Orators -- Greece; Oratory, Ancient; Speeches, addresses, etc., Greek -- History and criticism
This story is at least a plausible one. The only suspicious detail is the
orator’s own candid admission that all of those whom he accused—with the
exception of four—had already been named by Teucrus and punished, some
by death, the rest by exile, so that his ‘confession’ could do them no
further harm. The four others whom he included were not yet in prison,
though they were known to be associates of those who had already paid
the penalty. They had time to escape into exile (§ 68). We may suspect
that they received from the informer due notice of his intentions. Thus,
at the expense of driving four men, who were probably guilty, into
exile, Andocides undoubtedly saved the lives of himself, his father, his
brother-in-law, and the rest of the forty-two prisoners. The informer
Dioclides now recanted, and said that he had been compelled by Alcibiades
and Amiantus to lay false information. He was brought to trial and put to
death (§ 66). Andocides, suffering from partial disfranchisement, was for
many years away from Athens. He engaged in commerce in many countries,
and made money, sometimes by discreditable means. He had dealings with
Sicily, Italy, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Ionia, the Hellespont, and
finally, Cyprus, where Evagoras, King of Salamis, bestowed a valuable
property on him.[94]
In 411 B.C. he made an attempt to recover his rights. He procured
oars for the Athenian fleet at Samos, and returned to Athens to plead
his cause. Unfortunately the Four Hundred had then just usurped the
government, and they rejected his plea on the ground that he had helped
their enemies. Later, in 410 or 408 B.C., he made another attempt,
and delivered the speech _de Reditu_, but was again unsuccessful. It
was only after the amnesty of Thrasybulus (403 B.C.) that he resumed
his full citizenship, and henceforward took an active part in public
life, figuring now as an ardent democrat, speaking in the assembly and
performing liturgies. In 399 B.C. old enmities burst into flame, and
he was accused of impiety on two counts—as having taken part in the
Eleusinian mysteries at a time when he was legally disqualified from
doing so, and as having deposited a suppliant’s branch on the altar at
Eleusis during the time of the mysteries—which was a profanation. The
penalty for either offence was death, and the _de Mysteriis_ is his
successful answer to these charges.
In 391 B.C., as one of the envoys delegated to bring about a peace
with Sparta, he delivered the _de Pace_. The peace was not concluded.
This is the last mention of this interesting adventurer, though the
pseudo-Plutarch affirms that he went into exile again. If that is true,
we know that he had comfortable places to retire to, in Cyprus and
elsewhere.
§ 3
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account