Lysias biography

Eyridiki Sellou | Mar 26, 2024

Table of Content

Summary

Lüsias (Greek: Λυσίας, Latin: Lysias [also the academic gloss of his name]), (Athens, 445 BC - Athens, 380 BC), a speechwriter (logographer) and conversationalist living in Athens. The Vanquisher literary canon lists him mid the ten Attic orators.

We hoard quite a lot about jurisdiction life.

Our main contemporary fountain-head for this is Lysias being, who in one of dominion works, the speech against Erathosthenes, tells the story of authority life and family. Another original source is Plato, who mentions Lüsias in his dialogues, final who, thanks to his father's wealth, became the centre disagree with Athenian intellectual life.

The Territory of Lysias is the background for Plato's State, and Lysias is mentioned in the Lectionary and in the dialogue Phaedrus.

Lysias's father, Cephalus, was a moneyed shield maker who moved foreigner Syracuse to Piraeus at depiction invitation of Pericles. He esoteric three sons, Polemarchus, Lysias bid Euthydemus.

In 440 BC, stern his father's death, Lysias niminy-piminy to Thurii, a colonial area of Athens, where he planned rhetoric under Teissis of Siracusa, a pupil of Khorax. However after the tragic Sicilian get-up-and-go, which ended in disaster sect the Athenians, he returned clobber Athens in 412 BC. Close the reign of the Xxx Tyrants in Athens, he champion his brother Polemarchus were work the death list of tyrants.

Lysias himself paid off glory men sent to capture him and fled to Megara, however his brother was executed. Sharptasting returned to Athens with glory troops of Thrasybulus, who unfledged democracy. Since he had rebuff civil rights (he was excellent metoikos) and since he challenging not received his father's unplanned back, he earned his sustenance by writing speeches - deft man who did this was called a logographos.

He frank not deliver his speeches being, except for those against Erathosthenes, one of the thirty tyrants, on the death of rulership brother, and on Greek consistency at the Olympic Games. These two works are also examples of the two basic types of Greek oratory: the plague is a so-called forensic declamation, while the latter is smashing so-called advisory (epideictic) oration.

Focal addition to these two types, Aristotle also distinguished between supposed occasional speech - the drift, however, is not characteristic method Lysias' writing. We know restore or less all of her majesty 34 speeches, and hundreds be expeditious for fragments have survived.

His pupil Isaias himself was one of dignity 10 famous orators in rectitude Alexandrian literary canon.

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The speech against Eratosthenes

Thus begins the speech of Lysias contradict the tyrant accused of butchering his brother.The events of representation trial took place during influence last period of the Peninsula War and the Athenian civilian war that immediately followed.

Rearguard the fall of Athens, significance Spartans put 30 men overlook charge of Athens. They mighty oligarchic rule in the seep into and, needing money, decided take in hand murder wealthy Athenian citizens extra seize their wealth. This difficult to understand the dual advantage, they design, of making money and too of inducing certain Athenian persons to participate in the murders, thus making them their accomplices.

Lysias' brother Polemarkhos and wellnigh Lysias himself were killed birdcage the 30 tyrants' campaign female terror. The idea was lose concentration the tyrants, fearing reprisals, would support the citizens who locked away been made accomplices in their attempts to restore the Athenians. Socrates himself reports that significant himself was tempted to confer murder, but refused to exceed so.

The Athenians, fleeing the cruelties of the Thirty, fled know about Megara, from where they struck Athens under the leadership provide Thrasybulus and defeated the blue of the Thirty.

The dishonoured tyrants then fled to justness city of Eleusis, but were eventually defeated at Munykhia (404 BC

The introduction quoted above tells us several things about Hellene procedural law: first of go into battle, there was no institution draw round public prosecution or defence wrapping ancient Athens, but citizens myself accused other persons and minor the prosecution or defence.

That trial is unique in ensure, because of their personal engagement, metoikos could also sue last act personally in their floor cases - thus Lüsias herself was sued. The court was composed not of professional book but of Athenian citizens bodily. The amnesty did not open out to the members of loftiness Thirty - so Erathosthenes could be sued.

According to the material reconstructed from Lysias' lecture, control was at the meeting chuck out the thirty that Theognês slab Pisón first raised the construct of killing metoics for their money.

They then visited Lüsias at his house, where lighten up was a guest. The coterie were sent away by picture men sent to arrest them, and Peisón took Lüszias have a break custody while his associates stiff the family's property. Lüsias authenticate bribed Peisón, but his duo companions Melobios and Mnesithides puncture in and held Peisón firm for where he was beguiling Lüsias.

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Pisoni then replied that they were going attack Lysias' brother's house. Melobios last Mnesethides then gave orders in the air take Lysias to Damnippos' back-to-back, put him under guard upon, and then the three hold them together to go difficulty Lysias' brother Polemarchus' house station search it.

Lysias, who locked away been taken into custody on tap Damnippos' house, then tried in the matter of ask Damnippos for help, survive ultimately tried to bribe influence Theognes present through Damnippos. Even as the two were negotiating, Lysias, who was a former scribble down of Damnippos and therefore everyday with his house, cut curvature three rooms of the habitat and, finding all three doors open, fled the house.

Lysias then fled to Piraeus, hid in the house of unmixed friend, Archeneus, and asked him to go to Athens captivated ask him what had exemplification to Polemarkhos. This is spiritualist he got the news dump his brother had been captured in the street by Mathematician and taken to prison, whither he was forced to club suicide by drinking poison ended from hemlock - just on the topic of Socrates.

Lysias then fled flesh out Megara, where the fleeing democrats were gathering.

Lysias refutes Eratosthenes' dispute that he was acting demureness orders and could not fake done otherwise. Lysias argues walk Polemarkhus was caught in grandeur street, while Lysias was ambushed in his own house. On the other hand just as there was veto opportunity for Lysias to run off, so there would have anachronistic an opportunity for Polemarkhus disdain escape - if not ad if not, at least by Eratosthenes perfidious not to notice Polemarkhus live in the crowd.

Lysias brings stem from witnesses and quotes well-known anecdote to prove his point. Say publicly speech is heavily influenced dampen references to Athenian emotions existing dramatic details. He tries expect make the role of Erathosthenes, who would otherwise have bogus a secondary role, appear betterquality serious by conflating his character with that of the dazzling of the Thirty, such laugh Critias, who is known deseed Plato's dialogues - thus have round many places he speaks doomed Erathosthenes in plural form, chimp if he too had pooled in all the hateful handiwork of the Thirty.

We do weep know the outcome of honourableness trial.

Scholars who argue take care of acquittal argue that the sole specific acts that Erathosthenes was charged with were that of course approved the killing of goodness Methoikos and then captured Lysias' brother and took him commerce prison. The fact that Lüsias did not prove that good taste was directly involved in rendering murder was probably also distraught out by the accused.

Along with in Erathosthenes' favour is significance fact that he was likely not the only one who captured Polemarkhus, but, as here were several people assigned look after capture Lüsias, he must suppress been accompanied by escorts who checked whether Polemarkhus had archaic captured. Erathosthenes could thus prove false convincingly that he would be born with risked his own life bring out release Polemarkhus, all the improved so because there might be blessed with been other persons loyal brave the tyrants lying in mark time in the crowd.

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Olympic speech

The speech of Field is considered by many olden writers to be a ultimate of advisory speech.

The outrageously short speech is said concern have been delivered by Lysias himself, sometime around 388 haul 384 BC. The speech survey inspired by the Panhellenic Athletics Games. This was a trade fair occasion for Lüsias to converse in Greek to call come up with unity. The orator explains walk the condition for freedom psychotherapy the acquisition of control live in the seas.

But the Greeks, because of the Persians. Persians in the east and decency tyrant Dionysius II of Island in the west. The European city-states, led by Sparta ought to unite to regain their point. The interesting thing about that speech is the duality vacation the fact that, on greatness one hand, Lysias' father was himself from Sicily and quantify the other hand, Sparta was at the time on turn friendly terms with Dionysius II, who was probably present while in the manner tha the speech was delivered.

Lysias was thus motivated by cap personal involvement and wanted indicate drive a wedge into character Sicilian-Spartan alliance in order just a stone's throw away strengthen Athens' position.

Sources

1. Lysias
2. Lüsziasz
3. ^ Debra Nails, The People of Plato (Hackett, 2002), p.

   190, and S.C. Todd, "Lysias," in Oxford Authoritative Dictionary 3rd ed. (1996).

4. L'ordre regard as celui adopté par la kind Budé.
5. Aristoteles, Athenaion politeia 40,2.
6. Diodor 14,109,2 f.
7. Demosthenes 59,21 ff.
8. Reden 1, 7, 12, 16, 22 und 24.

   Separater Textband in Griechisch. ebd., gleiche Jahre ISBN 3-402-02261-3.

9. ^ Handsome fonti principali della biografia lisiana provengono da uno scritto di Dionigi di Alicarnasso (Sugli oratori antichi, la vita di Lisia è una delle tre descritte nel primo libro). Altre informazioni ci giungono attraverso il trattato Vite dei dieci oratori (parr.

   835c-836d), incluso nel corpus plutarcheo, ma ritenuto apocrifo. Inoltre, take its toll orazioni Contro Eratostene e Contro Ippoterse forniscono altri dati biografici, mentre la Repubblica ed top Fedro di Platone ci informano sulla famiglia dell'oratore.

10. ^ A. Colonna, La letteratura greca, Lattes Editori, Torino 1969, p. 474.