Biography of the speaker of Demosthenes

His youth was the main teacher in eloquence, according to some news, Demosthenes was also the zealous student of Plato and Socrates. From a young age, Demosthenes, dreaming of the glory of the speaker, took his perira and diligently studied Fukidida, rewriting it eight times with his own hand. At that time, the Athenians were very spoiled in relation to the speakers: the speaker required not only the internal content, but the well -known facial expressions, different techniques of hands, fingers, the position of the body during speech, the game of physiognomy.

Meanwhile, Demosthenes were tongue -tied, had a weak voice, short breath, the habit of twitching his shoulder and pr. He defeated all these shortcomings of Plutarch of “Biography”, Dem. IV notes that the contemporaries of Demosthenes for his shortcomings gave him an unpleasant nickname Batal DR. He learned to clearly pronounce the words, gaining slippers and pebbles in his mouth, making speech on the seashore, with the noise of the waves, replacing the noise of the crowd in this case; He went to steepness, reading the poets loudly; I practiced facial expressions in front of the mirror, and the sword descending from the ceiling pricked it whenever he, out of habit, lifted his shoulder.

Studying samples of eloquence, Demosthenes did not leave the room for weeks, overtaking half his head, in order to avoid the temptation. His first attempts to speak publicly were not successful; But, encouraged by actor Satir, Demosthenes continued to work on himself. The political career of Demosthenes, practicing in oratory. Jean Lekont Du Nui. For the first time, he attracted serious attention in the process against his guardians of the Afob and the Aninator, who robbed him during the infancy.

Demosthenes won the process, but did not return his entire state. The political activity of Demosthenes began with the strengthening of Philip of the Macedonian. Anticipating the death of Athenian freedom, Demosthenes came up with his famous Philippics Philippic since then all sorts of angry, revealing speech and Olinf Olinf’s speeches - the accusations of Demosthenes against Philip of the Macedonian, who captured and destroyed the city of Olinf, whose ally of the Athens spoke.

In the city of Zorko, he followed all the military actions of Philip in Greece, warmly convincing the people to help the opponents of Philip in order to prevent him from intensifying. Demosthenes did not lose heart from failures; But when Philip won Fokida by force and cunning, put his conditions to Thebams, was elected to the Amphiction of the judge himself and sent ambassadors to Athens, Demosthenes made a speech “About the world” and advised to give in to the outrage of strength, in anticipation of a convenient moment for a new struggle.

Demosthenes were among the ambassadors sent to conclude a peace treaty with Philip, subsequently named the Filocratic World. Soon, Philip took advantage of the hostility of the Argivyan with the Lacedaemonians and sent the first army and money to the aid, hoping to penetrate this way into the Peloponnese. Then Demosthenes, with other ambassadors from Athens, went to keep the Argivyan and messengers from the Union with Philip.

Despite Philip’s insidiousness, whose ambassadors assured the Athenians in his peacefulness and complained that Demosthenes in vain restores all Greece against him, Demosthenes, thanks to passionate eloquence and deep conviction, again exposed him in his second Philippica and put into the mouth of the people a worthy answer and a challenge to Philip. The merit of Demosthenes should be valued this time especially high, because Philip acquired strong friends in Athens with bribery and other means; At the head of them stood Aeschin, who was a dangerous enemy of Demosthenes.

Demosthenes had to reckon with him and his party again when Philip won Evebean, more and more threatening the freedom of Athens. And this time the energy, nobility and talent of Demosthenes won. He raised all Greece against Philip. Fokion, at the head of the army collected at the insistence of Demosthenes, expelled tyrants planted by Philip from the Evebei. Soon, Philip was also forced to remove the siege of Corinth.

Demosthenes was crowned with a golden crown, at a festival of large Dionysius; But he was not destined to successfully complete the work of his hands. The Third Holy War allowed Philip to penetrate the very heart of Greece; He captured Elatea. The people in Athens came into despair, learning about it. One Demosthenes did not lose heart, and at his insistence, with his personal assistance, an agreement took place between Athens and Thebes, entailed two victories.

They triumphed in Athens, a wreath was laid on Demosthenes; But this joy was the last and short. The battle of Herone, in the city of Philip, as usual, tried after the victory to acquire the location of Athens, letting the prisoners without ransom, giving out the bodies of the dead, etc. He acquired a lot of enemies with this, since the crash of Philip and his money captivated citizens.

However, despite the machinations of Aeschin, Demosthenes were again crowned with the people. The struggle of the parties lasted for many years and ended with the complete triumph of Demosthenes, after his speech “On the Council”. This last competition attracted thousands of listeners from all over Greece, and Aeschin himself recognized the perfection of the eloquence of his famous enemy.

Philip's death aroused new hopes.Demosthenes persuaded not to give hegemony into the hands of the heir of Philip, hoping to raise all Greece and other peoples conquered by the king again. Alexander did not let the opponents come to his senses and quickly suppressed excitement. His victories did not break the spirit of Demosthenes. He took advantage of the uprising of Thebes to persuade Athens to overthrow the yoke of Alexander again.

Alexander pacified the uprising, brutally punished the Thebes, demanded from the Athenians the issuance of Demosthenes, but, yielding to the requests of the Athenian people, left him a noble patriot. Since this time, however, fate has been persecuted by Demosthenes. He was falling apart by enemies in a large process, sentenced to pay a large amount, and, without having it, fled to Egin and Trezen.

When Alexander died, it seemed that happiness again turned towards Demosthenes. He returned from exile, the Athenians met him with triumph and began to listen to him, armed to the struggle, inspired by the exploits of Leosfen, who was locked and besieged Antipatra in Lamia. However, the battle of Krannon was soon lost, and when the antipart, the winner of the rebellious cities, moved to Athens, Demosthenes fled to Calavre.

The death of the people of Athens, at the suggestion of Demad, carried out the death sentence to Demosthenes and its supporters. Behind them, Antipatr sent "hunters for people" led by the Archi. Here, Demosthenes, surrounded by the people of the Archiya, accepted the poison in the temple of Poseidon, not wanting to surrender to Demosthenes who was alive in the hands of the enemies of G.

Plutarch, although he, although he tried to pave his life, got it and applied a poisonous potion, escaped under the protection of the highest altar, escaping from the hands of the mercenaries and laughing at the cruelty of the antipatra. The Athenians soon erected a monument to him near this temple. On the basement of the statue, the inscription was cut out if the power, Demosthenes, you had the way the Mind of power in Hellas could not take the Macedonian Ares of Demosthenes' speech, is called the “Mirror of Character”.

He was not a rhetoric, did not like invented jewelry, but acted on the listeners by the power of belief, logic, strict development of thought, by the way, using arguments and examples. In preparation for speeches, he often carried out the whole nights. Its tongue is majestic, but simple, serious and pleasant, compressed, but at the same time surprisingly smoothly.

He achieved success not by the desire for effects, but by moral strength, the nobility of thought, love for the homeland, her honor, her glory and her past. Demosthenes' revealing speeches were caustic and biliary, for which, according to Plutarch, contemporaries nicknamed the speaker Arga DR. The number of Demosthenes known in antiquity, 61 were preserved of them, but including several, whose belonging to Demosthenes is doubtful.

The works of Demosthenes are a complete collection of Demosthenes' speeches in the original and English translation of Demosthenes. Golubtsova, L. Marinovich, E. series "Monuments of historical thought." Translations by V. Botvinnik and A. Borukhovich LIX, M. Translations S. Radzig I - XIX. The letters of demosthenes. Columbia University Press. ISBN X. Harvey Yunis Ed. Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Isbn Douglas M. Edited with Introduction, Translation, and Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Harvey Yunis Trans. The Oratery of Classical Greece, Vol. Oxford: Clarendon Press, Victor Bers Trans. Ian Worthington Trans. The Oratery of Classical Greece, Volume material from Wikipedia - a free encyclopedia. Books of the author:.