- Copyright Page
- Abbreviations and Conventions
- Contributors
- Tables
- Introduction
- Demosthenic Scholarship
- Literary Readings of Oratory
- Historical Readings of Oratory
- The Place of Oratory in Fourth-Century Politics and Culture
- Public Opinion and the Arenas of Debate
- Law and Justice
- Court Procedures and Arbitration
- Political Elites
- Diplomacy
- Athenian Foreign Policy
- Athenian State Finances
- The Athenian Military
- Corruption
- Views on the Past
- Visions of Attica
- Trade and Credit
- The Social and Legal Position of Metics, Foreigners, and Slaves
- The Rhetoric of Social and Political Values
- Neighbourhood and Local Communities
- Kinship
- Religion
- City and Countryside
- The Biographic Tradition
- Family, Formation, Extra-Political Activities
- Political Career
- Allies and Foes (I): Aeschines, Hyperides, Lycurgus
- Allies and Foes (II): Politicians without transmitted speeches
- Speeches to the Assembly and in Public Prosecutions (DEM. 1–24)
- Speeches in Private Prosecutions
- The <i>Epitaphios, Erotikos, Prooimia</i>, and Letters
- Rhetorical Technique
- Authenticity, Composition, Publication
- Afterlife (Antiquity and Byzantine Era)
- Afterlife (Modern Era)
- Transmission of the <i>Corpus Demosthenicum</i>
- General Index
- Index Locorum
Abstract and Keywords
Chapter 34 focuses on Demosthenes’ reception in the modern era. It was Cicero and Quintilian who made sure that Demosthenes will never be forgotten. The praise that they heaped on Demosthenes’ style made it possible for him to always remain a figure to conjure with. Plutarch established the status of Cicero and Demosthenes as the twin fathers of oratory. The article first considers how Demosthenes emerged as a central topic in political discussions during the modern period, as seen in the first English translation of the Olynthiacs and the Philippics by Thomas Wilson. It then examines how, from Wilson onwards, Demosthenes’ fortunes became largely intertwined with the fortunes of Athenian democracy itself, and particularly how his association with liberty and opposition to tyranny propelled Demosthenes into the limelight of American Revolutionary rhetoric. It also describes how Demosthenes became an important figure in popular culture.
Keywords: Demosthenes, reception, Olynthiacs, Philippics, Thomas Wilson, democracy, liberty, American Revolution, rhetoric, popular culture
Alastair J. L. Blanshard is Paul Eliadis Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Queensland.
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- Copyright Page
- Abbreviations and Conventions
- Contributors
- Tables
- Introduction
- Demosthenic Scholarship
- Literary Readings of Oratory
- Historical Readings of Oratory
- The Place of Oratory in Fourth-Century Politics and Culture
- Public Opinion and the Arenas of Debate
- Law and Justice
- Court Procedures and Arbitration
- Political Elites
- Diplomacy
- Athenian Foreign Policy
- Athenian State Finances
- The Athenian Military
- Corruption
- Views on the Past
- Visions of Attica
- Trade and Credit
- The Social and Legal Position of Metics, Foreigners, and Slaves
- The Rhetoric of Social and Political Values
- Neighbourhood and Local Communities
- Kinship
- Religion
- City and Countryside
- The Biographic Tradition
- Family, Formation, Extra-Political Activities
- Political Career
- Allies and Foes (I): Aeschines, Hyperides, Lycurgus
- Allies and Foes (II): Politicians without transmitted speeches
- Speeches to the Assembly and in Public Prosecutions (DEM. 1–24)
- Speeches in Private Prosecutions
- The <i>Epitaphios, Erotikos, Prooimia</i>, and Letters
- Rhetorical Technique
- Authenticity, Composition, Publication
- Afterlife (Antiquity and Byzantine Era)
- Afterlife (Modern Era)
- Transmission of the <i>Corpus Demosthenicum</i>
- General Index
- Index Locorum