Δημοσθένης
Demosthenes
Translated by Malcolm Heath28 Jun 2000Vetting: high6 revisions
Translation
An Athenian, son of Demosthenes and Cleobule; rhetor, of the deme Paeania. [He was] painstaking rather than naturally gifted, Hermippus1 says; and he lacked self-control with regard to pleasures (the same source says this too). Hence as a young man he was called Batalus2 (because he often wore women's clothing), and after he was an adult, Argas3 (that is the name of a snake). He became ambitious to be an orator through hearing the orator Callistratus speaking on behalf of Oropus.4 He studied with Isaeus,5 the pupil of Isocrates,and conversed with Zoilus of Amphipolis6 when he was a sophist in Athens, and of Polycrates7 and Alcidamas,8 the pupil of Gorgias, and of Isocrates himself.9 He engaged in literary studies along with Aesion of Athens10 and the philosopher Theopompus of Chios.11 He also studied with Eubulides the dialectician and Plato. He died as an exile in Calauria,12 in the temple of Poseidon, because of Antipater of Macedon; he took the poison he carried in his ring, aged 62.
Greek original · Adler’s text
Δημοσθένης, Ἀθηναῖος, υἱὸς Δημοσθένους καὶ Κλεοβούλης, ῥήτωρ, τῶν δήμων Παιανιεύς· ἐπιμελὴς μᾶλλον ἢ εὐφυής, ὡς Ἕρμιππος ἱστορεῖ· καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἡδονὰς ἀκόλαστος, ὡς καὶ τοῦτό φησιν ὁ αὐτός. ὅθεν καὶ νέος μὲν ὢν Βάταλος ἐκλήθη, ὡς καὶ γυναικείᾳ ἐσθῆτι πολλάκις χρησάμενος· Ἀργὰς δὲ μετὰ τὸ εἰς ἄνδρας τελέσαι· ὅπερ ἐστὶν ὄνομα ὄφεως. ἐπεθύμησε δὲ ῥητορικῆς Καλλίστρατον θεασάμενος τὸν ῥήτορα ὑπὲρ Ὠρωπίων λέγοντα. διήκουσε δὲ Ἰσαίου, τοῦ Ἰσοκράτους μαθητοῦ, καὶ τοῖς λόγοις ἐχρῆτο Ζωΐλου τοῦ Ἀμφιπολίτου, σοφιστεύοντος ἐν Ἀθήναις, καὶ Πολυκράτους καὶ Ἀλκιδάμαντος, τοῦ Γοργίου μαθητοῦ, καὶ αὐτοῦ μέντοι Ἰσοκράτους. συνεφιλολόγησε δὲ Αἰσίωνι τῷ Ἀθηναίῳ καὶ Θεοπόμπῳ τῷ Χίῳ φιλοσόφῳ. διηκροάσατο δὲ καὶ Εὐβουλίδου τοῦ διαλεκτικοῦ καὶ Πλάτωνος· ἐτελεύτησε δὲ φυγὼν εἰς Καλαβρίαν ἐν τῷ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἱερῷ διὰ τὸν Μακεδόνα Ἀντίπατρον, προσενεγκάμενος φάρμακον τὸ ἐν τῷ δακτυλίῳ, ἔτη βιώσας δύο καὶ ἑξήκοντα.
Betacode
*dhmosqe/nhs, *)aqhnai=os, ui(o\s *dhmosqe/nous kai\ *kleobou/lhs, r(h/twr, tw=n dh/mwn *paianieu/s: e)pimelh\s ma=llon h)\ eu)fuh/s, w(s *(/ermippos i(storei=: kai\ pro\s ta\s h(dona\s a)ko/lastos, w(s kai\ tou=to/ fhsin o( au)to/s. o(/qen kai\ ne/os me\n w)\n *ba/talos e)klh/qh, w(s kai\ gunaikei/a| e)sqh=ti polla/kis xrhsa/menos: *)arga\s de\ meta\ to\ ei)s a)/ndras tele/sai: o(/per e)sti\n o)/noma o)/fews. e)pequ/mhse de\ r(htorikh=s *kalli/straton qeasa/menos to\n r(h/tora u(pe\r *)wrwpi/wn le/gonta. dih/kouse de\ *)isai/ou, tou= *)isokra/tous maqhtou=, kai\ toi=s lo/gois e)xrh=to *zwi/+lou tou= *)amfipoli/tou, sofisteu/ontos e)n *)aqh/nais, kai\ *polukra/tous kai\ *)alkida/mantos, tou= *gorgi/ou maqhtou=, kai\ au)tou= me/ntoi *)isokra/tous. sunefilolo/ghse de\ *ai)si/wni tw=| *)aqhnai/w| kai\ *qeopo/mpw| tw=| *xi/w| filoso/fw|. dihkroa/sato de\ kai\ *eu)bouli/dou tou= dialektikou= kai\ *pla/twnos: e)teleu/thse de\ fugw\n ei)s *kalabri/an e)n tw=| tou= *poseidw=nos i(erw=| dia\ to\n *makedo/na *)anti/patron, prosenegka/menos fa/rmakon to\ e)n tw=| daktuli/w|, e)/th biw/sas du/o kai\ e(ch/konta.
Notes (12)
- 384-322 BC. See generally RE Demosthenes(16); NP Demosthenes(2); OCD4 Demosthenes(2). See also delta 455 and delta 456.↩
- 1[epsilon 3045] Hermippus. ↩
- 2cf. beta 177 and beta 178. ↩
- 3cf. alpha 3760. ↩
- 4RE Kallistratos(1); OCD4 Callistratus(2); cf. omega 204. ↩
- 5[iota 620] Isaeus. ↩
- 6[zeta 130] Zoilus. ↩
- 7RE Polykrates(7); OCD4 Polycrates(2). ↩
- 8[alpha 1283] Alcidamas. ↩
- 9[iota 652] Isocrates. ↩
- 10cf. alphaiota 322. ↩
- 11[theta 172] Theopompus. ↩
- 12The transmitted text says "Calabria" (in S Italy), but see kappa 188 and the note there.
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- β178ΒάταλοςBatalos, BatalusSo Demosthenes was called while he was young, for being effeminate; but when older [he was called] Argas, from a snake of that name.
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Revision history6 revisions · last 1 Aug 2014
- updated some refs — David Whitehead
- more keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- another keyword — David Whitehead
- cosmetics — David Whitehead
- augmented notes; added keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Revised — Malcolm Heath
- Translated — Malcolm Heath