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Demosthenes

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Ancient History,
Classical History and Mythology; Historical figures

               Demosthenes
           Bust of Demosthenes
   Louvre, Paris, France
   Born 384 BC
        Athens
   Died 322 BC
        Island of Calauria, modern Poros

   Demosthenes (384–322 BC, Greek: Δημοσθένης) was a prominent Greek
   statesman and orator 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 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 twenty, in which he argued effectively
   to gain from his guardians what was left of his inheritance. For a
   time, Demosthenes made his living as a professional speech-writer (
   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 would go on to devote the most productive years of his life to
   opposing Macedon's expansion. He idealized his city and strove
   throughout his life to restore Athens' supremacy and motivate his
   compatriots against Philip II of Macedon. He sought to preserve his
   city's freedom and to establish an alliance against Macedon, in an
   unsuccessful attempt to impede Philip's plans to expand his influence
   southwards by conquering all the Greek states. After Philip's death,
   Demosthenes played a leading part in his city's uprising against the
   new King of Macedon, Alexander the Great. However, his efforts failed
   and the revolt was met with a harsh Macedonian reaction. To prevent a
   similar revolt against his own rule, Alexander's successor, Antipater,
   sent his men to track Demosthenes down. Demosthenes took his own life,
   in order to avoid being arrested by Archias, Antipater's confidant.

   The Alexandrian Canon compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and
   Aristarchus of Samothrace recognized Demosthenes as one of the 10
   greatest Attic orators and logographers. According to Longinus,
   Demosthenes "perfected to the utmost the tone of lofty speech, living
   passions, copiousness, readiness, speed". Cicero acclaimed him as "the
   perfect orator" who lacked nothing, while Quintilian extolled him as
   "lex orandi" ("the standard of oratory") and underscored that "inter
   omnes unus excellat" ("he stands alone among all the orators").

Early years (384 BC–355 BC)

Family, education and personal life

   Bust of Demosthenes (Musei Capitolini, Rome), Roman copy of a Greek
   original sculpted by Polyeuktos
   Enlarge
   Bust of Demosthenes ( Musei Capitolini, Rome), Roman copy of a Greek
   original sculpted by Polyeuktos

   Demosthenes was born in 384 BC, during the last year of the 98th
   Olympiad or the first year of the 99th Olympiad. His father - also
   named Demosthenes - who belonged to the local tribe, Pandionis, and
   lived in the deme of Paeania in the Athenian countryside, was a wealthy
   sword-maker. Aeschines, Demosthenes' greatest political rival,
   maintained that his mother Kleoboule was a Scythian by blood, an
   allegation which is disputed by some modern scholars. Demosthenes was
   orphaned at the age of seven. Although his father provided well for
   him, his legal guardians, Aphobus, Demophon and Therippides, mishandled
   his inheritance.

   As soon as Demosthenes came of age in 366 BC, he demanded that they
   render an account of their management. According to the orator, the
   account revealed the misappropriation of his property. Although his
   father left an estate of nearly fourteen talents, (somewhat over 3,150
   golden pounds or 400,000 United States dollars) Demosthenes asserted
   that the guardians had left nothing "except the house, and fourteen
   slaves and thirty silver minae (30 minae = ½ talent)". At the age of
   20, Demosthenes sued his trustees in order to recover his patrimony and
   delivered five orations himself: three Against Aphobus between during
   363 BC and 362 BC and two Against Ontenor during 362 BC and 361 BC. The
   courts fixed Demosthenes' damages at ten talents. When all the trials
   came to an end, however, the orator succeeded in retrieving only a
   portion of his inheritance.

   Between his coming of age in 366 BC and the trials that took place in
   364 BC, Demosthenes and his guardians negotiated acrimoniously, but
   were unable to reach an agreement, as neither side was willing to make
   concessions. At the same time, Demosthenes prepared himself for the
   trials and improved his oratory skill. As an adolescent, his curiosity
   had been noticed by the orator Callistratus, who was then at the height
   of his reputation, having just won a case of considerable importance.
   According to Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philologist and philosopher,
   and Constantine Paparregopoulus, a major Greek historian, Demosthenes
   was a student of Isocrates; Cicero, Quintillian and the Roman
   biographer Hermippus maintain that Demosthenes was a student of Plato.
   Lucian, a Roman-Syrian rhetorician and satirist, includes the
   philosophers Aristotle, Theophrastus and Xenocrates among his teachers.
   These claims are nowadays disputed. According to Plutarch, Demosthenes
   employed Isaeus as his master in Rhetoric, even though Isocrates was
   then teaching this subject, either because he could not pay Isocrates
   the prescribed fee or because Demosthenes believed Isaeus' style better
   suited a vigorous and astute orator such as himself . Curtius, a German
   archaeologist and historian, likened the relation between Isaeus and
   Demosthenes to "an intellectual armed alliance".

   It has also been said that Demosthenes paid Isaeus 10,000 drachmas
   (somewhat over 1½ talent) on the condition that the teacher should
   withdraw from a school of Rhetoric which he had opened, and should
   devote himself wholly to his new pupil. Another version credits Isaeus
   with having taught Demosthenes without charge. According to Sir Richard
   C. Jebb, a British classical scholar, "the intercourse between Isaeus
   and Demosthenes as teacher and learner can have been either very
   intimate or of very long duration". Konstantinos Tsatsos, a Greek
   professor and academician, believes that Isaeus helped Demosthenes edit
   his initial judicial orations against his guardians. Demosthenes is
   also said to have admired the historian Thucydides. In the Illiterate
   Book-Fancier, Lucian mentions eight beautiful copies of Thucydides made
   by Demosthenes, all in the orator's own handwriting. These references
   hint at the orator's respect for a historian he must have assiduously
   studied.

   According to Pseudo-Plutarch, Demosthenes was married once. The only
   information about his wife, whose name is unknown, is that she was the
   daughter of Heliodorus, a prominent citizen. Demosthenes had also a
   daughter, "the first and only one who ever called him father",
   according to Aeschines' trenchant comment. The girl died young and
   unmarried a few days before Philip's death.

Career as logographer

   "If you feel bound to act in the spirit of that dignity, whenever you
   come into court to give judgement on public causes, you must bethink
   yourselves that with his staff and his badge every one of you receives
   in trust the ancient pride of Athens."
   Demosthenes (On the Crown, 210) - The orator's defense of the honour of
   the courts was in contrast to the improper actions of which Aeschines
   accused him.

   In order to make his living, Demosthenes became a professional litigant
   and logographer, writing speeches for use in private legal suits. He
   was so successful that he soon acquired wealthy and powerful clients.
   The Athenian logographer could remain anonymous, allowing him to serve
   personal interests, even if it prejudiced the client. Aeschines accused
   Demosthenes of unethically disclosing his clients' arguments to their
   opponents. He attacked his political opponent, rhetorically querying:
   "And the born traitor--how shall we recognize him? Will he not imitate
   you, Demosthenes, in his treatment of those whom chance throws in his
   way and who have trusted him? Will he not take pay for writing speeches
   for them to deliver in the courts, and then reveal the contents of
   these speeches to their opponents?"

   As an example, Aeschines accused Demosthenes of writing a speech for
   Phormion, a wealthy banker, and then communicating it to Apollodorus,
   who was bringing a capital charge against Phormion. Plutarch supported
   this accusation, pointing out that Demosthenes "was thought to have
   acted dishonorably".

Early politics (354 BC–350 BC)

Speech training

   Demosthenes Practicing Oratory by Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ (1842–1923).
   Demosthenes used to study in an underground room he constructed
   himself. He also used to talk with pebbles in his mouth and recited
   verses while running. To strengthen his voice, he spoke on the seashore
   over the roar of the waves.
   Enlarge
   Demosthenes Practicing Oratory by Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ (1842–1923).
   Demosthenes used to study in an underground room he constructed
   himself. He also used to talk with pebbles in his mouth and recited
   verses while running. To strengthen his voice, he spoke on the seashore
   over the roar of the waves.

   Even before he was 21 years of age in 363 BC, Demosthenes had already
   demonstrated an interest in politics. Then, in 363 BC, 359 BC and 357
   BC, he undertook the function of the trierarch, being responsible for
   the outfitting and maintenance of a trireme. In 348 BC, he became a
   choregos, paying the costs of a theatrical production.

   Although Demosthenes contended that he never plead in a single private
   case, it still remains unclear when and if Demosthenes abandoned the
   profitable but less prestigious profession of the logographer.
   According to Plutarch, when he first addressed himself to the people,
   he was derided for his strange and uncouth style, "which was cumbered
   with long sentences and tortured with formal arguments to a most harsh
   and disagreeable excess".

   Nonetheless, some citizens discerned his talent. When he first left the
   ecclesia (the Athenian Assembly) disheartened, an old man named Eunomus
   encouraged him, saying that his diction was very much like that of
   Pericles. Another time the ecclesia had refused to hear him and he was
   going home dejected, an actor named Satyrus followed him and entered
   into a familiar conversation with him.

   As a boy Demosthenes had suffered from a speech impediment, an
   inarticulate and stammering pronunciation. This caused Aeschines to
   taunt him and refer to him in his speeches with the nickname "Batalus",
   ostensibly invented by his own pedagogues or by the little boys with
   whom he was playing. According to Plutarch, he also had a weakness in
   his voice, "a perplexed and indistinct utterance and a shortness of
   breath, which, by breaking and disjointing his sentences much obscured
   the sense and meaning of what he spoke." Demosthenes soon undertook a
   disciplined program to overcome these shortcomings and improve his
   locution. He worked on his diction, his voice and his gestures. His
   zeal and perseverance have passed into a proverb. It is, however,
   unknown whether these vignettes are factual accounts of events in
   Demosthenes' life or merely anecdotes used to illustrate his
   perseverance and determination.

Increased political activity

   Between 354 BC and 350 BC, Demosthenes continued practicing law
   privately, while, at the same time, he became increasingly interested
   in public affairs. He mainly remained a judicial orator, but started
   involving himself in the politics of the Athenian democracy. In 355 BC
   he wrote Against Androtion and a year later Against Leptines, two
   fierce attacks on individuals who attempted to repeal certain tax
   exemptions. The subject of Against Timocrates and Against Aristocrates
   is the need to crack down on corruption. Demosthenes denounced measures
   regarded as dishonest or unworthy of Athenian traditions. All these
   speeches offer early glimpses of his general principles on foreign
   policy, such as the importance of the navy, of alliances and of
   national honour.
   "While the vessel is safe, whether it be a large or a small one, then
   is the time for sailor and helmsman and everyone in his turn to show
   his zeal and to take care that it is not capsized by anyone's malice or
   inadvertence; but when the sea has overwhelmed it, zeal is useless."
   Demosthenes (Third Philippic, 69) - The orator warned his countrymen of
   the disasters Athens would suffer, if they continued to remain idle and
   indifferent to the challenges of their times.

   In 354 BC, Demosthenes delivered his first political oration, On the
   Navy. The orator espoused moderation and proposed the reform of
   "symmories"(boards) as a source of funding for the Athenian fleet. In
   352 BC, he delivered For the Megalopolitans and a year later On the
   Liberty of the Rodians. In both speeches, the orator opposed Eubulus,
   the most powerful Athenian statesman of the period 355 BC to 342 BC,
   who was against any intervention in the internal affairs of the other
   Greek cities.

   Although none of his early orations were successful, Demosthenes
   established himself as an important political personality and broke
   with Eubulus' faction, a prominent member of which was Aeschines. He
   laid the foundations for his future political successes and for
   becoming the leader of his own party. His arguments revealed his desire
   to articulate Athens' needs and interests.

   In 351 BC, Demosthenes felt strong enough to express his view
   concerning the most important foreign policy issue facing Athens at
   that time: the stance his city should take towards Philip II of
   Macedon. According to Jacqueline de Romilly, a French philologist and
   member of the Académie française, the threat of Philip would give
   Demosthenes' stances a focus and a raison d'être. From this point on,
   Demosthenes' career is virtually the history of Athenian foreign
   policy.

Confronting Philip

First Philippic and the Olynthiacs (351 BC–349 BC)

   Philip II of Macedon: victory medal (niketerion) struck in Tarsus, 2nd
   c. BC (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris). Demosthenes saw the King of
   Macedon as a menace to the autonomy of all Greek cities.
   Enlarge
   Philip II of Macedon: victory medal (niketerion) struck in Tarsus, 2nd
   c. BC ( Cabinet des Médailles, Paris). Demosthenes saw the King of
   Macedon as a menace to the autonomy of all Greek cities.

   Most of Demosthenes' major orations were directed against the growing
   power of King Philip II of Macedon. Since 357 BC, when Philip seized
   Amphipolis and Pydna, Athens had been formally at war with the
   Macedonians. In 352 BC, Demosthenes characterized Philip as the very
   worst enemy of his city; this speech presaged the fierce attacks that
   Demosthenes would launch against the Macedonian king over the ensuing
   years. A year later he criticized those dismissing Philip as a person
   of no account and warned them that he was as dangerous as the King of
   Persia.

   In 352 BC, Athenian troops successfully opposed Philip at Thermopylae,
   but the Macedonian victory over the Phocians at the Battle of Crocus
   Field shook the orator. The theme of the First Philippic (351 BC-350
   BC) was preparedness and the reform of the theoric fund, a mainstay of
   Eubulus' policy. In his rousing call for resistance, Demosthenes asked
   his countrymen to take the necessary action and asserted that "for a
   free people there can be no greater compulsion than shame for their
   position".
   "Only money we must have, and without money nothing can be done that
   ought to be done."
   Demosthenes (First Olynthiac, 20) - The orator took great pains to
   convince his countrymen that the reform of the theoric fund was
   necessary to finance the city's military preparatios.

   From this moment until 341 BC, all of Demosthenes' speeches referred to
   the same issue, the struggle against Philip. In 349 BC, Philip attacked
   Olynthus, an ally of Athens. In the three Olynthiacs, Demosthenes
   criticized his compatriots for being idle and urged Athens to help
   Olynthus. He also insulted Philip, calling him a "barbarian". Despite
   Demosthenes' warnings, the Athenians engaged in a useless war in Euboea
   and offered no military support to Olynthus.

Case of Meidias (348 BC)

   In 348 BC a peculiar event occurred: Meidias, a wealthy Athenian,
   slapped in public Demosthenes, who was at the time a choregos at the
   Greater Dionysia, a large religious festival in honour of the god
   Dionysus. Meidias was a friend of Eubulus and supporter of the
   unsuccessful excursion in Euboea. He also was an old enemy of the
   orator; in 361 BC he had broken violently into the house of
   Demosthenes, with his brother Thrasylochus, to take possession of it.
   "Just think. The instant this court rises, each of you will walk home,
   one quicker, another more leisurely, not anxious, not glancing behind
   him, not fearing whether he is going to run up against a friend or an
   enemy, a big man or a little one, a strong man or a weak one, or
   anything of that sort. And why? Because in his heart he knows, and is
   confident, and has learned to trust the State, that no one shall seize
   or insult or strike him."
   Demosthenes (Against Meidias, 221) - The orator asked the Athenians to
   defend their legal system, by making an example of the defendant for
   the instruction of others.

   Demosthenes decided to prosecute his wealthy opponent and wrote the
   judicial oration Against Meidias. This speech gives valuable
   information about Athenian law at the time and especially about the
   Greek concept of hybris (aggravated assault), which was regarded as a
   crime not only against the city but against society as a whole. The
   orator underscored that a democratic state perishes, if the rule of law
   is undermined by wealthy and unscrupulous men, and asserted that the
   citizens acquire power and authority in all state affairs due "to the
   strength of the laws". According to philologist Henri Weil, Demosthenes
   dropped his charges for political reasons and never delivered Against
   Meidias, although Aeschines maintained that Demosthenes received money
   to drop the case.

Peace of Philocrates (347 BC–345 BC)

   In 348 BC, Philip conquered Olynthus and razed it to the ground. In the
   wake of this Macedonian victory, which also included the conquest of
   the entire Chalcidice and all the states of the Chalcidic federation
   that Olynthus had once led, Athens sought to make peace with Macedon.
   Demosthenes was among those who orientated themselves towards a
   compromise. In 347 BC, an Athenian delegation, comprising Demosthenes,
   Aeschines and Philocrates, was officially sent to Pella to negotiate a
   peace treaty. In his first encounter with Philip, Demosthenes is said
   to have collapsed because of his fright.

   Philip imposed his own harsh terms that the ecclesia officially
   accepted. Nevertheless, when an Athenian delegation travelled to Pella
   to put Philip under oath for the final conclusion of the treaty, the
   King of Macedon was campaigning abroad. He expected that he would hold
   safely any Athenian possessions which he might seize before the
   ratification. Being very anxious about the delay, Demosthenes insisted
   that the embassy should travel to the place where they would find
   Philip and swear him in without delay. Despite his suggestions, the
   Athenian envoys, including himself and Aeschines, remained in Pella,
   until Philip successfully concluded his excursion in Thrace.

   Finally, peace was sworn in Pherae, but Demosthenes accused the other
   envoys of venality. Just after the conclusion of the Peace of
   Philocrates, Philip passed Thermopylae, and subdued Phocis; Athens made
   no move to support the Phocians. Supported by Thebes and Thessaly,
   Macedon took control of Phocis' votes in the Amphictyonic League, a
   Greek religious organization formed to support the greater temples of
   Apollo and Demeter. Despite some reluctance on the part of the Athenian
   leaders, Athens finally accepted Philip's entry into the Council of the
   League. Demosthenes was among those who recommended this stance in his
   oration On the Peace.

Second and Third Philippic (344 BC–341 BC)

   Satellite image of the Thracian Chersonese and the surrounding area.
   The Chersonese became the focus of a bitter territorial dispute between
   Athens and Macedon. It was eventually ceded to Philip in 338 BC.
   Enlarge
   Satellite image of the Thracian Chersonese and the surrounding area.
   The Chersonese became the focus of a bitter territorial dispute between
   Athens and Macedon. It was eventually ceded to Philip in 338 BC.

   In 344 BC Demosthenes travelled to Peloponnese, in order to detach as
   many cities as possible from Macedon's influence, but his efforts were
   generally unsuccessful. Most of the Peloponnesians saw Philip as the
   guarantor of their freedom and sent a joint embassy to Athens to
   express their grievances against Demosthenes' activities. In response
   to these complaints, Demosthenes delivered the Second Philippic, a
   vehement attack against Philip. In 343 BC Demosthenes delivered On the
   False Embassy against Aeschines, who was facing a charge of high
   treason. Nonetheless, Aeschines was acquitted by the narrow margin of
   thirty votes by a jury which may have numbered as many as 1,501.

   In 343 BC, Macedonian forces were conducting campaigns in Epirus and, a
   year later, Philip campaigned in Thrace. He also negotiated with the
   Athenians an amendment to the Peace of Philocrates. When the Macedonian
   army approached Chersonese (now known as the Gallipoli Peninsula), an
   Athenian general named Diopeithes ravaged the maritime district of
   Thrace, thus inciting Philip's rage. Because of this turbulence, the
   Athenian Assembly convened. Demosthenes delivered On the Chersonese and
   convinced the Athenians not to recall Diopeithes. During the same year,
   he delivered the Third Philippic, which is considered to be the best of
   his political orations. Using all the power of his eloquence, he
   demanded resolute action against Philip and called for a burst of
   energy from the Athenian people. He told them that it would be "better
   to die a thousand times than pay court to Philip". Demosthenes now
   dominated Athenian politics and was able to considerably weaken the
   pro-Macedonian faction of Aeschines.

Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)

   The battle of Chaeronea (map designed by Marco Prins and Jona
   Lendering) took place the autumn of 338 BC and resulted in a
   significant victory for Philip, who established Macedon's supremacy
   over the Greek cities.
   Enlarge
   The battle of Chaeronea (map designed by Marco Prins and Jona
   Lendering) took place the autumn of 338 BC and resulted in a
   significant victory for Philip, who established Macedon's supremacy
   over the Greek cities.

   In 341 BC Demosthenes was sent to Byzantium, where he renewed the
   alliance between that city and Athens. Thanks to the orator's
   diplomatic manoeuvres Abydos also entered into an alliance with Athens.
   These developments worried Philip and increased his anger towards
   Demosthenes. The Athenian Assembly, however, laid aside Philip's
   grievances against Demosthenes' conduct and denounced the peace treaty,
   an action equivalent to an official declaration of war. In 339 BC
   Philip made his last and most effective bid to conquer southern Greece,
   assisted by Aeschines' stance in the Amphictyonic Council. During a
   meeting of the Council, Philip accused the Amfissian Locrians of
   intruding on consecrated ground. The presiding officer of the Council,
   a Thessalian named Cottyphus, proposed the convocation of an
   Amphictyonic Congress to inflict a harsh punishment upon the Locrians.
   Aeschines agreed with this proposition and maintained that the
   Athenians should participate in the Congress. Demosthenes reversed,
   however, Aeschines' initiatives and Athens finally abstained. After the
   failure of a first military excursion against the Locrians, the summer
   session of the Amphictyonic Council gave command of the league's forces
   to Philip and asked him to lead a second excursion. Philip decided to
   act at once; in the winter of 339 BC– 338 BC, he passed through
   Thermopylae, entered Amfissa and defeated the Locrians. After this
   significant victory, Philip swiftly entered Phocis in 338 BC. He then
   turned south-east down the Cephissus valley, seized Elateia, and
   restored the fortifications of the city.

   At the same time, Athens orchestrated the creation of an alliance with
   Euboea, Megara, Achaea, Corinth, Acarnania and some other states in the
   Peloponnese. However, the most desirable ally for Athens was Thebes.
   Therefore, Demosthenes was sent to the Boeotian city by Athens; Philip
   also sent a deputation, but the Athenian orator succeeded in securing
   an alliance with Thebes. Demosthenes' oration before the Theban people
   is not extant and, therefore, the arguments he used to convince the
   Thebans remain unknown. In any case, the alliance came at a price;
   Thebes' control of Boeotia was recognized, Thebes was to command solely
   on land and jointly at sea, and Athens was to pay two thirds of the
   campaign's cost.

   While the Athenians and the Thebans were preparing themselves for war,
   Philip made a final attempt to appease his enemies, proposing in vain a
   new peace treaty. After a few trivial encounters between the two sides,
   which resulted in minor Athenian victories, Philip drew the phalanx of
   the Athenian and Theban confederates in a plain near Chaeronea, where
   he defeated them. Demosthenes fought as a mere hoplite. Such was
   Philip's hate for Demosthenes that, according to Diodorus Siculus, the
   King after his victory sneered at the misfortunes of the Athenian
   statesman. However, the Athenian orator and statesman Demades is said
   to have remarked: "O King, when Fortune has cast you in the role of
   Agamemnon, are you not ashamed to act the part of Thersites (an obscene
   soldier of the Greek army during the Trojan War) ?" Stung by these
   words, Philip immediately altered his demeanour.

Last political initiatives and death

Confronting Alexander and delivering On the Crown

   Alexander Mosaic from Pompeii, from a 3rd century BC original Greek
   painting, now lost. In 336–335 BC, the King of Macedon crippled any
   attempt of the Greek cities at resistance and shattered Demosthenes'
   hopes for Athenian independence.
   Enlarge
   Alexander Mosaic from Pompeii, from a 3rd century BC original Greek
   painting, now lost. In 336–335 BC, the King of Macedon crippled any
   attempt of the Greek cities at resistance and shattered Demosthenes'
   hopes for Athenian independence.

   After Chaeronea, Philip inflicted a harsh punishment upon Thebes, but
   made peace with Athens on very lenient terms. Demosthenes encouraged
   the fortification of Athens and was chosen by the ecclesia to deliver
   the Funeral Oration. In 337 BC, Philip created the League of Corinth, a
   confederation of Greek states under his leadership, and returned to
   Pella. In 336 BC, Philip was assassinated at the wedding of his
   daughter, Cleopatra of Macedonia, to King Alexander of Epirus. After
   Philip's death, the army proclaimed Alexander, then aged 20, as the new
   King of Macedon. Greek cities like Athens and Thebes saw in this change
   of leadership an opportunity to regain their full independence.
   Demosthenes celebrated Philip's assassination and played a leading part
   in his city's uprising. According to Aeschines, "it was but the seventh
   day after the death of his daughter, and though the ceremonies of
   mourning were not yet completed, he put a garland on his head and white
   raiment on his body, and there he stood making thank-offerings,
   violating all decency." Demosthenes also sent envoys to Attalus, whom
   he considered to be an internal opponent of Alexander. Nonetheless,
   Alexander moved swiftly to Thebes, which submitted shortly after the
   King's appearance at its gates. When the Athenians learned that
   Alexander had moved quickly to Boeotia, they panicked and begged the
   new King of Macedon for mercy. Alexander admonished them but imposed no
   punishment.
   "You stand revealed in your life and conduct, in your public
   performances and also in your public abstinences. A project approved by
   the people is going forward. Aeschines is speechless. A regrettable
   incident is reported. Aeschines is in evidence. He reminds one of an
   old sprain or fracture: the moment you are out of health it begins to
   be active."
   Demosthenes (On the Crown, 198) - In On the Crown Demosthenes fiercely
   assaulted and finally neutralized Aeschines, his formidable political
   opponent.

   In 335 BC Alexander felt free to engage the Thracians and the
   Illyrians. While he was campaigning in the north, the Thebans and the
   Athenians rebelled once again, believing in the rumors that Alexander
   was dead. Darius III of Persia financed the Greek cities that rose up
   against Macedon, and Demosthenes is said to have received about 300
   talents on behalf of Athens and to have faced accusations of
   embezzlement. Alexander reacted immediately and razed Thebes to the
   ground. He did not attack Athens, but demanded the exile of all
   anti-Macedonian politicians, Demosthenes first of all, a request turned
   down by the ecclesia.

   Despite the unsuccessful ventures against Philip and Alexander, the
   Athenians still respected Demosthenes. In 336 BC, the orator Ctesiphon
   proposed that Athens honour Demosthenes for his services to the city by
   presenting him, according to custom, with a golden crown. This proposal
   became a political issue and in 330 BC, Aeschines prosecuted Ctesiphon
   on charges of legal irregularities. In his most brilliant speech, On
   the Crown, Demosthenes effectively defended Ctesiphon and attacked
   vehemently those who would have preferred peace with Macedon. The
   orator was unrepentant about his past actions and policies and insisted
   that, when in power, the constant aim of his policies was the honour
   and the ascendancy of his country; and on every occasion and in all
   business he preserved his loyalty to Athens. He finally defeated
   Aeschines, although his enemy's legal objections to the crowning were
   probably valid.

Case of Harpalus

   In 324 BC Harpalus, to whom Alexander had entrusted huge treasures,
   absconded and sought refuge in Athens. Demosthenes, at first, advised
   that he be chased out of the city. Finally, Harpalus was imprisoned
   despite the dissent of Hypereides, an anti-Macedonian statesman and
   former ally of Demosthenes. The ecclesia, after a proposal of
   Demosthenes, decided to take control of Harpalus' money, which was
   entrusted to a committee presided over by Demosthenes. When the
   committee counted the treasure, they found they only had half the money
   Harpalus had declared he had. Nevertheless, they decided not to
   disclose the deficit. When Harpalus escaped, the Areopagus conducted an
   inquiry and charged Demosthenes with mishandling 20 talents. During
   Demosthenes' trial, Hypereides argued that the defendant did not
   disclose the huge deficit, because he was bribed by Harpalus. The
   orator was fined and imprisoned, but he soon escaped. It remains
   unclear whether the accusations against him were just or not. In any
   case, the Athenians soon repealed the sentence.
   "For a house, I take it, or a ship or anything of that sort must have
   its chief strength in its substructure; and so too in affairs of state
   the principles and the foundations must be truth and justice."
   Demosthenes (Second Olynthiac, 10) - The orator faced serious
   accusations more than once, but he never admitted to any improper
   actions and insisted that it is impossible "to gain permanent power by
   injustice, perjury, and falsehood".

   After Alexander's death in 323 BC, Demosthenes again urged the
   Athenians to seek independence from Macedonian control in what became
   known as the Lamian War. However, Antipater, Alexander's successor,
   quelled all opposition and demanded that the Athenians turn over
   Demosthenes and Hypereides, among others. Following his request, the
   ecclesia adopted a decree condemning the most prominent anti-Macedonian
   agitators to death. Demosthenes escaped to a sanctuary on the island of
   Calauria, where he was later discovered by Archias, a confidant of
   Antipater. The orator committed suicide before his capture by taking
   poison out of a reed, pretending he wanted to write a letter to his
   family. When Demosthenes felt that the poison was working on his body,
   he said to Archias: "Now, as soon as you please you may commence the
   part of Creon in the tragedy, and cast out this body of mine unburied.
   But, O gracious Neptune, I, for my part, while I am yet alive, arise up
   and depart out of this sacred place; though Antipater and the
   Macedonians have not left so much as the temple unpolluted." After
   saying these words, he passed by the altar, fell down and died. Years
   after Demosthenes' suicide, the Athenians erected a statue to honour
   him and decreed that the state should provide meals to his descendants
   in the Prytaneum.

Assessments

Political career

   Bust of Demosthenes, Römisch-Germanisches Museum, Köln
   Enlarge
   Bust of Demosthenes, Römisch-Germanisches Museum, Köln

   Plutarch lauds Demosthenes for not being of a fickle disposition.
   Rebutting historian Theopompus, the biographer insists that for "the
   same party and post in politics which he held from the beginning, to
   these he kept constant to the end; and was so far from leaving them
   while he lived, that he chose rather to forsake his life than his
   purpose". On the other hand, Polybius, a Greek historian of the
   Mediterranean world, was highly critical of Demosthenes' policies.
   Polybius accused him of having launched unjustified verbal attacks on
   great men of other cities, branding them unjustly as traitors to the
   Greeks. The historian maintains that Demosthenes measured everything by
   the interests of his own city, imagining that all the Greeks ought to
   have their eyes fixed upon Athens. According to Polybius, the only
   thing the Athenians eventually got by their opposition to Philip was
   the defeat at Chaeronea. "And had it not been for the king's
   magnanimity and regard for his own reputation, their misfortunes would
   have gone even further, thanks to the policy of Demosthenes".
   "The man who deems himself born only to his parents will wait for his
   natural and destined end; the son of his country is willing to die
   rather than see her enslaved, and will look upon those outrages and
   indignities, which a commonwealth in subjection is compelled to endure,
   as more dreadful than death itself."
   Demosthenes (On the Crown, 205) - During his long political career
   Demosthenes urged his countrymen to defend their city and to preserve
   their freedom and their democracy.

   Paparregopoulus extols Demosthenes' patriotism, but criticizes him as
   being short-sighted. According to this critique, Demosthenes should
   have understood that the ancient Greek states could only survive
   unified under the leadership of Macedon. Therefore, Demosthenes is
   accused of misjudging events, opponents and opportunities and of being
   unable to foresee Philip's inevitable triumph. He is criticized for
   having overrated Athens' capacity to revive and challenge Macedon. His
   city had lost most of its Aegean allies, whereas Philip had
   consolidated his hold over Macedonia and was master of enormous mineral
   wealth. Chris Carey, a professor of Greek in UCL, concludes that
   Demosthenes was a better orator and political operator than strategist.
   Nevertheless, the same scholar underscores that "pragmatists" like
   Aeschines or Phocion had no inspiring vision to rival that of
   Demosthenes. The orator asked the Athenians to choose that which is
   just and honorable, before their own safety and preservation. The
   people preferred Demosthenes' activism and even the bitter defeat at
   Chaeronea was regarded as a price worth paying in the attempt to retain
   freedom and influence. According to Professor of Greek Arthur Wallace
   Pickard-Cambridge, success may be a poor criterion for judging the
   actions of people like Demosthenes, who were motivated by the ideal of
   political liberty. Athens was asked by Philip to sacrifice its freedom
   and its democracy, while Demosthenes longed for the city's brilliance.
   He endeavored to revive its imperilled values and, thus, he became an
   "educator of the people" (in the words of Werner Jaeger).

   The fact that Demosthenes fought at the battle of Chaeronea as a
   hoplite indicates that he lacked any military skills. According to
   historian Thomas Babington Macaulay, in his time the division between
   political and military offices was beginning to be strongly marked.
   Almost no politician, with the exception of Phocion, was at the same
   time an apt orator and a competent general. Demosthenes dealt in
   policies and ideas, and war was not his business. This contrast between
   Demosthenes' intellectual prowess and his deficiencies in terms of
   vigor, stamina, military skill and strategic vision is illustrated by
   the inscription his countrymen engraved on the base of his statue:


   Demosthenes

              Had you for Greece been strong, as wise you were,

                    The Macedonian had not conquered her.


                                                               Demosthenes

Oratorical skill

   According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a Greek historian and teacher
   of rhetoric, Demosthenes represented the final stage in the development
   of Attic prose. Dionysius asserts that the orator brought together the
   best features of the basic types of style; he used the middle or normal
   type style ordinarily and applied the archaic type and the type of
   plain elegance where they were fitting. In each one of the three types
   he was better than its special masters. He is, therefore, regarded as a
   consummate orator, adept in the techniques of oratory, which are
   brought together in his work. In his initial judicial orations, the
   influence of both Lysias and Isaeus is obvious, but his marked,
   original style is already revealed.

   According to the classical scholar Harry Thurston Peck, Demosthenes
   "affects no learning; he aims at no elegance; he seeks no glaring
   ornaments; he rarely touches the heart with a soft or melting appeal,
   and when he does, it is only with an effect in which a third-rate
   speaker would have surpassed him. He had no wit, no humour, no
   vivacity, in our acceptance of these terms. The secret of his power is
   simple, for it lies essentially in the fact that his political
   principles were interwoven with his very spirit." In this judgement,
   Peck agrees with Jaeger, who said that the imminent political decision
   imbued the orator's speech with a fascinating artistic power.
   Demosthenes was apt at combining abruptness with the extended period,
   brevity with breadth. Hence, his style harmonizes with his fervent
   commitment. His language is simple and natural, never far-fetched or
   artificial. According to Jebb, Demosthenes was a true artist who could
   make his art obey him. For his part, Aeschines stigmatized his
   intensity, attributing to his rival strings of absurd and incoherent
   images. Dionysius stated that Demosthenes' only shortcoming is the lack
   of humor, although Quintilian regards this deficiency as a virtue. The
   main criticism of Demosthenes' art, however, seems to have rested
   chiefly on his known reluctance to speak extempore; he often declined
   to comment on subjects he had not studied beforehand. However, he gave
   the most elaborate preparation to all his speeches and, therefore, his
   arguments were the products of careful study. He was also famous for
   his caustic wit.

   According to Cicero, Demosthenes regarded "delivery" (gestures, voice
   etc.) as more important than style. Although he lacked Aeschines'
   charming voice and Demades's skill at improvisation, he made efficient
   use of his body to accentuate his words. Thus he managed to project his
   ideas and arguments much more forcefully. Nonetheless, his delivery was
   not accepted by everybody in antiquity: Demetrius Phalereus and the
   comedians ridiculed Demosthenes' "theatricality", whilst Aeschines
   regarded Leodamas of Acharnae as superior to him.

Rhetorical legacy

   Phryne Going to the Public Baths as Venus and Demosthenes Taunted by
   Aeschines by J. M. W. Turner (1838).
   Enlarge
   Phryne Going to the Public Baths as Venus and Demosthenes Taunted by
   Aeschines by J. M. W. Turner (1838).

   Demosthenes' fame continued down the ages. The scholars at the Library
   of Alexandria carefully edited the manuscripts of his speeches, while
   Roman schoolboys studied his art as part of their own oratorical
   training. Juvenal acclaimed him as "largus et exundans ingenii fons" (a
   large and overflowing fountain of genius) and Cicero was inspired by
   Demosthenes for his speeches against Mark Antony, which were called
   Philippics too. Plutarch drew attention in his Life of Demosthenes to
   the strong similarities between the personalities and careers of
   Demosthenes and Marcus Tullius Cicero:


   Demosthenes

     The divine power seems originally to have designed Demosthenes and
      Cicero upon the same plan, giving them many similarities in their
   natural characters, as their passion for distinction and their love of
    liberty in civil life, and their want of courage in dangers and war,
   and at the same time also to have added many accidental resemblances. I
   think there can hardly be found two other orators, who, from small and
   obscure beginnings, became so great and mighty; who both contested with
   kings and tyrants; both lost their daughters, were driven out of their
   country, and returned with honour; who, flying from thence again, were
    both seized upon by their enemies, and at last ended their lives with
                      the liberty of their countrymen.


   Demosthenes

   During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Demosthenes had a reputation
   for eloquence. He was read more than any other ancient orator; only
   Cicero offered any real competition. French author and lawyer Guillaume
   du Vair praises his speeches for their artful arrangement and elegant
   style, while John Jewel, bishop of Salisbury, and Jacques Amyot, a
   French Renaissance writer and translator, regard Demosthenes as a great
   or even the "supreme" orator.

   In modern history, famous orators like Henry Clay would mimic
   Demosthenes' technique. His ideas and principles survived, influencing
   prominent politicians and movements of our times. Hence, he constituted
   a source of inspiration for the authors of the Federalist Papers
   (series of 85 articles arguing for the ratification of the United
   States Constitution) and for the major orators of the French
   Revolution. Georges Clemenceau was among those who idealized the
   Athenian orator and wrote a book about him. For his part, Nietzsche
   often composed his sentences according to the paradigms of Demosthenes,
   whose style he admired. During World War II, the fighters of the French
   Resistance identified themselves with Demosthenes, while they gave
   Adolf Hitler the name of Philip. Therefore, the Athenian statesman was
   recognized as the symbol of independence and as a synonym of resistance
   against any tyrannical oppression. He also constituted a source of
   inspiration for writers of modern literature, such as Mary Renault and
   Orson Scott Card.

Works

   Demosthenes must have written down and published most of his orations.
   After his death, texts of his speeches survived in Athens and the
   Library of Alexandria. In Alexandria these texts were incorporated into
   the body of classical Greek literature that was preserved, catalogued
   and studied by scholars of the Hellenistic period. From then until the
   fourth century CE, copies of his orations multiplied and they were in a
   relatively good position to survive the tense period from the sixth
   till the ninth century CE. In the end, sixty-one of Demosthenes'
   survived till the present day. Friedrich Blass, a German classical
   scholar, believes that nine more speeches were recorded by the orator,
   but they are not extant. Modern editions of these speeches are based on
   four manuscripts of the tenth and eleventh century CE. The authorship
   of at least nine of the sixty-one orations is disputed.

   Fifty-six prologues and six letters are also extant. The prologues were
   openings of Demosthenes's speeches. They were collected for the Library
   of Alexandria by Callimachus, who believed that Demosthenes composed
   them. Modern scholars are divided: some of them reject them, while
   others, such as Blass, believe they are genuine. The letters are
   written under Demosthenes's name, but their authorship has been
   fiercely debated.

                            Demosthenes' orations
   Political orations Olynthiacs 1-2-3 | First Philippic | On the Peace |
      Second Philippic | On the Halonnesus | On the Chersonese | Third
        Philippic | Fourth Philippic | Reply to Philip | Philip | On
   Organisation | On the Navy | For the Megalopolitans | On the Liberty of
                 the Rodians | On the Accession of Alexander
       Judicial orations On the Crown | On the False Embassy | Against
   Leptines | Against Meidias | Against Androtion | Against Aristocrates |
   Against Timocrates | Against Aristogiton 1-2 | Against Aphobus 1-2-3 |
   Against Ontenor 1-2 | Against Zenothemis | Against Apatourius | Against
      Phormio | Against Lacritus | For Phormio | Against Pantaenetus |
     Against Nausimachus and Xenopeithes | Against Boeotus 1-2 | Against
   Spudias | Against Phaenippus | Against Macartatus | Against Leochares |
      Against Stephanus 1-2 | Against Evergus and Mnesibulus | Against
   Olympiodorus | Against Timotheus | Against Polycles | On the Trierarcic
      Crown | Against Callipus | Against Nicostratus | Against Conon |
   Against Callicles | Against Dionysodorus | Against Eubulides | Against
                         Theocrines | Against Naeara
             Epideictic orations Funeral Oration | Erotic Essay

Citations

    1. ^ Longinus, On the Sublime, 34.4
    2. ^ Cicero, Brutus, 35
    3. ^ Quintillian, Institutiones, X, 1, 6 and 76
    4. ^ H. Weil, Biography of Demosthenes, 5–6
    5. ^ ^a ^b Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon, 171
    6. ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d H. T. Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical
       Antiquities
    7. ^ Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon, 172
    8. ^ O. Thomsen, The Looting of the Estate of the Elder Demosthenes,
       61
    9. ^ Demosthenes, Against Aphobus 1, 4
   10. ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Demosthenes". Encyclopaedia The Helios.
       (1952).
   11. ^ Demosthenes, Against Aphobus 1, 6
   12. ^ Demosthenes, Against Aphobus 3, 59
   13. ^ ^a ^b ^c Plutarch, Demosthenes, 5
   14. ^ ^a ^b F. Nietzsche, Lessons of Rhetoric, 233–235
   15. ^ ^a ^b ^c K. Paparregopoulus, Ab, 396–398
   16. ^ Lucian, Demosthenes, An Encomium, 12
   17. ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f R. C. Jebb, The Attic Orators from Antiphon to
       Isaeos
   18. ^ Suda, article Isaeus
   19. ^ K. Tsatsos, Demosthenes, 83
   20. ^ Lucian, The Illiterate Book-Fancier, 4
   21. ^ ^a ^b H. Weil, Biography of Demothenes, 10–11
   22. ^ Pseudo-Plutarch, Demosthenes, 847c
   23. ^ ^a ^b ^c Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon, 77
   24. ^ Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon, 173
   25. ^ ^a ^b Aeschines, The Speech on the Embassy, 165
   26. ^ Plutarch, Demosthenes, 15
   27. ^ A.W. Pickard, Demosthenes and the Last Days of Greek Freedom,
       xiv-xv
   28. ^ ^a ^b S. Usher, Greek Oratory, 226
   29. ^ Demosthenes, Against Zenothemis, 32
   30. ^ ^a ^b ^c Plutarch, Demosthenes, 6
   31. ^ Plutarch, Demosthenes, 7
   32. ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Demosthenes". Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2002).
   33. ^ Aeschines, Against Timarchus, 126
   34. ^ Aeschines, The Speech on the Embassy, 99
   35. ^ Plutarch, Demosthenes, 6–7
   36. ^ ^a ^b I. Worthington, Demosthenes: Statesman and Orator, 29
   37. ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d J. De Romilly, A Short History of Greek Literature,
       116–117
   38. ^ K. Tsatsos, Demosthenes, 88
   39. ^ D. Phillips, Athenian Political Oratory, 72
   40. ^ T. N. Habinek, Ancient Rhetoric and Oratory, 21
   41. ^ D. Phillips, Athenian Political Oratory, 69
   42. ^ Demosthenes, Against Aristocrates, 121
   43. ^ Demosthenes, For the Liberty of the Rhodians, 24
   44. ^ Demosthenes, On the False Embassy, 319
   45. ^ Demosthenes, First Philippic, 10
   46. ^ Demosthenes, Second Olynthiac, 3
   47. ^ Demosthenes, First Olynthiac, 3
   48. ^ ^a ^b Demosthenes, On the Peace, 5
   49. ^ ^a ^b Demosthenes, Against Meidias, 78–80
   50. ^ J. De Romilly, Ancient Greece against Violence, 113–117
   51. ^ H. Yunis, The Rhetoric of Law in 4th Century Athens, 206
   52. ^ H. Weil, Biography of Demothenes, 28
   53. ^ Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon, 52
   54. ^ Demosthenes, Third Philippic, 56
   55. ^ Aeschines, The Speech on the Embassy, 34
   56. ^ Demosthenes, Third Philippic, 15
   57. ^ ^a ^b Demosthenes, On the Crown, 25–27
   58. ^ Demosthenes, On the Crown, 30
   59. ^ Demosthenes, On the Crown, 31
   60. ^ Demosthenes,On the Crown, 36
   61. ^ Demosthenes, On the Peace, 10
   62. ^ Demosthenes, On the Crown, 43
   63. ^ Demosthenes, On the False Embassy, 111–113
   64. ^ Demosthenes,Second Philippic, 19
   65. ^ T. Buckley, Aspects of Greek History 750-323 BC, 480
   66. ^ Pseudo-Plutarch, Aeschines, 840c
   67. ^ Demosthenes, Third Philippic, 17
   68. ^ Demosthenes (or Hegesippus), On Halonnesus, 18–23
   69. ^ K. Tsatsos, Demosthenes, 245
   70. ^ Demosthenes, Third Philippic, 65
   71. ^ Demosthenes, On the Crown, 149
   72. ^ Demosthenes, On the Crown, 150
   73. ^ ^a ^b Demosthenes, On the Crown, 151
   74. ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e C. Carey, Aeschines, 12–14
   75. ^ ^a ^b Demosthenes, On the Crown, 152
   76. ^ Demosthenes, On the Crown, 153
   77. ^ P.J. Rhodes, A History of the Classical World, 317
   78. ^ Plutarch, Demosthenes, 18
   79. ^ Diodorus, Library, XVI 87
   80. ^ Demosthenes, On the Crown, 299
   81. ^ Demosthenes, On the Crown, 285
   82. ^ L.A. Tritle, The Greek World in the Fourth Century, 123
   83. ^ P. Green, Alexander of Macedon, 119
   84. ^ Plutarch, Phocion, 17
   85. ^ K. Tsatsos, Demosthenes, 301 and The Helios
   86. ^ Demosthenes, On the Crown, 321
   87. ^ A. Duncan, Performance and Identity in the Classical World, 70
   88. ^ ^a ^b Plutarch, Demosthenes, 25
   89. ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Hypereides, Against Demosthenes, 1
   90. ^ Plutarch, Demosthenes, 26
   91. ^ Plutarch, Demosthenes, 27
   92. ^ ^a ^b Plutarch, Demosthenes, 29
   93. ^ Pseudo-Plutarch, Demosthenes, 847d
   94. ^ ^a ^b Plutarch, Demosthenes, 13
   95. ^ Polybius, Histories, 13
   96. ^ ^a ^b K. Tsatsos, Demosthenes, 318–326
   97. ^ A.W. Pickard, Demosthenes and the Last Days of Greek Freedom ,
       490
   98. ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d J. De Romilly, A Short History of Greek Literature,
       120-122
   99. ^ ^a ^b T.B. Macaulay, On Mitford's History of Greece, 136
   100. ^ Plutarch, Demosthenes, 30
   101. ^ Dionysius, On the Admirable Style of Demosthenes, 46
   102. ^ ^a ^b K. Tsatsos, Demosthenes, 86
   103. ^ W. Jaeger, Demosthenes, 123–124
   104. ^ Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon, 166
   105. ^ Dionysius, On the Admirable Style of Demosthenes, 56
   106. ^ Quintillian, Institutiones, VI, 3, 2
   107. ^ J. Bollansie, Hermippos of Smyrna, 415
   108. ^ Plutarch, Demosthenes, 8
   109. ^ Cicero, Brutus, 38, 142
   110. ^ Plutarch, Demosthenes, 9–11
   111. ^ Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon, 139
   112. ^ Juvenal, Satura, X, 119
   113. ^ Plutarch, Demosthenes, 3
   114. ^ G. Gibson, Interpreting a Classic, 1
   115. ^ W. A. Rebhorn, Renaissance Debates on Rhetoric, 139, 167, 258
   116. ^ K. Tsatsos, Demosthenes, 352
   117. ^ V. Marcu, Men and Forces of Our Time, 32
   118. ^ P. J. M. Van Tongeren, Reinterpreting Modern Culture, 92
   119. ^ F. Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, 247
   120. ^ G. Slusser, Ender's Game, 82
   121. ^ ^a ^b H. Weil, Biography of Demosthenes, 66–67
   122. ^ H. Yunis, "Demosthenes: On the Crown," 28
   123. ^ F. Blass, Die attische Beredsamkeit, III, 2, 60
   124. ^ C.A. Gibson, Interpreting a Classic, 1
   125. ^ K.A. Kapparis, Apollodoros against Neaira, 62
   126. ^ I. Worthington, Oral Performance, 135
   127. ^ F. Blass, Die Attische Beredsamkeit, III, 1, 281–287
   128. ^ ^a ^b E. Cohen, The Athenian Nation, 76
   129. ^ E.M. Burke, The Looting of the Estates of the Elder Demosthenes,
       63
   130. ^ D. Braund, The Bosporan Kings and Classical Athens, 200
   131. ^ F. Nietzsche, Lessons of Rhetoric, 65
   132. ^ Suda, article Demosthenes
   133. ^ Cicero, Brutus, 6
   134. ^ Quintilian, Institutiones, XII, 2 XXII
   135. ^ K. Tsatsos, Demosthenes, 84
   136. ^ K. Tsatsos, Demosthenes, 90
   137. ^ H. Weil, Bioraphy of Demothenes, 17
   138. ^ ^a ^b ^c Plutarch, Demosthenes, 4
   139. ^ D. Hawhee, Bodily Arts, 156
   140. ^ M.L. Rose, The Staff of Oedipus,,] 57
   141. ^ Demosthenes, Third Olynthiac, 16 and 24
   142. ^ Demosthenes, Third Philippic, 31
   143. ^ K. Tsatsos, Demosthenes, 258
   144. ^ Plutarch, Demosthenes, 20
   145. ^ Pseudo-Plutarch, Demosthenes, 845f
   146. ^ ^a ^b Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon, 239-240
   147. ^ Dinarcus, Against Demosthenes, 18–21
   148. ^ ^a ^b Pausanias, Description of Greece, 2, 33
   149. ^ F. Blass, Die attische Beredsamkeit, III, 1, 404–406 and 542–546
   150. ^ F.J. Long, Ancient Rhetoric and Paul's Apology, 102
   151. ^ M. Trap, Greek and Latin Letters, 12
   152. ^ J.A. Goldstein, The Letters of Demosthenes, 93

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