Demosthenes’ speeches 23–26 are long and complicated, so it is no wonder that Edward Harris’ translation of them was the 15th and last volume to appear in the series The Oratory of Classical Greece (1998–2018), which was brilliantly edited by Michael Gagarin. Against Aristocrates (speech 23) deals with intricacies of foreign policy involving a mercenary general, Charidemus, but it is also a valuable source for Athenian homicide law, sections 22–81 being worthy in themselves of serious study by students of Athenian law. Against Timocrates (24) involves domestic politics and elucidates the complex Athenian procedures for enacting legislation. In both, the speakers stress the importance of the rule of law in Athenian democracy and emphasize key legal ideas, such as the monopoly on the use of legitimate force by the state, the need for consistency in statutes and the principle of no punishment without a written law. The remaining two speeches, Against Aristogeiton I and II, are forgeries composed in the Hellenistic period, as Harris reconfirms through a study of laws and legal procedures, an analysis of style and vocabulary, and ceaseless points in his notes.
Harris is an excellent guide both to the historical issues of the period and to issues in Athenian law, having been an extremely active contributor to the scholarship in both areas for many years. He misses no opportunity to refer readers to his own publications, especially where he has challenged views of others, and he does not refrain from labelling ‘specious’ the argumentation even in several of Demosthenes’ passages. As Athens’ power ebbed following the Social War, the city’s attempts to leverage its influence in northern Greece and its finances at home led to some perilous compromises, which are thoroughly detailed in speeches 23 and 24.
With regard to the Aristogeiton speeches, Harris’ preoccupation with disproving their authenticity as Demosthenic, or even fourth-century forensic speeches at all, misses opportunities to discuss in themselves some pretty interesting arguments about the role of the judges in regard to the law and how to conduct a character assassination. Aristotle’s Rhetoric also makes mistakes with regard to Athenian law, but it is undeniably fourth-century.
The translation itself is very readable, a significant improvement on the Loeb. Harris makes excellent decisions to break up many of Demosthenes’ very long periods into shorter English sentences. I might, however, quibble with ‘blackmailer’ for συκοϕάντης. Unlike the συκοϕάντης, blackmailers want to avoid confrontations in court. A sycophant in the English sense is also obviously a different sort of creature, but the spelling ‘sykophant’ has become quite common and useful in scholarship.
Unlike many of the volumes in the Texas series, this one likely offers too many complexities for most readers to engage with entire speeches. But Harris’ copious annotation, even with its sometimes trenchant tone, offers readers many, many starting points for engagement with individual passages.
