Aeschines | |
|---|---|
 Marble bust of Aeschines found inHeraclea Lyncestis, North Macedonia, now in theBritish Museum | |
| Born | 389 BC |
| Died | 314 BC (aged 74–75) |
Aeschines (/ˈɛskɪniːz/;Greek:Ancient Greek:Αἰσχίνης Ἀτρομήτου Κοθωκίδης,romanized: Aischínēs Atromḗtou Kothōkídēs; 389–314 BC) was aGreekstatesman and one of the tenAttic orators.
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Although it is known he was born inAthens, the records regarding his parentage and early life are conflicting; but it seems probable that his parents, though poor, were respectable. Aeschines' father was Atrometus, an elementary school teacher of letters. His mother Glaukothea assisted in the religious rites of initiation for the poor. After assisting his father in his school, he tried his hand atacting with indifferent success, served with distinction in thearmy, and held several clerkships, amongst them the office of clerk to theBoule.[1] Among the campaigns that Aeschines participated in were Phlius in thePeloponnese (368 BC),Battle of Mantinea (362 BC), andPhokion's campaign in Euboea (349 BC). The fall ofOlynthus (348 BC) brought Aeschines into the political arena, and he was sent on an embassy to rouse the Peloponnese againstPhilip II of Macedon.[1]
In spring of 347 BC, Aeschines addressed the assembly of Ten Thousand inMegalopolis,Arcadia urging them to unite and defend their independence against Philip. In the summer 347 BC, he was a member of the peace embassy to Philip, where he found it necessary, in order to counteract the prejudice vigorously fomented by his opponents, to defend Philip and describe him at a meeting of theAthenian popular assembly as being entirely Greek.[2] His dilatoriness during the second embassy (346 BC) sent to ratify the terms of peace led to him being accused byDemosthenes and Timarchus on a charge ofhigh treason.[1] Aeschines counterattacked by claiming that Timarchus had forfeited the right to speak before the people as a consequence of youthful debauches which had left him with the reputation of being awhore and prostituting himself to many men in the port city ofPiraeus. The suit succeeded and Timarchus was sentenced toatimia and politically destroyed, according to Demosthenes. This comment was later interpreted byPseudo-Plutarch in hisLives of the Ten Orators as meaning that Timarchos hanged himself upon leaving the assembly, a suggestion contested by some modern historians.[3]
This oration,Against Timarchus, is considered important because of the bulk ofAthenian laws it cites. As a consequence of his successful attack on Timarchus, Aeschines was cleared of the charge of treason.[4]
In 343 BC the attack on Aeschines was renewed by Demosthenes in his speechOn the False Embassy. Aeschines replied in a speech with the same title and was again acquitted. In 339 BC, as one of the Athenian deputies (pylagorae) in theAmphictyonic Council, he made a speech which brought about theFourth Sacred War.[1]
By way of revenge, Aeschines endeavoured to fix the blame for these disasters upon Demosthenes. In 336 BC, whenCtesiphon proposed that his friend Demosthenes should be rewarded with a golden crown for his distinguished services to the state, Aeschines accused him of having violated the law in bringing forward the motion. The matter remained in abeyance till 330 BC, when the two rivals delivered their speechesAgainst Ctesiphon andOn the Crown. The result was a complete and overwhelming victory for Demosthenes.[1]
Aeschines went into voluntary exile atRhodes (to avoid the judgement of the jury, which was likely a large sum of money), where he opened a school ofrhetoric. He afterwards removed toSamos, where he died aged 75. His three speeches, called by the ancients "the Three Graces," rank next to those of Demosthenes.Photius knew of nine letters by him which he calledThe Nine Muses; the twelve published under his name (Hercher,Epistolographi Graeci) are not genuine.[1]
Three of Aeschines speeches have survived:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Aeschines".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 271. This references:
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