Sycophant

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Sycophants (from Greek σῦκον sýkon , German ' fig ' , φαίνω phaínō , German 'I show, bring to light' ) were called citizens in ancient Athens who made a business of threatening other, mostly wealthy citizens with blackmailing intentions discredit through false information and defamation.

term

Plutarch interpreted from the ancient Greek term for fig, " sýkon ", that originally it was about citizens who denounced others because of the forbidden export of figs. But this interpretation is very likely wrong because a ban on fig exports is nowhere else proven. Even in ancient times there was disagreement about the meaning of the “fig gazette”. The phenomenon would then be comparable to the Frederician coffee shop , only that it was not about prohibited exports, but about the collection of luxury taxes.

generalization

The term was already used in ancient times in a figurative sense for all informers . The sycophants were able to take advantage of a peculiarity of the Attic legal system, according to which the fine to be paid by a convicted person was not (as is usually the case in modern law) to be paid to the state or a non-profit organization, but to the prosecutor, and everyone was free to sue Citizen. So the sycophants could prosecute other citizens commercially, as soon as they found a suitable pretext, and enrich themselves with their wealth.

404 BC Several so-called sycophants were executed under the rule of the thirty . After the restoration of democracy, however, the sycophantic system flourished again.

Adaptations

In English today, sycophant stands for "creep", "saliva licker", "slime".

Several musical groups have published titles with this term:

  • Fall of the Sycophants is a song by the metal band Soulfly .
  • The band Viva l'American Death Ray Music has a track called Sycophant .
  • The band Exodus has a song called March Of The Sycophants .
  • The track My Sycophant Others comes from the punk band NOFX .
  • The band White Lung released the title Sycophant on their album Deep Fantasy .

literature

  • Matthew R. Christ: Ostracism, Sycophancy, and Deception of the Demos: [Arist.] Ath. Pole. 43.5. In: The Classical Quarterly. New Series Vol. 42, No. 2, 1992, ISSN  0009-8388 , pp. 336-346, doi : 10.1017 / S0009838800015974 .
  • John Oscar Lofberg: Sycophancy in Athens. The University of Chicago Libraries, Chicago IL 1917 (Chicago IL, University, dissertation).
  • Robert Hanulak: Sycophant and Sycophanty in Classical Athens. Grin, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-638-77684-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brockhaus from 1837: Sykophant. In: zeno.org. Retrieved December 30, 2014 .
  2. ↑ Brockhaus of 1911: sycophant. In: zeno.org. Retrieved December 30, 2014 .
  3. ↑ σῡκο-φάντης. In: zeno.org. Retrieved December 30, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Robert Hanulak: sycophant and Sykophantie in classical Athens. GRIN Verlag, 2007, ISBN 9783638776844 limited preview in the Google book search