Demosthenes

Some of the finest Greek writers - Demosthenes, Lysias, Antiphon - were also great orators. However, a number of other Greek writers who specialized purely in oratory have largely been overlooked by classicists. Dr. Stephen Usher addresses this imbalance by showing the diversity of the inherited rhetorical tradition, and by demonstrating through close critical examination how the individual characteristics of the orators were developed.

"Craig Gibson's "Interpreting a Classic, starting from the papyrus fragments of Didymus on Demosthenes' Fourth Philippie, shows just how rewarding such recondite material can be. In Gibson's hands old-fashioned philological "Wissenschaft becomes the high-level instrument for a beautifully argued step-by-step detective investigation (complete with translation and his own commentary) of one strand in the ancient academic pursuit of truth. As Gibson says, 'At stake was nothing less than the correct interpretation of a classic, ' and this has clearly been his own guiding principle too. I cannot think of another book on so recherche a topic that so successfully combines meticulous scholarship with clarity, elegance of exposition, and an infectious enthusiasm for solving recalcitrant textual problems."--Peter Green, author of "Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age

"Desmosthenes was '"the orator, ' in the view of subsequent writers, and reading his speeches was a part ofeducation and culture for the rest of antiquity. But ancient readers, like modern ones, needed help to interpret and situate these speeches, which were intended for an audience who knew the issues, the circumstances, and the langauge. The result was commentaries, philological and historical, designed for readers of Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine times...In "Interpreting a Classic, Gibson brings this material together and uses it to write the history of an important episode of reading the classics..."Interpreting a Classic makes a significant contribution to our understanding of scholarship in antiquity and of ancient readers."--Kent Rigsby, Professor of Classics at Duke University and editorof the journal "Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies

This book is a study of the ways in which classical Athenian texts represent and evaluate the morality of deception. It is particularly concerned with the way in which the telling of lies was a problem for the world's first democracy and compares this problem with the modern Western situation. There are major sections on Greek tragedy, comedy, oratory, historiography and philosophy.

This is a study of the relationship between Greek prose literature of the Antonine Age in the second century AD (the Second Sophistic) and idea-theory, a type of literary stylistics best known from the Peri Ideon of Hermogenes of Tarsus. The author considers sophistic declamation, the relative value attributed to prose and poetry, attitudes towards Xenophon and Demosthenes, and the reputation of Aelius Aristides.

Greek rhetoric, in its diverse forms and impact on its contemporary context, is central to an understanding of ancient culture. The influence and exploitation of rhetoric in ancient times and modern reactions to it are the focus of this book. In recent years there has been a renaissance in the study of Greek rhetoric and oratory, informed by modern political sociology and discourse analysis. This book, bringing together the work of leading scholars in the field, examines the relation of ancient oratory and rhetoric to a variety of historical contexts and literary genres at both the theoritical and practical levels, at the same time reflecting new trends and ideas now at work

Trials for murder and manslaughter in ancient Athens are preserved in an outstandingly full and revealing record. Carawan offers a systematic treatment of Athenian homicide trials, outlining the historical development of the law, from Draco to Demosthenes, and analyzing the surviving speeches written for such proceedings.

Filling a major gap in scholarship, this is the first full-length study of the Athenian politician Aeschines. Along with Isocrates, Aeschines was one of the most prominent Athenian politicians who advocated friendly ties with the Macedonian king Philip II. Though overshadowed by his famous rival Demosthenes, Aeschines played a key role in the decisive events that marked the rise of Macedonian power in Greece and formed the transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic period. Three long speeches by Aeschines, all delivered in court battles with his opponent Demosthenes, have been preserved and provide us with valuable information about Athenian politics during a major turning point in Greek history. This study of Aeschines' political career examines the reliability of court speeches as historical evidence and shows how they help reveal how democratic institutions actually functioned in Athens when faced with the rise of Macedonian power.

From Achilles's heel to the sword of Damocles, Western culture teems with allusions from the rich heritage of classical literature, and this new edition of The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, the first updating since Sir Paul Harvey's original edition of 1937, provides the key to these works and the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations that produced them. Substantially revising the first edition, this volume condenses the findings of the most recent scholarship into highly readable prose and supplies a wealth of background information not found in Harvey's Companion. Indispensable to those studying classical literature in depth, the book will be equally accessible to the non-specialist. All Greek is transliterated, with translations given for all quotations from Greek and Latin. The main focus of the Companion remains the lives and works of the principal authors. Biographical entries offer the essential facts and sift the conjectural evidence, while entries on the major works include discussions of the philosophical dialogues and political speeches and plot summaries of the epic poems and plays. The various literary forms--epic, comedy, tragedy, rhetorical writing--are covered in depth, supplemented by articles on the origins of the Greek and Latin alphabets and languages. The Companion also puts this literature into its societal and historical contexts, including many articles on political, social, and artistic achievements. We learn, for example, about the political climate that produced the great speeches of Demosthenes and Cicero. Orators, statesmen, and generals stalk the pages, and major battles and conquests from the time of Alexander to the fall of Rome are summarized. Articles on contemporary social mores and religious beliefs help explain literary references, while the glories of philosophy, science, and art are celebrated from Cynics to Stoics, astronomy to water-clocks, and flute competitions to vase painting. Helpful maps supplement geographical entries, a chronological table provides an overview of the main historical and literary events, and a systematic set of cross-references links the entries. The breadth and accuracy of this volume will surely make it the standard reference book of its kind for years to come.