ahencyclopedia:PEOPLE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD: Demosthenes (Athenian Statesman) DEMOSTHENES (c. 384 - 3
ahencyclopedia:PEOPLE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD: Demosthenes (Athenian Statesman) DEMOSTHENES (c. 384 - 322 BCE) was an Athenian statesman who famously stood against Macedonian king Philip II and whose surviving speeches have established him as one of the greatest patriots and powerful orators from ancient Greece. He is not to be confused with the 5th century BCE Athenian general of the same name.Born in c. 384 in Athens, Demosthenes’ parents died while he was still only seven years old, and so he then lived under guardianship. Famously, at the age of 18, he prosecuted his guardians for wasting his inheritance, delivered his own speeches in court, and won the case. Studying under Isaeus and working as a speech writer (logographos) like his master, his first experience in court was as a prosecutor’s assistant. We also know that in 358 BCE he was a grain-buyer (sitones). Then, from c. 355 BCE, he came to wider attention when he started to deliver his own speeches in the assembly of Athens.61 speeches of Demosthenes - both public and private - have survived, along with the rhetorical openings (prooimia) for around 50 speeches and 6 letters. Probably, some of that number were speeches given by another orator by the name of Apollodorus but it is, nevertheless, a substantial amount of material. That is, even if, Demosthenes would have given many more speeches than that in his long and illustrious political career. Those that survive show a speaker who could use plain language and lucid argument to devastating effect. He was a master of metaphor but never overused it and, perhaps his greatest and most enduring quality, his work shows an absolute and convincing sincerity. Read More Article and photos by Mark Cartwright on AHE -- source link
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