Demosthenes << dih MOS thuh neez >> (384?-322 B.C.) was an Athenian statesman who is usually considered the greatest Greek orator. He is best known for his Philippics, a series of speeches that attacked King Philip II of Macedonia as a threat to Greek independence. Today, the term philippic means a bitter attack in words.
Demosthenes was the son of a wealthy Athenian. His father died when he was a boy, and Demosthenes was raised by three guardians. The guardians stole most of his inheritance. But Demosthenes studied law and oratory, and this training helped him when he brought his guardians to court after he reached adulthood. His lawsuit against them went so well that he entered politics.
Demosthenes overcame great difficulties to become an orator. He had a harsh, unpleasant voice and an awkward manner, and he suffered from shortness of breath. According to legend, he learned to speak properly by shouting above the roar of ocean waves with his mouth full of pebbles.
Demosthenes was one of the first people to recognize the ambition of Philip II to take over Greece. He urged the Athenians to pay the taxes needed to strengthen their army and navy, and to serve in the armed forces themselves instead of relying on hired soldiers. He was only partially successful in rousing the Athenians to resist Philip’s growing power in Greece.
Philip gained control of Delphi, in central Greece, by 346 B.C. At that time, Greece was divided into independent city-states, each of which consisted of a city and its surrounding territory. Demosthenes urged the city-states to join forces to oppose Philip. He eventually persuaded the powerful city-states of Athens and Thebes to form an alliance.
Philip defeated the armies of Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea, near present-day Levadhia, in 338 B.C. Athens made peace, but Demosthenes continued to oppose Macedonian rule. He defended his policy with his oration “On the Crown,” which many experts consider the most nearly perfect speech in history.
In 323 B.C., Demosthenes rallied the Greeks for another attack on Macedonia. But the attack failed, and he poisoned himself to avoid capture.
See also Philip II.
