Lycurgus of Athens

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Lykurgos of Athens ( ancient Greek Λυκοῦργος Lykúrgos , German Lykurg ; * around 390 BC ; † 324 BC ) was an orator and politician in ancient Athens .

Lycurgus was Eteobutade. From time immemorial, high priesthoods were hereditary in the Eteobutaden family (that is, real Butaden, descendants of Butes , the brother of the mythical King Erechtheus). He was a student of Isocrates and Plato .

As a supporter of Demosthenes , Lykurg was for several years head of the treasury for the theater money , that is, he was in charge of the Athens financial administration. He had the Dionysus Theater completed in stone, statues of the three great tragedians and a state copy of their texts made.

Only the speech against Leocrates given in 330 has survived from Lycurgus . After the Battle of Chaironeia , leaving the city was forbidden in Athens. Nevertheless, Leocrates had sailed to Rhodes and then lived in Megara for a long time before returning to Athens after eight years. In the long speech full of quotations he was accused by Lycurgus and called for the death penalty. As we know from Aeschines ' speech against Ctesiphon , given a little later, the process ended with a tie, which meant an acquittal.

expenditure

  • Lykurg, Speech against Leokrates , edited, introduced and translated by Johannes Engels (Texts on Research Volume 93), Darmstadt 2008, ISBN 978-3-534-20083-2

literature

  • Evangelos Alexiou: Lykurgos. 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. 841-846
  • Anargyros Anastassiou and Dieter Irmer (editors): Smaller Attic speakers (= Paths of Research Volume CXXVII), Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1977, ISBN 3-534-03843-6 .
  • Brigitte Hintzen-Bohlen: The cultural politics of Eubulus and Lycurgus. The monument and construction projects in Athens between 355 and 322 BC Chr. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-05-003030-5 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Lycurgus of Athens
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lycurgus; Lykurgos
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Greek politician, speaker in ancient Athens
DATE OF BIRTH around 390 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 324 BC Chr.