Against Leptines
"Against Leptines" was a speech given by
History
This law had been proposed by a man named Leptines, so the speech came to be known as "Against Leptines". The law was proposed as a way to tax Athenians like Ctesippus whose father was a General, making him exempt from liturgies. Due to the Social War Athens was experiencing an economic downturn, making liturgies essential.[4] Although Dio Chrysostom (31.128-9) says that Demosthenes won the case, his account has been dismissed as inaccurate. West says that "we do not know the verdict".[5]
An inscription shows that Ctesippus, son of Chabrias (whose inheritable exemption Demosthenes was arguing to preserve), performed a liturgy that "is unlikely to have been voluntary," and there is no evidence of any grants of exemption after the trial.[6]
Background
During the
References
- ISBN 978-0199560226.
- ^ West, William C. (1995). "The Decrees of Demosthenes' "Against Leptines"". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 107: 239.
- S2CID 162195611.
- ^ Martin, Gunther (2006). "Rhetorical Exercise or Political Pamphlet? Thomas Magistros' Exploitation of Demosthenes' 'Against Leptines'". Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies. 46: 208.
- ^ West, William C. (1995). "The Decrees of Demosthenes' "Against Leptines"". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 107: 245.
- ^ Ernst Badian. "The road to prominence," in Ian Worthington (ed.), Demosthenes: Statesman and Orator (Routledge, 2000), p. 28.
- ^ Harris, Edward M. Demosthenes, Speeches 20–22. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 16.
- ^ Harris, Edward M. Demosthenes, Speeches 20–22. Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 16–17.
- ^ Harris, Edward M. Demosthenes, Speeches 20–22. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 17.
External links