Demades

Demades ( Greek Δημάδης Dēmádēs ; * around 380 BC; † around 319 BC) was an ancient Greek orator and statesman in Athens .

Demades was the son of the Athenian Demeas. Like his father, he was initially a seaman before embarking on a political career at a point in time that cannot be precisely dated. In contrast to Demosthenes (who was his rival politically, but with whom he also partly agreed), he had never had any formal rhetorical training. The sources indicate that he seems to have had a natural talent, although (unlike Demosthenes) he did not record any formal speeches.

At the battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC When he got into Macedonian captivity, he gained the favor of the Macedonian king Philip II and brought about the release of the Athenian prisoners. In the same year he negotiated a peace treaty with Philipp on behalf of his hometown. At that time Demades and Aeschines were at the head of the pro-Macedonian faction, whose opponent was Demosthenes. He spoke in 335 BC Against a common action with Thebes (which rose against the Macedonians) and succeeded in preventing Philip's son and successor Alexander from obtaining the extradition of Demosthenes. In the following years he repeatedly campaigned for the interests of his hometown towards Macedonia, for example in 324 BC. Once again opposite Alexander and 319 BC Against Antipater . 319 BC However, he was killed on the orders of Kassander .

Although some sources assume that he is greedy, this is hardly tenable due to the partisan statements. Rather, Demades recognized that a pro-Macedonian course after 338 BC BC Athens still gave a certain leeway. His political merits can hardly be denied. The Athenians erected a statue in his honor and Theophrastus is said to have said that Demosthenes was worthy of Athens, but Demades was too good.

literature

• Evangelos Alexiou: Apollodoros, Hegesippos, Demades. 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. 776-781
• Michael Weißenberger : Demades. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 3, Metzler, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-476-01473-8 , column 415 f.