Divine talk : religious argumentation in Demosthenes / Gunther Martin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Martin, Gunther, 1976-

Series:

Oxford classical monographs

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Demosthenes--Criticism and interpretation.

Demosthenes.

Speeches, addresses, etc., Greek--History and criticism.

Speeches, addresses, etc., Greek.

Political oratory--Greece--Athens.

Political oratory.

Criticism and interpretation.

Athens (Greece)--Politics and government.

Athens (Greece).

Athens (Greece)--Religious life and customs.

Athens (Greece)--Religion.

Greece--Athens.

Physical Description:

ix, 345 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2009.

Summary:

The corpus of the Attic orators has long been recognized as a source for information about the mindset and life of ordinary Athenians. Gunther Martin's study contributes to a differentiated understanding of religion in Athenian public discourse by examining the references to religious beliefs, institutions, and events and the use made of them in the oratorical corpus. Martin first analyses the rhetorical strategies behind the employment of religion in each of Demosthenes' public forensic speeches and links them with their legal, historical, and social background, finding that arguments based on religion are not used randomly. He explores how the prominent orators differ in the sets of motifs they employ, in their persuasive strategies, and in the image they convey of themselves. In this way he throws light on the relationship between orators and their audience.

In the second part Martin deals with deliberative and private speeches, in which religion plays a much less prominent role. In these settings orators dispense with denigration and most other open use of religious argumentation. Martin shows how, instead, in the assembly the use of religious ideas can serve as a signal that helps to characterize the political situation. In the private speeches it is most prominently the religious form of procedural elements that is exploited. Martin presents various factors that could influence the appropriateness of references to religion, demonstrating that, in order to properly interpret speeches, we need to consider, for example, the public relevance of a case.

Contents:

Part I Speeches In Public Trials

1 Against Midias (Or. 21) 15

2 On the False Embassy (Or. 19) 49

3 On the Crown (Or. 18) 85

4 Demosthenes as Speechwriter 118

5 Speeches Written by Other Orators 137

Excursus: Against Aristogiton (Or. 25) 182

Conclusion I: The Importance of the Individual 203

Part II Deliberative And Private Speeches

6 Demosthenes' Assembly Speeches 219

7 Against Leptines (Or. 20) 236

8 Private Speeches I: Ritual Acts with Probative Force 250

9 Private Speeches II: Non-Probative Arguments 277

Conclusion II: The Influence of the Genre 290.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9780199560226

0199560226

OCLC:

377823602