ῥᾷστον ἁπάντων ἐστὶν αὑτὸν ἐξαπατῆσαι: ὃ γὰρ βούλεται, τοῦθ᾽ ἕκαστος καὶ οἴεται
Nothing is easier than self-deceit, for what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.
—Demosthenes “Third Olynthiac” 19
Parallel – Cicero
OUTLINE
- Introduces both Cicero and Demosthenes
- Learned Latin Late
- A good city for research
- Why stay in a small town?
- Rise to Political Power
- Philip
- Alexander and Exile
- Antipater and the End
Important People
- Philip
- Demosthenes strongly resists Philip’s incursion into Greek politics until Chaeronea (338 BC)
- He flees the battle of Chaeronea but is still chosen by the Athenians to give the funeral oration.
- Alexander
- As Alexander comes to power, Demosthenes’ life is spared because of the eloquence of an enemy, Demades.
- Aeschines – Political and personal opponent of Demosthenes of whom three speeches still survive
- all of Aeschines’s speeches are targeted at Demosthenes
- Aeschines finally loses and goes into exile to avoid a fine.
- Demades –
- Orator none of whose works survive.
- Considered, during his lifetime, to be better than Demosthenes. Because he doesn’t survive, we can’t compare the two. The power of preparedness.
- Famously quoted in the Life of Solon as saying “Draco wrote his laws not in ink, but in blood”
- Antipater – Regent in Macedon while Alexander campaigned against Persia, he fights a war against the Greeks who revolt at the news of Alexander’s death.
Important Places
- Athens
- Chaeronea (338 BC) – The battle in which Philip cements his control over all of mainland Greece, except for Sparta.
- Troezen/Aegina– The city and island where Demosthenes spends his time while in exile. He flees here again at the end of his life and likely dies right outside a temple to Poseidon outside of his beloved Athens.