Hermes.Pseudo-Plutarch, '' Lives of the Ten Orators''Plutarch, ''Alcibiades'' 21 During his youth, Andocides seems to have been employed on various occasions as ambassador to Thessaly, Macedonia, Molossia, Thesprotia, Italy, and Sicily. Although he was frequently attacked for his political opinions, he maintained his ground until, in 415 BC, he became involved in the charge brought against Alcibiades for having profaned the mysteries and mutilated the Herms on the eve of the departure of the Athenian expedition against Sicily. It appeared pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaeus
Isaeus ( ''Isaios''; fl. early 4th century BC) was one of the ten Attic orators according to the Alexandrian canon. He was a student of Isocrates in Athens, and later taught Demosthenes while working as a ''metic'' 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. Dionysius of Halicarnassus compared his style to Lysias, although Isaeus was more given to employing sophistry. 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 and the accession of Philip II of Macedon, so that he lived between 420 and 348 BC. He was a son of Diagoras, and was born at Chalcis in Euboea; some sources say he was born in Athens, 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 Lysias and Isoc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isocrates
Isocrates (; ; 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 through his teaching and written works. Greek rhetoric is commonly traced to Corax of Syracuse, who first formulated a set of rhetorical rules in the fifth century BC. His pupil Tisias was influential in the development of the rhetoric of the courtroom, and by some accounts was the teacher of Isocrates. Within two generations, rhetoric had become an important art, its growth driven by social and political changes such as democracy and courts of law. Isocrates starved himself to death - due to the perceived loss of Greek liberty, following the Battle of Chaeronea, two years before his 100th birthday. Early life and influences Isocrates was born into a prosperous family in Athens at the height of Athens' power shortly before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War (431� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypereides
Hypereides or Hyperides (, ''Hypereidēs''; c. 390 – 322 BC; English pronunciation with the stress variably on the penultimate or antepenultimate syllable) was an Athenian logographer (speech writer). He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace in the third century BC. He was a leader of the Athenian resistance to King Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. He was associated with Lycurgus and Demosthenes in exposing pro- Macedonian sympathizers. He is known for prosecuting Philippides of Paiania for his pro-Macedonian measures and his decree in honoring Alexander the Great. Rise to power Little is known about his early life except that he was the son of Glaucippus of the deme of Collytus and that he studied logography under Isocrates. In 360 BC, he prosecuted Autocles for treason. During the Social War (358–355 BC) he accused Aristophon, then one of the most inf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aeschines
Aeschines (; Greek: ; 389314 BC) was a Greek statesman and one of the ten Attic orators. Biography Although it is known he was born in Athens, the records regarding his parentage and early life are conflicting; but it seems probable that his parents, though poor, were respectable. Aeschines' father was Atrometus, an elementary school teacher of letters. His mother Glaukothea assisted in the religious rites of initiation for the poor. After assisting his father in his school, he tried his hand at acting with indifferent success, served with distinction in the army, and held several clerkships, amongst them the office of clerk to the '' Boule.'' This references: * Rudolf Hirzel, ''Der Dialog''. i. 129–140 * Theodor Gomperz, ''Greek Thinkers'', vol. iii. p. 342 (Eng. trans. G. G. Berry, London, 1905) Among the campaigns that Aeschines participated in were Phlius in the Peloponnese (368 BC), Battle of Mantinea (362 BC), and Phokion's campaign in Euboea (349 BC). The fall of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as well as the lawyer's area of practice. In many jurisdictions, the legal profession is divided into various branches — including barristers, solicitors, conveyancers, notaries, canon lawyer — who perform different tasks related to the law. Historically, the role of lawyers can be traced back to ancient civilizations such as Greece and Rome. In modern times, the practice of law includes activities such as representing clients in criminal or civil court, advising on business transactions, protecting intellectual property, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. Depending on the country, the education required to become a lawyer can range from completing an undergraduate law degree to undergoing postgraduate education and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." Twain's novels include ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and its sequel, ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." He also wrote ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' (1889) and ''Pudd'nhead Wilson'' (1894) and cowrote ''The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today'' (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner. The novelist Ernest Hemingway claimed that "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called ''Huckleberry Finn''." Twain was raised in Hannibal, Missouri, which later provided the setting for both ''Tom Sawyer'' and ''Huckleberry Finn''. He served an apprenticeship with a printer early in his career, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
