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The Oratory of Classical Greece
Isocrates I
This is the fourth volume in the Oratory of Classical Greece series. Planned for publication over several years, the series will present all of the surviving speeches from the late fifth and fourth centuries B.C. in new translations prepared by classical scholars who are at the forefront of the discipline. These translations are especially designed for the needs and interests of today's undergraduates, Greekless scholars in other disciplines, and the general public. Classical oratory is an invaluable resource for the study of ancient Greek life and culture. The speeches offer evidence on Greek moral views, social and economic conditions, political and social ideology, and other aspects of Athenian culture that have been largely women and family life, slavery, and religion, to name just a few. This volume contains works from the early, middle, and late career of the Athenian rhetorician Isocrates (436-338). Among the translated works are his legal speeches, pedagogical essays, and his lengthy autobiographical defense, Antidosis . In them, he seeks to distinguish himself and his work, which he characterizes as "philosophy," from that of the sophists and other intellectuals such as Plato. Isocrates' identity as a teacher was an important mode of political activity, through which he sought to instruct his students, foreign rulers, and his fellow Athenians. He was a controversial figure who championed a role for the written word in fourth-century politics and thought.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1928
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 3, 2014
In defense of patriotism defined as hatred of the other.
November 17, 2013
This book provides some helpful context for Isocrates and his works, as well as nice translations of many of those works. Given my interests, I was especially drawn to Against the Sophists and the Antidosis.
One of his earlier works, Against the Sophists is Isocrates attempt to create a space for his school and pedagogy in Athens. He does so by critiquing “sophists” as braggarts and amoral deceivers. Instead of honestly admitting the importance of “the student’s experiences or … his native ability,” these so-called instructors claim to be able to teach anyone to be an effective rhetor as if “the science of speeches is like teaching the alphabet” (9). Learning to make effective political speeches is “a creative activity” that cannot be taught via “an ordered art,” but requires both student and teacher to attend to “circumstances (kairoi), propriety … and originality” (12-13). Isocrates presents himself as an honest teacher--one who admits the limits of instruction and the importance of the speaking abilities “innate in the well-born” (14), but who can nevertheless offer useful training in “knowledge of the forms (ideai) that we use in speaking and composing all speeches” as someone who “knows something about them” (16).
The Antidosis is a fictional legal defense written by Isocrates near the end of his life. It is based on an actual situation in which a wealthy citizen used legal means to successfully offload his responsibility for funding a trireme onto Isocrates by claiming Isocrates was the wealthier of the two. In the speech, Isocrates replaces the actual citizen with the fictional Lysimachus, who is characterized by Isocrates as a habitually litigious sykophant. Isocrates uses the speech not only to defend himself against Lysimachus’ charges, but to defend his relatively apolitical lifestyle, his pedagogy, and his legacy. He argues that he has done great things for Athens, associating himself with “the more leisured of the Greeks” and claiming that most of his means “come entirely from outside Athens” (39)--thus he was not a financial burden on the city’s citizens. He has not made his money as a despicable litigator or a speechmaker for court cases, but instead wrote speeches “of a political character … to be delivered in panegyric assemblies” (46). He associates these sorts of speeches and thus himself with “philosophy,” while he associates court speeches with the “political meddling” of sykophants like Lysimachus. He uses examples and passages from his past speeches as evidence of his goodwill towards Athens and Greece (56). In addition to citing past speeches, he cites the names of some of his students who went on to do great things for Athens. Responding more directly to Lysimachus’ “slander” that he “possessed great wealth,” Isocrates notes “that none of the so-called sophists has earned much money” (155). In an interesting reversal from his earlier Against the Sophists, Isocrates associates himself with some of the sophists--though not the “quibblings” of the older sophists (271)--and worries that he “might incur some harm from the popular prejudice against the sophists” (168). He offers a long encomium of philosophy, which he presents as the purview of real sophists, in order to defend both himself and his practices. He sets up philosophy as a sort of proto-liberal arts education for the aristocratic youth who should rightly be at the forefront of Athenian democracy, and he presents himself as a relatively apolitical (apragmonestatoi) man who has quietly espoused and offered that education (217).
One of his earlier works, Against the Sophists is Isocrates attempt to create a space for his school and pedagogy in Athens. He does so by critiquing “sophists” as braggarts and amoral deceivers. Instead of honestly admitting the importance of “the student’s experiences or … his native ability,” these so-called instructors claim to be able to teach anyone to be an effective rhetor as if “the science of speeches is like teaching the alphabet” (9). Learning to make effective political speeches is “a creative activity” that cannot be taught via “an ordered art,” but requires both student and teacher to attend to “circumstances (kairoi), propriety … and originality” (12-13). Isocrates presents himself as an honest teacher--one who admits the limits of instruction and the importance of the speaking abilities “innate in the well-born” (14), but who can nevertheless offer useful training in “knowledge of the forms (ideai) that we use in speaking and composing all speeches” as someone who “knows something about them” (16).
The Antidosis is a fictional legal defense written by Isocrates near the end of his life. It is based on an actual situation in which a wealthy citizen used legal means to successfully offload his responsibility for funding a trireme onto Isocrates by claiming Isocrates was the wealthier of the two. In the speech, Isocrates replaces the actual citizen with the fictional Lysimachus, who is characterized by Isocrates as a habitually litigious sykophant. Isocrates uses the speech not only to defend himself against Lysimachus’ charges, but to defend his relatively apolitical lifestyle, his pedagogy, and his legacy. He argues that he has done great things for Athens, associating himself with “the more leisured of the Greeks” and claiming that most of his means “come entirely from outside Athens” (39)--thus he was not a financial burden on the city’s citizens. He has not made his money as a despicable litigator or a speechmaker for court cases, but instead wrote speeches “of a political character … to be delivered in panegyric assemblies” (46). He associates these sorts of speeches and thus himself with “philosophy,” while he associates court speeches with the “political meddling” of sykophants like Lysimachus. He uses examples and passages from his past speeches as evidence of his goodwill towards Athens and Greece (56). In addition to citing past speeches, he cites the names of some of his students who went on to do great things for Athens. Responding more directly to Lysimachus’ “slander” that he “possessed great wealth,” Isocrates notes “that none of the so-called sophists has earned much money” (155). In an interesting reversal from his earlier Against the Sophists, Isocrates associates himself with some of the sophists--though not the “quibblings” of the older sophists (271)--and worries that he “might incur some harm from the popular prejudice against the sophists” (168). He offers a long encomium of philosophy, which he presents as the purview of real sophists, in order to defend both himself and his practices. He sets up philosophy as a sort of proto-liberal arts education for the aristocratic youth who should rightly be at the forefront of Athenian democracy, and he presents himself as a relatively apolitical (apragmonestatoi) man who has quietly espoused and offered that education (217).
July 10, 2013
A valuable portrait of Classical Athens, told by a cantankerous, deeply earnest, sometimes very wise old man. The intro essays are brief, to the point, and useful. With Greek and English versions of the same passages side-by-side, it's an excellent pocket edition for neophytes or established scholars.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews