Demosthenes

Demosthenes (Greek: Δημοσθένης: Dēmosthenēs) was one of the most important orators in history and an important Athenian politician. He was born in Athens, in the year 384 a. C. and died in Calauria, in the year 322 B.C. c.

Her oratorical skills are the last significant expression of Athenian intellectual prowess, providing insight into the details of Ancient Greek politics and culture during the 4th century BCE. C. Demosthenes learned rhetoric by studying the speeches of previous orators. He made his first judicial speeches at twenty years of age, when he demanded that his guardians give him the entirety of his inheritance. For a time Demosthenes made a living as a professional court speech writer and lawyer, drafting texts for use in lawsuits between private individuals.

Demosthenes became interested in politics during this time, and it was in 354 B.C. C. when he gave his first political speeches in public. He devoted his years of physical and intellectual prime to opposing the expansion of the Macedonian kingdom. He idealized his city and fought to restore Athenian supremacy and motivate his compatriots to oppose Philip II of Macedon. He sought to preserve the freedom of Athens and establish an alliance against Macedonia in an unsuccessful attempt to thwart Philip's plans to expand his influence southward by conquering the Greek city-states. Two years before Philip's death, Demosthenes played a leading role in the uprising of Athens and Thebes against the Macedonian king and his son, Alexander III, at the Battle of Chaeronea, although his efforts were unsuccessful when the revolt was met. with a strong Macedonian reaction. Moreover, to prevent a similar revolt against his own leader, Alexander's successor, the Diadochian Antipater, sent his men to finish off Demosthenes. Demosthenes, however, committed suicide in order to avoid falling into the hands of Archias, Antipater's confidant.

The so-called Alexandrian Canon, compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace, recognizes Demosthenes as one of the 10 greatest Attic logographers and orators. According to Longinus, Demosthenes "perfected to the maximum the tone of the idealistic, passionate, abundant, prepared, fast speech". Cicero hailed him as "the perfect orator" who lacked nothing and Quintilian praised him addressing him as "lex orandi" ("the norm of oratory") and saying of him that "inter omnes unus excellat" ("stands alone among the other speakers").

Early Years

Family, education and personal life

Family and education

Chronogram of the life of Demosthenes (384 B.C.–322 B.C.)

Demosthenes was born in 384 B.C. C., during the last year of the 98th Olympiad or the first of the 99th. His father, of the same name, belonged to the tribe (phylai ) Pandionisia and lived in the Demo of Peania, on the outskirts of Athens.

He was from a wealthy merchant family, earning him the scorn of old aristocratic families. His father, Demosthenes of Peania, owned a weapons factory. Aeschines, Demosthenes' greatest political rival, would later maintain that his mother, Cleobula, was of Scythian origin, although this claim is disputed by some modern scholars. For his part, Demetrius of Magnesia, in his now-defunct work About the synonyms, she stated that she was a samia.

At the age of 7 Demosthenes was orphaned. His father left him a fortune in trust, remaining in the care of his uncles, Aphobos and Demophon, as well as a certain Theripid. His tutors squandered his fortune, either due to management error or malicious intent, leaving the young Demosthenes in extreme poverty.

As soon as Demosthenes came of age, he demanded an audit of the management accounts carried out by his guardians. According to Demosthenes, the review of the accounts demonstrated the misappropriation of his patrimony. Although his father had left him an estate of nearly fourteen talents, which would be roughly equivalent to about $400,000 today, Demosthenes said at the trial that his guardians had left him nothing except the house, fourteen slaves and thirty minas of silver (30 minas equaled half a talent).

At the age of 20, Demosthenes sued his guardians, trying to recover his estate. During the trials he delivered five speeches: three Against Aphobos between 363 B.C. C. and 362 B.C. C. and two Against Ontenor between 362 B.C. C. and 361 B.C. c. The court set the damages suffered by Demosthenes at ten talents (285,000 2008 US dollars). When all the lawsuits were over, Demosthenes only managed to recover a portion of all the inheritance from him.

Between 366 B.C. C., date in which he reached the age of majority, and 364 a. C., Demosthenes and his ex-tutors arduously sought a negotiated solution to the conflict, although they failed to reach an arrangement because neither party was willing to make concessions. At the same time, Demosthenes prepared for the trials by training his oratorical skills.

At the age of 16, Demosthenes had attended a trial by Callistratus of Afidna (367 BC), being surprised by the orator's talent. Callistratus was then at the height of his career, and he won a lawsuit of considerable importance. Apparently that experience led him to decide to learn rhetoric.

According to Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philologist and philosopher, and Constantine Paparregopoulus, a Greek historian, Demosthenes was a student of Isocrates. According to Cicero, Quintilian, and the Roman biographer Hermippus, he was a student of Plato. Lucian, a Romano-Syrian rhetorician and satirist, lists the philosophers Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Xenocrates among his teachers. However, all these affirmations are nowadays put in doubt.

According to Plutarch, Demosthenes became a student of Iseus, another Attic orator, although Isocrates was also teaching classes in the area at the time, specializing in inheritance problems. The reason may be either that he couldn't pay Isocrates' fees, or because he thought that Iseo's style was a better fit for his more vigorous and cunning way of being. Ernst Curtius, a German archaeologist, described the relationship between student and teacher as "an armed intellectual alliance".

It has also been said that Demosthenes paid his teacher about 10,000 drachmas (approximately half a talent) on the condition that he leave the school of rhetoric he had opened and dedicate himself entirely to teaching Demosthenes. Another version says that Iseus did not charge Demosthenes anything for the teaching. However, according to Richard C. Jebb, a British classical scholar, "the relationship between Iseus and Demosthenes as teacher and student could hardly have been very close or of very long duration". Konstantinos Tsatsos, a Greek professor and scholar, believes that Iseus assisted Demosthenes in creating his first court speeches against his guardians.

According to a biography by an unknown author but attributed to Plutarch, which has survived to this day, Demosthenes was married once. The only information that appears about his wife, whose name is unknown, is that she was the daughter of Heliodoro, an important citizen. He also had a daughter, "the first and only one who ever called him father," according to Aeschines, in an acid comment. His daughter died young, unmarried, a few days after Philip's death, His nephew Democares was also a politician and an orator.

Accusations concerning his personal life

Demosten

In his speeches, Aeschines often used Demosthenes' pederastic relationships to attack him. The content of the attacks was not the fact that Demosthenes had relationships with boys (something that was not rare or socially unacceptable at that time), but that his behavior as Erastes had been inappropriate, and that his way of acting did not benefit the others. guys (as expected) but it hurt them. In the case of Aristion, a young man from Plataea who lived for a long time in the house of Demosthenes, Aeschines mocked his lack of sexual control and his possible effeminate behavior. In the case of Knosius, Aeschines makes another accusation of a sexual nature, although in this case he accuses Demosthenes of putting him to bed with his wife so that he would get her pregnant. Athenaeus, for her part, shows us another point of view, arguing that she was the woman who slept with the young man in a fit of jealousy.

Aeskhines also accused Demosthenes of making money through his relationships with wealthy young men. He said that he cajoled Aristarchus, the son of Moscos, with the idea that he could make a great orator out of him. Apparently, while still under Demosthenes' tutelage, Aristarchus killed and mutilated a certain Nicodemus of Aphidna, gouging out his eyes and tongue. Aeschines accused Demosthenes of complicity in the murder, using as an argument the fact that Nicodemus had previously sued Demosthenes, accusing him of desertion. He also accused Demosthenes of having been such a bad erastes to Aristarchus that he was not worthy of the name. His crime, according to Aiskhines, was to have betrayed his eromeno by appropriating his patrimony while pretending to be in love with the young man (he was said to have appropriated three talents—86,000 2008 US dollars—from Aristarchus while he fled into exile to avoid the trial). For this reason, in return for the trust that Aristarchus and his family had placed in him, and in the words of Aeschines & # 34; You entered a happy home [...] you ruined it & # 34;. In any case, the history of Demosthenes' relations with Aristarchus is more than doubtful, and no pupil of Demosthenes is known by that name.

Career as a logographer

At the end of the lawsuits against his tutors and as a way of earning a living, Demosthenes dedicated himself to writing speeches for use in private lawsuits involving third parties. He excelled a lot in his work, and was getting a portfolio of rich and powerful clients.

On the other hand, an Athenian logographer could remain anonymous and not appear as such anywhere, which could sometimes cause a professional of this style to dedicate himself to his personal interests to the detriment of those of his client (potential conflicts of interest of an anonymous person could not be examined). Aiskhines also accused Demosthenes of unethical behavior at his work, saying that he had conveyed to his clients' opponents some of the arguments they would use at trial.

And the traitor born, how do we recognize him? Won't he imitate you, Demosstenes, in his dealings with those who randomly put on their way and trust him? Will he not charge for writing speeches to recite to the courts, and then reveal the content of speeches to his opponents?

Tubes, Address at the Embassy

For example, Aiskhines accused Demosthenes of writing a speech for a certain Phormio, a wealthy banker, and then communicating it to Apollodorus, who was preparing charges against Phormio. Plutarch supported this accusation, saying that Demosthenes "it is believed that he had acted dishonestly".

Start in political life

Speech Training

Demosstenes Practicing Oratoria by Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ (1842–1923). Demostenes used to study in an underground room he had built himself. He also used to speak with stones in the mouth and recite verses while he was running. To strengthen his voice, he spoke on the seashore above the sound of the waves.

Before he had even turned 21 in 363 B.C. C., Demosthenes had shown some interest in politics. In 363, 359 and 357 BC. C. he carried out the post of trierarca, being in charge of the maintenance and supply of a trireme.In 348 a. C. he took charge of a coregy, and paid the costs of a theatrical production.

Although Demosthenes said he never advocated in any private case, it is still unclear when, and if, he abandoned the lucrative (although not as prestigious) profession of logographer.

As a boy, Demosthenes had an elocutionary speech impediment. Aiskhines mocked him for this, referring to him in his speeches by his nickname, Batalus, which it seems they may have invented or else their educators or their own playmates.

According to Plutarch, during the young Demosthenes' first public speech, the audience mocked his elocution problem (difficulty pronouncing /R/) and his strange, leathery style, which was riddled with long sentences with formalist arguments to a harsh and unpleasant extreme. The one from Chaeronea affirmed that he had a weakness in his voice, a strange and difficult to understand speech and a shortness of breath that, when breaking and unlinking the sentences, greatly obscured the meaning and meaning of what he was saying.

Demosthenes carried out a strict program to overcome these deficiencies and improve his speech. He worked his diction, his voice, and his mannerisms to the point that her zeal and devotion to him became proverbial. However, it is not known with certainty if these accounts are true facts of Demosthenes' life or mere anecdotes used to illustrate his perseverance and determination.

Some citizens, however, did take notice of his talent. The first time he left the Ekklesía (the Athenian assembly) in grief, an old man named Eunomus encouraged him, saying that his diction was very similar to that of Pericles. On another occasion, after the Ekklesía refused to listen to him and while he was marching to home having been refused, an actor named Satyr followed him and entertained him in friendly conversation.

Increased political activity

Although it is believed that he continued his private legal practice as a logographer, the fact is that from the year 354 B.C. C. Demosthenes became increasingly interested in public affairs, becoming famous for his speeches on restoring public spirit in Athens and preserving Greek culture at a time when the city-state model was threatened..

In 355 B.C. C. he wrote Against Androcio and in 354 a. C., Contra Leptino, two fierce attacks against individuals who tried to eliminate some tax exemptions. In Against Timocrates and Against Aristocrates he advocated the elimination of corruption, denouncing measures that he saw as dishonest or contrary to Athenian traditions. All these speeches offer some first samples of his foreign policy ideas, such as the importance of the fleet, alliances, or national honor.

Supporter of Eubululus, in 354 B.C. C. Demosthenes delivered his first political speech in favor of this, On the symmorías, in which he defended moderation while proposing the reform of the symmorías as a source of financing for the Athenian fleet, defending the increase in obligations with respect to trierarchies.

However, he soon broke with Eubululus, whom he attacked in 352 BC. C. (On syntax), while speaking out against Athenian foreign policy with the speech For the Megalopolitans (353 BC), which attracted attention of the Athenians about the danger posed by the power of Sparta, after the debacle of Thebes. He too opposed Eubululus in 351 BC. C., with the speech For the freedom of the Rhodians. Eubulus was by then the most influential politician in Athens, a situation that he maintained in the period between 355 and 342 BC. C., and was against intervention in the internal affairs of other Greek polis.

Although none of his first speeches were successful, Demosthenes gradually carved a niche for himself within the group of important political personalities while, on the other hand, he broke with the political faction of Eubululus (a faction to which which Aeschines belonged). At that time Demosthenes was laying the foundations for his future political successes, which would lead him to become the leader of his own party. His arguments showed his desire to articulate the needs and interests of Athens.

In the year 351 B.C. C., Demosthenes felt strong enough to show his vision on the most important foreign policy issue facing Athens at the time: the position that the city should take with respect to Philip II of Macedonia. According to Jacqueline de Romilly, a philologist member of the French Academy, the threat of Philip would give Demosthenes a focus and a reason for being. Demosthenes's political career is virtually the history of Athenian foreign policy.

Confrontation with Philip

First Philippic and the Olyntics (351 - 341 BC)

Philippi II of Macedonia: victory medal (niketerionof the second century a. C. (Paris, Cabinet des médailles de la Biblioteca Nacional de Francia). Demostenes perceived the king of Macedonia as a threat to the autonomy of all Greek state-cities.

Demosthenes directed his energies against the growing power of King Philip II of Macedon, whom he viewed as a threat not only to Athens but to all of the Greek city-states.

Many of his best speeches were directed against the growing power of King Philip II of Macedon. From the year 357 a. By the time Philip besieged Amphipolis and Pydna, Athens and Macedonia had been formally at war. In 352 B.C. C. Demosthenes described Philip as the city's greatest and worst enemy of him. The speech would be a preview of the fierce attacks that Demosthenes would launch against the Macedonian king in the years that followed.A year later he criticized those who underestimated the power of Philip and warned that he was as dangerous as the king of Persia himself.

In 352 B.C. C. Athenian troops managed to successfully confront Philip at Thermopylae, but the Macedonian victory over the Photians at the Battle of Saffron Field dealt a heavy blow to Demosthenes.

His first speech against Philip, known as the First Philippica (351-350 BC), had as its subject the preparation and reform of the social fund of Athens, the main pillar of Eubululus's policies. He urged the Athenians to wake up from their false security and called for the war to be extended to Thrace, but was unsuccessful.

From that moment until 341 B.C. C., all Demosthenes's speeches referred to the same subject: the fight against Philip. In 349 B.C. C., to complete his mastery of the Aegean Sea, Philip marched against Olynthus, an ally of Athens and the last city in Chalcidice that he had left to dominate. Olynthus asked Athens for help, and Demosthenes pronounced for this reason the three Olyntics , in which he asked Athens for help for his ally. In all three speeches, Demosthenes criticized his compatriots for doing nothing, and urged Athens to help Olynthus against the "barbarian" Macedonian.

Despite Demosthenes' warnings, the Athenians engaged in a futile war on Euboea and offered Olynthus no military support. a breather between two battles.

The case of Meidias (348 BC)

In 348 B.C. A peculiar case occurred: Meidias, a wealthy Athenian, publicly slapped Demosthenes, who at the time held a position in the Coregia, a great religious festival in honor of the god Dionysus. Meidias was a friend of Eubululus and supported the military campaign in Euboea. He was also an old enemy of Demosthenes who had broken into his house in 361 BC. C., together with his brother Trasiloco, to seize it.

Demosthenes decided to sue his wealthy opponent and wrote the court speech Against Meidias. The speech offers very valuable information about Athenian law at that time and especially about the Greek concept of Hibris or excessive ambition, which was treated in that city as a crime that went not only against the city but also against society itself. Demosthenes argues that the democratic state perishes if the rule of law is undermined by wealthy and unscrupulous men, and that all citizens gain power and authority in all affairs of state thanks to &# 34;the force of laws".

According to the philologist Henri Weil, Demosthenes eventually dropped the charges against Meidias for political reasons, and never actually pronounced Contra Meidias, although Aeskhines maintained that Demosthenes had been bribed to drop them.

Peace of Philocrates (347-345 BC)

Illustration of 1898, the work of Louis Loeb (1866 – 1909): Demostenes before the main assembly of Athens (ekklesía) in the year 346 a. C.

In the year 348 a. C., Filipo II conquered Olinto and razed it to its foundations. He then continued advancing and conquered Chalcidice and all the states of the Chalcidice League that were previously led by Olynthus.After these Macedonian victories, Athens turned to that state in search of peace. Demosthenes was in favor of signing a treaty with Philip II. In 347 B.C. C. an Athenian delegation was sent to Pella with the aim of negotiating a peace treaty and Demosthenes was among the twelve ambassadors sent (346 BC) to meet with Philip, a delegation that also included Aeschines and Philocrates. According to Aeschines, in his first meeting with Philip, Demosthenes would have fainted from fear.

The ekklesía officially accepted the harsh terms that Philip had imposed. However, when the Athenian delegation arrived at Pella to receive the oath from Philip necessary to consider the treaty agreed, he was in the midst of a military campaign. Philip was deliberately delaying the timing of the negotiation and possible agreement because he hoped to keep under his suzerainty whatever Athenian possessions he could conquer before ratifying the treaty. Demosthenes, anxious at the delay, insisted that the embassy should travel to Philip's location, and secure the oath without delay. but, nevertheless, the Athenian envoys (including both he and Aiskhines) remained at Pella until Philip's return from his successful campaign in Thrace. Peace was finally sworn at Feres, but Demosthenes accused the other envoys of negligence. for economic interests.

Just after the signing of the Peace of Philocrates, Philip crossed Thermopylae and conquered Phocis, while Athens remained inactive and sent no aid to the region. Supported by Thebes and Thessaly, Macedonia took control over the Phocis votes in the Amphictyony, a religious organization formed to support the great temples of Apollo and Demeter. Despite some reluctance on the part of Athenian leaders, Athens finally accepted Philip's entry into the Council of the League, Demosthenes was among those who supported this option, as indicated in his speech On peace.

Second and Third Philippics (344 - 341 B.C.)

Image of the Quersoneso and the surrounding area taken from a satellite. The Cheroness became the focus of a bitter territorial dispute between Athens and Macedonia. It was finally given to Filipo in 338 a. C.

Among his speeches from this period, the Second Philippica, the speech known as On the False Embassy, against Aeschines, and the Third Philippica stand out. > calling for determined action against Philip (341 BC). Of these, the Philippics are considered political speeches, while On the False Embassy is a speech delivered in the judicial arena.

In 344 B.C. C. Demosthenes traveled to the Peloponnese, in order to achieve alliances and remove as many cities as possible from Macedonian influence, although his efforts were generally unsuccessful. Most of the Peloponnesians saw Philip as the guarantor of their freedom., and even sent a joint embassy to Athens to complain about Demosthenes' activity. In response to the embassy, Demosthenes delivered the Second Philippics, a vehement attack on the person of Philip. In the year 343 B.C. C. Demóstenes pronounced On the false embassy , directed against his political rival Aeschines, who was facing a charge of high treason. Aiskhines was ultimately acquitted by a narrow margin of thirty votes, in a jury that could have numbered as many as 1,501.

In 343 B.C. C. Macedonian forces were carrying out a new military campaign in the Epirus region and, in 342 B.C. C., Filipo made an incursion in Thrace.He also negotiated with the Athenians some modifications of the terms agreed in the Peace of Philocrates.

As the Macedonian army approached the Thracian Chersonese, an Athenian general named Diopeites razed the Thracian maritime district, prompting Philip's response. The Athenian assembly met to study the situation and Demosthenes delivered his speech On the Chersonese, with which he convinced the Athenians not to call Diopeites back to Athens. Also in 342 B.C. C. delivered the Third Philippic , which is considered the best political speech of his entire career.Using all the power of his eloquence, Demosthenes demanded a firm response from the Athenian assembly against Philip, asking to the Athenian people an energetic show of force. He told them that it would be "better to die a thousand times than pay tribute to Philip". After this speech Demosthenes took control of Athenian politics and was able to considerably weaken the pro-faction. -Macedonian led by Aeschines, becoming the most influential political leader in Athens.

Thanks to this, Demosthenes managed to have the peace treaty annulled, military allocations increased, and the navy strengthened, making Thebes, a city long hostile to Athens, an ally.

Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)

The star of Vergina, symbol of the Macedonian monarchy.

The Fourth Philippic (340 BC), was actually a declaration of war that led to another Greek defeat at the hands of the Macedonians: Largely thanks to the efforts of Demosthenes, Philip's attempt, in 340 B.C. C., to capture Byzantium (present Istanbul) was delayed.

In 341 B.C. C. Demóstenes was sent to Byzantium, where he sought the renewal of the alliance with Athens. Thanks to his diplomatic maneuvers, Abydos also joined the cause. On the other hand, these events worried Philip and increased his animosity against Demosthenes. The Athenian assembly, however, ignored Philip's complaints against Demosthenes' conduct and denounced the peace treaty, which in effect meant a declaration of war.

In 339 B.C. C. Philip made his last and greatest move in search of the conquest of southern Greece, assisted by the support of Aeschines in the framework of the Amphictony. During the Council meeting, Philip accused the city of Anfisa, in Locris, of having invaded consecrated ground. The officer who presided over the Council, a Thessalian named Cotyphos, proposed that the Congress of Amphictony be called to impose an exemplary punishment. Aiskhines agreed with this proposal and maintained that the Athenians should participate at the Congress, although Demosthenes reversed Aiskhines' initiatives and Athens ultimately abstained. After the failure of the first military excursion to Locris, the summer session of the Amphictony gave command of the league forces to Philip, and asked him to lead a second excursion.

Philip decided to act immediately. The winter of 339-338 B.C. C. he crossed Thermopylae and entered Anfisa, where he quickly defeated the population of the city. Following this significant victory, Philip entered Phocis in 338 BC. C. and then headed southeast, down the valley of the Cefiso River, to besiege and capture the city of Elateia, where he restored the fortifications.

Meanwhile, Athens set about forging an alliance with the cities of Euboea, Megara, Achaia, Corinth, Acarnania, as well as other lesser states in the Peloponnese. In any case, the most desired alliance for Athens was with the city-state of Thebes.

In order to achieve this alliance, Athens sent Demosthenes to the city of Boeotia. Philip, for his part, also sent his own delegation with the opposite purpose, but was unable to prevent Demosthenes from joining Thebes in his cause. Demosthenes's complete speech before the Theban people has not survived to this day, so the We do not know the arguments that he used to convince Thebes to join the alliance. In any case, the alliance came at a price: Politically, Thebes' control of Boeotia was officially recognized. Militarily, Thebes achieved supreme command of the allied troops on land, and joint command with Athens of the navy at sea. In addition, Athens would pay two-thirds of the total military cost of the campaign.

While the Athenians and Thebans prepared for war, Philip made one last attempt to appease his enemies, proposing a new peace treaty that was not accepted. After this, and after a series of minor clashes between The two sides that ended with minor victories for the Athenian side, Philip managed to lead the allied phalanxes to a confrontation in the open field on a plain near the city of Chaeronea. Despite the alliance between Thebes and Athens, Philip defeated the allied armies in the battle of 338 BC. C. During the battle, Demosthenes participated as a mere hoplite, and even some sources speak of dishonorable behavior. According to Plutarch, Demosthenes deserted the battlefield and "did nothing honorable, nor did his behavior match his speeches."

Such was Philip's hatred against Demosthenes that, according to Diodorus Siculus, after the battle the king mocked the misfortunes of the Athenian politician. However, fellow Athenian orator and politician Demades is said to have made the following comment to the king:

Oh King, when the Fortune has placed you in Agamemnon's post, are you not ashamed to act as Tersites?

According to Diodorus, Philip reacted to these words and immediately stopped his attitude.

After his victory, Philip was only harsh with Thebes, which he came to control directly by appointing Macedonian rulers. Athens was treated more magnanimously, forcing him only to dissolve his naval league and abandon his possessions in Thrace, while granting him independence in return. Despite all this, Demosthenes continued to speak out against Macedonia, even after Chaeronea's defeat.

Latest political initiatives and death

Confrontation with Alexander. Speech "On the Crown"

Mosaic of Alexander the Great, found in Pompeii, and copy of an original Greek painting of the third century BC that has been lost. In 336-335 B.C. the King of Macedonia attacked the attempts to resist the Greek cities and ended with the hopes of Demosstenes to regain the Athenian independence.

After the battle of Chaeronea, Philip imposed a severe punishment on the city of Thebes, although he was quite compromising when it came to imposing the conditions of a peace agreement on Athens. Demosthenes defended the fortification of Athens and was chosen by the ekklesia to deliver the funeral speech for the citizens killed in the war against Macedonia.

In 336 B.C. C. Filipo was assassinated during the wedding of his daughter, Cleopatra of Macedonia, with King Alexander of Epirus. After his death, the army proclaimed his firstborn son, Alexander, king. Meanwhile, cities like Athens or Thebes saw in this change of leader an opportunity to recover their full independence, and Demosthenes was among the Athenians who took a more active role in leading the revolt in Athens. According to Aiskhines, "it was only the seventh day after the death of his daughter, and although the mourning ceremonies had not been completed, he put a crown of flowers on his head and white robes for his body, and he was there, making offerings in gratitude, violating all decency".

Demosthenes also sent messengers to the general Attalus, father of Philip's last wife, whom he considered an internal opponent of Alexander's throne. In any case, Alexander quickly moved to Thebes, which submitted shortly after seeing him. appear at their gates. When the Athenians found out that Alexander had moved so quickly to Boeotia, they panicked and begged the new king of Macedonia for mercy. Alexander, for his part, limited himself to admonishing them, and did not impose any punishment for the uprising.

In 335 B.C. C. Alejandro felt strong enough to face Thrace and Illyria. While he was fighting in the north, the Thebans and Athenians revolted once more, believing the rumors that had spread about Alexander's possible death. Darius III of Persia financed the Greek cities that rose up against Macedonia, and Demosthenes is said to have received as much as 300 talents (about $8.5 million) on behalf of Athens, for which he later faced charges of misappropriation.

Alexander reacted immediately and razed Thebes to its foundations. He did not attack Athens, but demanded that all politicians from the anti-Macedonian faction be exiled, Demosthenes being the first on the list. According to Plutarch, a special embassy from Athens headed by Phocion, an opponent of the anti-Macedonian faction, was able to persuade Alexander to drop the demand.

Demosthenes, for his part, and despite his misadventures he had suffered in his confrontations against Philip and Alexander, was still respected by the people of Athens. In 336 B.C. C. the orator Ctesiphon proposed to Athens that it honor Demosthenes for his services rendered by him, granting him, according to tradition, the golden crown. However, the existence in Athens of a major pro-Macedonian party meant that Demosthenes's position was always subject to opposition and the proposal became a controversial political issue that led, in 330 BC. C., in which Aesquines used a legal technicality to prosecute Ctesiphon. The reason for the prosecution was having offered the crown to Demosthenes after committing a series of irregularities in the offer.

In his most brilliant speech, On the Crown, Demosthenes defends Ctesiphon and vehemently attacks all those who preferred peace with Macedonia. He was unapologetic about his past actions or his political views, insisting that when he was in power, the constant aim of all his actions was the enhancement of the honor and descent of his people, and that at all times and in all everything he did preserved his loyalty to Athens. He eventually defeated Aiskhines, even though his enemy's legal objections to the granting of the Crown were probably valid.

This would be his most famous speech, in which he makes a comprehensive defense of his entire career, defending Ctesiphon and attacking the Pro-Macedonian party. His eloquence and logic were so convincing that Ctesiphon was acquitted and Aeschines, humiliated, was forced into voluntary exile.

The case of Harpalus

In the year 324 B.C. C. the political influence of Demosthenes began to decline because of a new case in which he was accused of corruption.

In 324 B.C. C. a Macedonian aristocrat named Harpalus, to whom Alexander had appointed governor of Babylon and had entrusted a large amount of treasures, fled from Macedonia, fleeing with the booty, and seeking refuge in Athens. Demosthenes demanded that Harpalus be captured and eventually Harpalus was imprisoned despite the opposition of Hyperides, a politician from the anti-Macedonian faction who was a former ally of Demosthenes. Harpalus's money, which was entrusted to a committee chaired by Demosthenes. When the committee counted the treasury they found that there was only half the money Harpalus had declared he had, but they did not publicly disclose the shortfall. Later, when Harpalus escaped, the Areopagus conducted an audit at the end of which it accused Demosthenes of having embezzled 20 talents (US$570,000 in 2008). During the trial against him, Hyperides argued that he had not revealed the huge deficit because he had been bribed by Harpalus.

Demosthenes was sentenced to pay a fine of 50 talents (US$1.4 million in 2008 dollars), which he could not collect, for which he was sentenced to prison, although he escaped within a short time. the accusations against him were unfounded or unsubstantiated, although in any case the Athenians soon reversed the sentence. Demosthenes fled to Aegina until Alexander's death.

A year later, the death of Alexander the Great provoked a rebellion throughout Greece against Antipater, Alexander's successor as Macedonian governor of Greece, a fact that Demosthenes took advantage of to end his exile and enter Athens triumphantly, while demanding a new war against Macedonia. Demosthenes once again insisted on the Athenians pursuing their independence from Macedonia, which would become the so-called Lamiac War. However, Antipater put down the rebellion and ended opposition to his power, after which he demanded that the Athenians hand over Demosthenes and Hyperides, along with other anti-Macedonian politicians. Démades, head of the pro-Macedonian party at that time, managed to get the ekklesía to submit to the demands that Antipater vote and approve a decree condemning political agitators to death.

Demosthenes escaped to a sanctuary on the island of Calauria, where he was eventually discovered by Archias, a confidant of Antipater. Demosthenes committed suicide in the temple of Poseidon in Calauria before being captured by tricking Archias: pretending to go to write a letter to his family, he took the opportunity to take poison hidden in a reed. When he noticed that the poison was beginning to take effect, he He said to Archias: 'Now, when it pleases you, you can begin to play the part of Creon in the tragedy, and take this unburied body of mine from here. But I, thanks to Neptune, for my part, while I am still alive, get up and leave this sacred place; though Antipater and the Macedonians have left almost nothing but the temple uncontaminated'. After saying these words, he fell next to the altar and passed away.

Ratings

Political career

The historical figure of Demosthenes has been the subject of conflicting opinions and different assessments over the centuries.

Plutarch, for example, praises Demosthenes for his character. Refuting the historian Theopompus, the biographer insists that Demosthenes maintained the same party and political leadership that he had from the beginning, he kept them constant until the end; and he was so far from abandoning them while he lived that he came to prefer to give his life to betray his principles." Polybius, on the other hand, a Greek historian of the Mediterranean world, was highly critical of the policies advocated by Demosthenes.. Polybius accuses him of having launched unjustified verbal attacks against great men from other cities, unfairly branding them as traitors to the Greeks. The historian maintained that Demosthenes measured everything in terms of the interests of his own city, imagining that the Greeks should have their vision centered on Athens. However, and according to this historian, the only thing that the Athenians managed to achieve thanks to their opposition to Philip was defeat at Chaeronea, "and if it had not been for the magnanimity of the king and his care for his own reputation, his misfortunes would have been even greater, thanks to the policies of Demosthenes".

Paparrigopoulos extols Demosthenes' patriotism, but criticizes him for being short-sighted. According to his critique, Demosthenes should have understood that the ancient Greek states could only survive unified under the leadership of the Macedonian kingdom. He therefore accuses Demosthenes of misjudging events, opponents, and opportunities, and of having been unable to foresee Philip's inevitable triumph. He criticizes him for having overestimated Athens' ability to revive and challenge Macedonia. His city had lost most of its allies in the Aegean, while Philip had consolidated his control over the Macedonian region and controlled great mineral wealth.

Chris Carey, Professor of Greek at University College London, concludes that Demosthenes was a better orator than strategist and politician, although he also stresses that "pragmatists" like Aeschines and Phocion they did not have a vision inspiring enough to rival that of Demosthenes. The speaker called on Athenians to choose between what is just and honorable and to put it before their own safety and the preservation of the city. The people, for their part, preferred Demosthenes's activism to the point that bitter defeat of Chaeronea was received as a price worth paying in the attempt to retain freedom and influence over the peninsula.

On the other hand, according to fellow Greek professor Arthur Wallace Pickard-Cambridge, success is a poor criterion for judging the actions of people like Demosthenes, who acted motivated by the political ideal of freedom. Philip had asked He urged Athens to sacrifice its freedom and democracy, while Demosthenes attempted to revive the city's brilliant past. He sought to revive those enduring values and thereby become an "educator of the people" (in the words of Werner Jaeger).

The fact that Demosthenes fought at the Battle of Chaeronea as a mere hoplite, as well as his flight from the battlefield, indicates that he lacked military ability. According to the historian Thomas Babington Macaulay, at the time of Demosthenes's life there was a sharp difference between the political and military trades. Almost no politician, with the exception of Phocion, was both a good orator and a competent general.. Demosthenes was highly competent in the realm of politics and ideas, but not in warfare. The contrast, on the other hand, between Demosthenes' intellectual capacity and his deficiencies in terms of stamina, stamina, and knowledge or ability military as well as strategic vision is illustrated in the inscription that his fellow citizens placed at the base of his statue:

If you had been to Greece as strong as wise, the Macedonians would not have conquered it.

Speaking Skills

Herma de Demóstenes (Múnich, Glyptothek). A copy of an honorary posthumous statue of the Agora politician of Athens originally sculpted by Polieuctos (ca. 280 a. C.).

According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Greek historian and professor of rhetoric, Demosthenes represents the final stage in the development of Attic prose. This author affirms that Demóstenes reunited the best characteristics of the basic styles; he habitually used the medium or normal type style and applied the archaic style and the flat elegance style when necessary. In each and every one of the three styles she was better than his specialized masters.

Demosthenes is considered an accomplished orator, adept at all of the oratorical techniques that he uses in concert in his work. In his early court speeches, the influence of his early teachers is obvious, but it does not mask his strong, bold style. original, which also appears.

According to Harry Thurston Peck, of the classical school, Demosthenes "does not increase knowledge; his goal is not elegance; he does not look for brilliant ornaments; on rare occasions he touches the hearts of the people with soft appeals, and when he does, he produces only an effect that any third-class orator could better. He had no wit, grace, or vivacity, as we understand these terms. The secret of his power is simple, since it lies essentially in the fact that his political principles were tied to his own spirit'. In his judgment, Peck agrees with Jaeger, who said that imminent political decisions imbued the Demosthenes' speeches with fascinating artistic power.

Demosthenes was able to combine concise messages with extensive explanations, harmonizing with his mission. His language is simple and natural, he does not use strange or artificial words. According to Jebb, Demosthenes was an artist capable of making his own art obey him.For his part, Aeschines stigmatized his intensity, attributing to his rivals threads of absurd and incoherent images.

Dionysius states that Demosthenes's only weakness was his lack of a sense of humour, although Quintilian saw this deficiency as a virtue. However, the main criticism leveled at Demosthenes seems to have been mainly supported by in his refusal to speak extempore; having often refused to comment on matters that had not previously been studied. In any case, he dedicated elaborate preparation to all his speeches and, therefore, his arguments are the products of a careful study of each subject. He was also famous for his satire ability.

According to Cicero, Demosthenes saw the way of delivering the message (the gestures, the voice, etc.) as more important than the style. Although he did not have the voice of Aiskhines, or the improvisational skills of Demades, He used his body very efficiently to accentuate his words, managing to project his ideas and arguments with greater force. However, this staging was not well received by the entire world of antiquity: Demetrius of Falero and the comedians ridiculed the "theatricality" of Demosthenes, while Aiskhines was of the opinion that Leodamas of Acarnas was superior to him.

Rhetorical Legacy

Friné going to public baths like Venus and Demosstenes tempted by Esquines by J. M. W. Turner (1838), London, Tate.

Demosthenes' fame endured through the centuries. Scholars at the Library of Alexandria carefully edited the manuscripts of his speeches, and ancient Roman schoolboys studied his art as part of their own training in rhetoric. Juvenal hailed him as largus et exundans ingenii fons (a 'long and overflowing fountain of wit'). Cicero's speeches against Mark Antony also mentioned the Philippics.

For his part, Plutarch made a mention in his Life of Demosthenes stressing the strong similarities between the personalities and political careers of Demosthenes and Marcus Tullius Cicero:

The divine power seems to have originally designed Demosthenes and Cicero under the same plan, giving them many similarities in their natural characters, such as passion for distinction and their love for freedom in civil life, or their demand for courage against dangers and war, while adding many accidental resemblances. I believe that it is difficult to find two other speakers who, from a dark and insignificant beginnings, became so great and powerful; that they both faced kings and tyrants; they both lost their daughters; they were expelled from their country and returned with honor; that, fleeing again from there, they were both captured by their enemies and finally ended their lives while the freedom of their compatriots.

Plutarco, Demosten3

During the Middle Ages and Renaissance Demosthenes maintained a reputation for eloquence. His texts were the most widely studied and widely read of all ancient orators, with perhaps Cicero as his only real competitor. French author and jurist Guillaume du Vair praises his speeches for their elegant style and artistic composition; John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury, and Jacques Amyot, a French Renaissance writer and translator, see Demosthenes as a magnificent, even "supreme" orator.

In modern history, orators such as Henry Clay have imitated Demosthenes's technique. His ideas and principles survived and inspired characters and political tendencies of our time. Demosthenes was a source of inspiration for the authors of the Federalist Articles (a series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America) and for the main orators of the French Revolution. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau was among those who idealized Demosthenes and even wrote a book about him. For his part, Friedrich Nietzsche often composed his sentences according to the paradigms of Demosthenes, whose style he admired.

During World War II, French resistance fighters identified themselves with Demosthenes, giving Adolf Hitler the name Philip. Demosthenes was recognized as the symbol of independence and was used as a synonym for resistance against tyrannical oppression. He was also a source of inspiration for writers of modern literature such as Mary Renault or Orson Scott Card.

On the other hand, the Demosthenian Literary Society, a society belonging to the University of Georgia, receives its name in honor of Demosthenes, being a tribute to his rhetorical ability and the way in which he improved his ability oratory.

Jobs

The Logoi, the famous speeches of Demosstenes, in an edition of 1570, in Greek, along with other works of the same period.

It seems that Demosthenes published most, if not all of his speeches. After his death, the texts of his works survived him, being kept in Athens and in the Library of Alexandria. In Alexandria the texts were incorporated into the body of classical Greek literature that was preserved, cataloged, and used by scholars of the Hellenistic period. From then until the IV century, copies of their speeches multiplied, so they were in a relatively good situation to survive to the dark period between the 6th and 9th centuries AD. C. Finally, a total of sixty-one speeches by Demosthenes have reached our days. Friedrich Blass of the German Classical School believes that the speaker wrote nine other speeches, but that they have not survived.

Modern editions of the speeches are based on manuscripts from the 10th and 11th centuries AD. C. The authorship of at least nine of the sixty-one speeches is disputed.

Fifty-six prologues and six letters have also survived to our days. The prologues were opening speeches by Demosthenes, and were collected for the Library of Alexandria by Callimachus, who believed in Demosthenes' authorship. Modern scholars, however, are divided: some reject them, while others, such as Blass They are of the opinion that they are authentic. The letters are written under the name of Demosthenes, but their authorship has been hotly disputed.

Further reading