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Demades
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{{Short description|Athenian orator and demagogue}} '''Demades''' ({{langx|grc|Δημάδης Δημέου Παιανιεύς|Dēmádēs Dēméou Paianieús}}, {{circa|380|318}} BC) was an [[Athens|Athenian]] [[orator]] and [[demagogue]]. ==Background and early life== Demades was born into a poor [[family]] of ancient [[Paeania]] and was employed at one time as a common [[sailor]], but he rose to a prominent position at Athens thanks to his eloquence as well as his unscrupulous character.{{cn|date=January 2024}} He espoused the cause of [[Philip II of Macedon]] in the war against [[Olynthus]], and was thus brought into bitter and lifelong enmity with [[Demosthenes]], whom he at first supported.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1 |wstitle=Demades |volume=7 |page=979}}</ref> ==Relations with Macedon== Demades fought against the [[Macedon]]ians in the [[Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)|Battle of Chaeronea]], and was taken [[Prisoner of war|prisoner]]. Having made a favourable impression upon Philip, he was released together with his fellow-captives, and was instrumental in bringing about a [[treaty]] of peace between Macedonia and Athens.<ref name="EB1911"/> Demades continued to be a favourite of [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]], and, prompted by a [[bribe]], saved Demosthenes and some other Athenian orators from his vengeance. It was also chiefly owing to him that Alexander, after the [[Battle of Thebes|destruction of Thebes]], treated Athens leniently.<ref name="EB1911"/> Demades' conduct in supporting the Macedonian cause, yet receiving any bribes that were offered by the opposite party, led him to be heavily fined more than once; he was finally deprived of his civil rights. He was reinstated (322 BC) on the approach of [[Antipater]], to whom he was sent as ambassador. Before setting out he persuaded the citizens to pass sentence of death upon Demosthenes and his followers, who had fled from Athens. The result of his embassy was the conclusion of a peace considered to be greatly to the disadvantage of the Athenians.<ref name="EB1911"/> In 318 BC (or earlier), having been discovered involved in an intrigue with [[Perdiccas]], Antipater's opponent, Demades was put to death by Antipater at [[Pella]], when entrusted with another mission by the Athenians. Demades was avaricious and unscrupulous, but he was a highly gifted and practised orator.<ref name="EB1911" /> According to Arrian, Demades was killed by Cassander, Antipater's son, after suffering the slaughtering of his child in his hands. Cassander justified his actions by accusing Demades that he had slandered Antipater in his letters to Perdiccas.<ref>Arrian, Events after Alexander par. 13, Photii Bibliotheca</ref> ==Legacy== It has been said of Demades that he was a master improviser. This may explain why practically none of his works have fully survived and only scattered fragments have been preserved. A fragment of a [[Speech (public address)|speech]], bearing his name, in which he defends his conduct, is to be found in [[Karl Otfried Müller|C Müller]]'s ''Oratores Attici'', ii. 438, but its genuineness is considered to be doubtful. The saying that "[[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]]'s laws were written with blood, not with ink" is attributed to Demades. He is also alleged <ref>Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. VI. (published 1927). Macedon, 401–301 B.C., Ch. 6</ref> to have called the state largesse distributed by the [[Theorica|Theoric Fund]] the "cement of democracy". ==References== <references/> ==Bibliography== *{{cite book |last1=Brun |first1=Patrice |title=L'orateur Démade : essai d'histoire et d'historiographie |date=2000 |publisher=Ausonius |location=Pessac |isbn=978-2910023225}} *{{cite journal |last1=Habicht |first1=Christian |title=Zwei athenische Volksbeschlüsse |journal=Chrion |date=1989 |volume=19 |pages=1-5}} *{{cite book |last1=Lambert |first1=Stephen D. |editor1-last=Lambert |editor1-first=Stephen D. |title=Sociable man : essays on ancient Greek social behaviour in honour of Nick Fisher |date=2011 |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |location=Swansea |isbn=978-1905125517 |pages=204-205}} ==External links== * [http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674994348 ''Minor Attic Orators, II, Lycurgus. Dinarchus. Demades. Hyperides''], [[Harvard University Press]], Loeb Classical Library, 1954. * [http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/perry/63.htm Demades – hero of an Aesopian fable] {{Ancient Athenian statesmen}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:4th-century BC Athenians]] [[Category:380s BC births]] [[Category:310s BC deaths]] [[Category:People associated with Alexander the Great]]
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