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Books about Demosthenes :
Plutarch's Lives : Demosthenes and Cicero, Alexander and Caesar
Demosthenes : Statesman and Orator
(384-322 BC). When Demosthenes was a youth in ancient Athens, no one could have believed that he would
become the greatest of the Greek orators. He had a speech impediment, and people jeered at his stammering when
he addressed his first large public assembly.
Demosthenes, the son of a wealthy swordmaker, was orphaned when he was only 7. His guardians so misused his estate
that little was left when Demosthenes came of age. Seeking justice, he boldly pleaded his own case and won some
damages. He was not yet an outstanding speaker, however. To learn to speak distinctly, he talked with pebbles in
his mouth and recited verses while running. To strengthen his voice, he spoke on the seashore over the roar of
the waves.
Demosthenes' diligent work was successful. By the time he was about 25 he had entered public life. He had won popularity
and power when King Philip of Macedon was beginning the conquest of Greece. Realizing
the peril, Demosthenes made eloquent appeals for his countrymen to unite and preserve their freedom. These powerful
orations against Philip were known as philippics, a term still in use to describe any impassioned denunciation
or tirade.
The Athenians were too late in heeding Demosthenes' warnings. Then he was falsely accused of taking a bribe. He
was fined and imprisoned but escaped into exile. After his final effort to obtain freedom for Greece failed, he
swallowed poison from his pen.
Demosthenes' greatest oration is entitled 'On the Crown'. He delivered it in 330 BC. It was a review and justification
of his public life and a condemnation of his bitter rival, Aeschines, who was forced into exile.
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