Demosthenes of Athens and the Fall of Classical Greece, by Ian Worthington
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Demosthenes of Athens and the Fall of Classical Greece, by Ian Worthington
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Regarded as ancient Greece's greatest orator, Demosthenes lived through and helped shape one of the most eventful epochs in antiquity. His political career spanned three decades, during which time Greece fell victim to Macedonian control, first under Philip II and then Alexander the Great. Demosthenes' resolute and courageous defiance of Philip earned for him a reputation as one of history's outstanding patriots. He also enjoyed a brilliant and lucrative career as a speechwriter, and his rhetorical skills are still emulated today by students and politicians alike. Yet he was a sickly child with an embarrassing speech impediment, who was swindled out of much of his family's estate by unscrupulous guardians after the death of his father. His story is one of triumph over adversity. Modern studies of his life and career take one of two different approaches: he is either lauded as Greece's greatest patriot or condemned as an opportunist who misjudged situations and contributed directly to the end of Greek freedom. This biography, the first ever written in English for a popular audience, aims to determine which of these two people he was: self-serving cynic or patriot - or even a combination of both. Its chronological arrangement brings Demosthenes vividly to life, discussing his troubled childhood and youth, the obstacles he faced in his public career, his fierce rivalries with other Athenian politicians, his successes and failures, and even his posthumous influence as a politician and orator. It offers new insights into Demosthenes' motives and how he shaped his policy to achieve political power, all set against the rich backdrop of late Classical Greece and Macedonia.
Demosthenes of Athens and the Fall of Classical Greece, by Ian Worthington- Amazon Sales Rank: #1173977 in Books
- Published on: 2015-10-01
- Released on: 2015-10-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 6.10" h x 1.40" w x 9.10" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 416 pages
Review "Informative and lively... Catchy chapter titles and subheadings elucidate and enhance this well-referenced explication of a complex historical period, as do the detailed chronology, catalogue of orations and comprehensive index... [A] masterful conversion of Demosthenes' convoluted rhetoric into a compelling narrative." --The Classical Journal
"'Look to the end', went the ancient Greek motto, and the suicidal end of Professor Worthington's subject was far from ignoble, like much of his actively democratic political life, which is here thoroughly investigated, persuasively estimated, and ultimately celebrated as that of one who stood bravely against tyranny." --Paul Cartledge, A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, Cambridge University, and author of Ancient Greece: A Very Short Introduction"This is a gripping story of Macedonian ascendance, Athenian retrenchment-and the efforts of a gifted, but flawed Demosthenes to reverse the course of history. In both accessible and erudite fashion, Ian Worthington guides us through the labyrinth of Greek and Macedonian politics, and the result is not only first-rate history, but lessons for any age--ours especially--when the fear of civilizational decline, and its supposed remedies, become near obsessions." --Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow, Classics and Military History, the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and author of The Other Greeks and A War Like No Other"Demosthenes' life is a powerful case study of the conflict between democracy and monarchy, and this book will be welcomed by both scholars and non-specialist readers because it is highly accessible, fair in its treatment of controversial issues, yet not afraid to state an opinion. A must-read for anyone interested in ancient politics and rhetoric." --Joseph Roisman, Professor of Classics, Colby College, and author of Alexander's Veterans and the Early Wars of the Successors"Ian Worthington has recently written a very fine introduction to Demosthenes' career...an erudite but readable biography. It is sober, balanced, and analytical." --Barry Strauss, The New Criterion"A most welcome addition to the extensive scholarly literature on this subject... I would strongly recommend this well-balanced, accessible and thorough monograph to scholars and non-specialist readers." --Bryn Mawr Classical ReviewAbout the Author Ian Worthington is Curators' Professor of History and Adjunct Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Missouri and author of By the Spear: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. OMG it's US! By j a haverstick After a couple of centuries of warfare, the world-historical city state of Athens is spiritually staggering. Still, a generation after the great defeat by Sparta, risen like Germany, she once more is the most influential of the cities. Sadly, in a two year attempt to tighten control over her latest empire, by about 350 she has spent nearly a billion dollars on war! (Think of this as a prosperous American city and county of about 500,00 like Lancaster Pa, where I live blowing that amount in 2 years). Also she has privatized the state silver mines and they now produce much less revenue for the citizens. Citizen attempts to regain state control are futile. The rich are increasingly exempt from taxes and, again, attempts to eliminate exemptions are futile. Political quarrels abound. Meantime, up the road, the Macedonians are buying off their neighbors and investing heavily in new (weapons) technology and rethinking how an army might be organized. When Athens finally wakes up, she's flattened by King Phillip, almost as an afterthought.In fact, I don't really believe in history repeating itself like this. When I was young it was all about Spengler and the flabbiness of the West, a thesis now forgotten. Nonetheless, I found this book intersting reading, indeed. History doesn't repeat, said Twain, but it DOES rhyme. Many classical geeks besides me, I'll bet can't much fill in the historical details between the death of Socrate and Alexander except in broad outline. Alexander and his exploits are well covered and so's the defeat of Athens in the war with Sparta, but the intervening period where the mainland and the Pelloponese goes down to Phillip is much less known. This fills a lacuna in my knowledge, at least. And it's a good extra to get an education in Demosthenes at the same time, so I'm happy with this way of telling the story. Also, though I've got over 120 of the Loeb volumes collected and read through time, none of Demosthenes at all. So it's a good peek at him and the Athenian litigation at this time. I wasn't so interested, though, that I'd go out and buy and read his collected works for it's own sake.Speaking of the litigation, though I've got some sources on Athenian law, I think this book would have been helped by an introduction sketching the system, particularly as it is relevant to the sorts of cases Demosthenes was involved in rather than explaining it piecemeal as the story develops.P.S., I don't want to parse the criticism by another reviewer of the book as object. I was most pleased to find the footnotes at the bottom of the page as opposedto, as is now customary, at the inaccesable rear. The black and white illustrations are quite muddy, which is simply not necessary these days, if it ever was. The forensic reconstruction of Phillip's face based on the skull fragments which was fascinating, would have been even more so were it not so smudged. (Many academic presses give little thought to book quality and I'm going to digress to say that I just got John Updike's last art crit book for $35 which is treasure and that volume surely had much more royalties etc than Oxford UP with this one. Actually, Oxford and Cambridge are among the worst at book production. (Well, I wander....)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Scholarly, academic biography of classical Greek orator Demosthenes and history of the Macedonian conquest of Greece By E. Jaksetic In the history of rhetoric, Demosthenes of Athens (circa 384-322 B.C.) was considered to be one of the great classical orators. This biography examines his life in the context of his involvement in Athenian social and political life, the contentious rivalries of the various Greek city-states, and King Phillip II of Macedonia's rise to power and later conquest of the Greek city states. Although the author disclaims any intent to focus on Demosthenes as an orator, the author does discuss Demosthenes's use of rhetoric as a public figure involved in Athenian domestic politics and in Athenian policy with respect to other Greek city-states and foreign countries.The author provides a scholarly look at the life and times of Demosthenes that cites many primary and secondary sources. The author occasionally seeks to explore the motivations of Demosthenes and other people involved in the various events discussed. While the author's surmises and speculations about the motivations of Demosthenes and others are occasionally interesting and thought-provoking, such explorations are generally speculative in nature because of the sketchy and incomplete nature of the historical record. Although thoughtful and intriguing, the author's conjectures and extrapolations are not an adequate substitute for supporting documentary evidence.This book is scholarly in style and tone, and probably would not be satisfying to readers looking for more casual biographies or histories. Readers interested in the history of classical rhetoric might find it worthwhile as a source of information about the circumstances and contexts in which Demosthenes used rhetoric. Because the book focuses on Demosthenes, persons primarily interested in the rise of King Phillip II of Macedonia and his conquest of the Greek city-states should read this book in conjunction with other pertinent publications.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful. At the edge of two empires. By Wabbit98 It was a time of change in Ancient Greece, Alexander the Great was on the upswing and Athens was on the downward spiral. In that mix rose a group of orators, and politicians, that would usher in a new age; a period of time that they wanted to avoid. In this new work by Ian Worthington, which is written for a general audience, he takes us through the world of Demosthenes and his life and times. From his early childhood where his family spent all his money; to his slow rise through the law courts of Athens, and his eventual breakout in the political world. His early speeches advocated a sensible foreign policy, which would keep Athens away from disastrous wars. It was only with the rise of Philip, the father of Alexander, that he would change his stance. His surviving speeches all attack Philip, and put Athens on top of the mountain. But things could not stay the same forever, and eventually Philip won the day. But Demosthenes would live longer than either Philip or Alexander, only killing himself instead of being executed.Mr. Worthington acknowledges that this is not the easiest biography to write; with a lack of primary sources, and the few surviving ones are not exactly balanced and fair. But he does an excellent job of placing Demosthenes in his proper context in the larger world of geopolitical politics.
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