Poetry Codex

Ancient Greek & Roman

Demosthenes

384 – 322 BC

Demosthenes (384–322 BC) was an Athenian statesman and the most celebrated orator of ancient Greece. Orphaned young, he went to law against his guardians and then made his living for a time as a writer of speeches for others, before turning to public life.

He is remembered above all for his opposition to Philip II of Macedon. His Olynthiacs and Philippics urged the Athenians to resist Philip's growing power, and his speech On the Crown (330 BC), the reply to his rival Aeschines, is usually reckoned his masterpiece.

This archive carries thirteen of his public speeches in A. W. Pickard-Cambridge's English translation of 1912 (Oxford, Clarendon Press, two volumes), given here in the order of that edition, without the translator's introductions and notes.

Major Works (13)

  1. On the Chersonese (Or. VIII) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)
  2. On the Crown (Or. XVIII) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)
  3. On the Embassy (Or. XIX) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)
  4. The First Olynthiac (Or. I) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)
  5. The First Philippic (Or. IV) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)
  6. For the Megalopolitans (Or. XVI) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)
  7. On the Naval Boards (Or. XIV) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)
  8. On the Peace (Or. V) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)
  9. For the Freedom of the Rhodians (Or. XV) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)
  10. The Second Olynthiac (Or. II) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)
  11. The Second Philippic (Or. VI) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)
  12. The Third Olynthiac (Or. III) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)
  13. The Third Philippic (Or. IX) — translated by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge (1912)

See Demosthenes in the full archive →