Deinarchos

Deinarchos (Greek Δείναρχος Deínarchos , Latinized Dinarchus ; * around 361 BC in Corinth ; † after 292 BC) was the last of the ten Attic speakers .

Deinarchus, who was born in Corinth as the son of Sostratos, came to Athens at a young age and was there a student of Theophrastus of Eresus . As a stranger ( Metöke ), he could not speak himself, but wrote speeches that others delivered. Its heyday was during the reign of Demetrius of Phaleron . After Demetrios' expulsion threatened as a friend of the Macedonian rule, Deinarchus returned in 307 BC. To Chalkis on Euboea and did not return until 292 BC. Back to Athens, where he was over 70 years old, half blind and robbed of his fortune by a friend.

Of his numerous speeches (at least 58) only three, 323 BC. Written for the Harpalos trial, including one against Demosthenes . According to the judgment of ancient critics, his speeches did not show an individual character, but rather imitated Lysias , Hypereides and Demosthenes above all .

literature

• Evangelos Alexiou: Deinarchos. In: Bernhard Zimmermann , Antonios Rengakos (Hrsg.): Handbook of the Greek literature of antiquity. Volume 2: The Literature of the Classical and Hellenistic Period. CH Beck, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-406-61818-5 , pp. 854-859
• Ian Worthington: A Historical Commentary on Dinarchus. Rhetoric and conspiracy in later 4th century Athens . University Press, Ann Arbor 1992, ISBN 0-472-09487-4 (also dissertation, Monash University, Melbourne 1987).

Web links

• Literature by and about Deinarchos in the catalog of the German National Library
• Speeches of Deinarchus (Greek and English translation)