DEMOSTHENES ON PHILANTHRPIA

AS A DEMOCRATIC VIRTUE

matthew r. christ

N HER INTELLECTUAL HISTORY of the development of the Greek idea of

gentleness, Jacqueline de Romilly observes that a triad of associated
words and their cognates, , and emerges
in the Greek vocabulary in the late fifth century and rises to prominence in
fourth-century literary sources, and that these terms appear conspicuously
in Athenian characterizations of their city and its citizens. 1 Building on
de Romillys general observations, this article proposes that Demosthenes
played a pivotal role in formulating and promulgating a democratic ideal of
philanthrpia that draws together numerous preexisting strands of Athenian
civic ideology and promotes them under a single appealing and flexible term. 2
A close examination of Demosthenes treatment of philanthrpia illuminates
his transformation of this concept into a democratic virtue, and suggests
that he is an innovative political thinker who not only transmits received
democratic ideology to his mass audiences in the Assembly and lawcourts,
but revises and reshapes it. 3 Whereas recent scholarship has sought to trace
the influence of Platos political thought on late fourth-century orators, 4 this
article argues that in Demosthenes case we can see a democratic orator actively engaged in developing his own political ideas before mass audiences
while at the same time exploiting these to advance himself and his agenda.
This paper considers first how Demosthenes predecessors invoked the idea
of philanthrpia to advance their conservative political perspectives and the
significance of his application of it instead to democratic Athens and its citizens. Next, it examines in detail Demosthenes presentation of philanthrpia
as a distinctly Athenian virtue that is associated closely with democratic institutions and a free and tolerant democratic way of life. Finally, it turns to
the question of what this may tell us about Demosthenes as a political thinker
1. De Romilly 1979, 3752, 97112.
2. De Romilly (1979, 37) notes Demosthenes frequent use of philanthrpia (see below, n. 18) and the emphasis he places on Athens douceur in general (1013, 1079; cf. 11819, 12425), but does not consider
in her broad survey his role in promoting philanthrpia as a democratic virtue. When I speak of philanthrpia
in this article, I am using this as shorthand for both the abstract noun and its cognates. All translations are my
own unless otherwise noted.
3. On elite orators and their invocation of democratic ideology before mass audiences, see Ober 1989.
4. Allen (2010, 89107) argues that Platos political thought influenced Aeschines, Lycurgus, and Hyperides (among others), and that all three may have been students of the philosopher (19293 n. 14); she does not
find evidence of Platonic influence on Demosthenes and is rightly skeptical of the tradition that Demosthenes
studied with Plato (cf. Cooper 2000).

Classical Philology 108 (2013): 20222

[ 2013 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved] 0009-837X/13/10803-0002$10.00

202
This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM
All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

DEMOSTHENES ON PHILANTHRPIA

203

and about the potential for orators not only to invoke but to shape democratic
ideology before mass audiences.
Democratizing Philanthrpia
To understand the significance of Demosthenes application of philanthrpia
to the Athenian democracy and its people, it is important first to set this in
its fourth-century context. 5 Before Demosthenes, philanthrpia appears most
conspicuously in the works of two politically conservative fourth-century
authors, Xenophon and Isocrates, whose use of this term reflects their own
preoccupations and biases. For both of these writers, philanthrpia is an ideal
aristocratic attribute that is manifested primarily in the generosity and humanity of kings, potentates, and generals toward those less powerful than themselves. Consistent with this is their occasional application of philanthrpia
to the ultimate elites in the Greek world, heroes and gods, in their relations
with their mortal inferiors. 6
Xenophon speaks of philanthrpia most frequently in connection with
Cyrus the Great in his Cyropaedia, characterizing him at the start of the
work as most generous in spirit ( , 1.2.1) and
emphasizing throughout it Cyrus ability to win and keep friends and allies through his unstinting personal generosity. 7 Similarly, Xenophon praises
the Lacedaemonian king Agesilaus for his well-known philanthrpia toward
conquered peoples, which makes his enemies more willing to surrender to
him (Ages. 1.22). Elsewhere, Xenophon attributes philanthrpia to the gods
in connection with their provision of food and fire to humans (Mem. 4.3.5,
4.3.7; cf. Oec. 15.4, 19.17). 8 Only sparingly does this longtime Athenian
exile and Laconophile speak of philanthrpia in connection with his native
city. His Euryptolemus defends the generals at Arginusae on the grounds that
they acted with philanthrpia in giving orders that the shipwrecked survivors
of the battle be rescued (Hell. 1.7.18). And Xenophon praises Socrates as
manifestly a friend of the people and generous ( )
since he spent his entire life helping others to become better men through his
company and conversation and charged no fee for this (Mem. 1.2.6061). 9
Far from identifying philanthrpia as a typical Athenian trait, Xenophon, like
Plato, distinguishes Socrates from his fellow Athenians on the basis of his
manifestation of this. 10
5. Philanthrpia is securely attested only twice in fifth-century sources, [Aesch.] PV 28 (of Prometheus)
and Ar. Pax 39294 (in an appeal to Hermes): see de Romilly 1979, 45, 4748.
6. On philanthrpia and related virtues as ideal attributes of the powerful in Isocrates and Xenophon,
see de Romilly 1979, 12744; on the philanthrpia of the gods in these two writers and elsewhere, see ibid.
4447. As de Romilly observes, philanthrpia can be viewed as a disposition (43) or a virtue (48; cf. 99,
107); cf. Konstan 2001, 88.
7. See Cyr. 1.4.1, 4.2.10, 8.2.1, 8.4.78, 8.7.25; cf. 7.5.73.
8. Xenophon also speaks of philanthrpia in connection with animals that are well-disposed toward humans (Eq. 2.3; Cyn. 3.9, 6.25) and legislation that he proposes concerning merchants (Vect. 3).
9. Cf. [Arist.] Ath. Pol. 16.8, which applies both of these adjectives to Pisistratus.
10. Platos Socrates speaks of his philanthrpia in conversing with all men for no charge (Euthphr. 3d5
9), and sets himself apart from other men on the basis of his helping of fellow citizens as if they were his kin
(Ap. 31a7b5). On the characterization of Socrates in these terms in Xenophon and Plato, see de Romilly 1979,
4647 and Christ 2012, 6465.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

204

MATTHEW R. CHRIST

Isocrates, like Xenophon, most frequently speaks of philanthrpia as an

ideal trait of a king or potentate. Thus, for example, he praises Evagoras, king
of Cyprian Salamis, for administering his city piously and with philanthrpia
( , 9.43) and exhorts Evagoras son, Nicocles, to
act in the same manner (2.15); and he calls on Philip to imitate his ancestor Heracles philanthrpia and goodwill (eunoia) toward the Greeks (5.114;
cf. 116). 11 At one point, Isocrates suggests that he himself is a promoter of
philanthrpia in teaching his students an ethical and honorable rhetoric that
induces them to embrace noble causes that benefit mankind and concern
the common good ( , 15.276).
Isocrates speaks just once of philanthrpia in connection with Athens behavior. In the portion of his Panegyricus (c. 380 B.C.E.) that draws on and
imitates the tradition of the Attic funeral orations to praise Athens, he asserts
that the city acted generously () in sharing Demeters Mysteries
and gift of grain with all other peoples (29). Although this is noteworthy
as an early attribution of philanthrpia to Athens, Isocrates is not drawn,
as we shall see Demosthenes is, to develop the idea that philanthrpia is
a characteristic Athenian virtue and one linked with the citys democratic
constitution. 12 Indeed, Isocrates only other application of philanthrpia in
an Athenian context is critical of the many in Athens on the grounds that
they are attracted more to those active in public life who deceive them with
a show of cheerfulness and philanthrpia than those who benefit them with
dignity and gravity (
, 15.13233).
Against this backdrop, what we shall see to be Demosthenes repeated
attribution of philanthrpia to the Athenian dmos and the average citizens
who constitute it appears to be a largely new development. Indeed, it is quite
possible in light of this earlier usage that Demosthenes is consciously appropriating as a democratic virtue a positive attribute that conservatives associated with elite individuals. His democratization of philanthrpia, in fact, has
two facets: he not only applies this to the collective actions of the Athenian
dmos in its governance of the city and administration of its affairs, but also
extends it to the behavior of average citizens in their daily lives. 13 There
is ample precedent for this sort of democratic appropriation, for example,
in the way that the citys encomiasts attribute (excellence), which
aristocrats claimed as their exclusive possession, to the citys democratic

11. For similar exhortations to the powerful to embrace philanthrpia, see Isoc. Epistulae 7.6, 7.12 (to
Timotheus, ruler of Heracleia); 5.2 (to Alexander); and 4.9 (to Antipater). For the collocation of philanthrpia
and eunoia, as in Isoc. 5.114, see Dem. 18.5 (cf. 19.99). On the importance of eunoia to Isocrates, see
deRomilly 1958; cf. Mitchell 1997.
12. Isocrates does, however, speak repeatedly of the characteristic mildness () of Athenians at
home and abroad (10.37; 12.56; 14.17) and laments the occasions when Athenians have strayed from this
(7.20; 14.3940; 15.20, 15.299300). Although Isocrates does not usually associate this mildness closely with
the citys democratic constitution, at one point (7.67) he contrasts the mild behavior of the restored dmos in
403 B.C.E. with the savage behavior of the Thirty.
13. Isocrates (4.29) anticipates Demosthenes in speaking of Athenians collective philanthrpia, but he
does not attribute this to the dmos or to the citys democratic constitution.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

DEMOSTHENES ON PHILANTHRPIA

205

hoplites. 14 If a desire to democratize an aristocratic virtue was one impetus behind Demosthenes use of philanthrpia, however, I will argue that
other considerations came into play as well. Namely, Demosthenes found in
philanthrpia an attractive and flexible term that could subsume a range of
preexisting democratic ideals concerning especially the nature of political and
social life within the city, and give new expression to them.
Before Demosthenes, the citys encomiasts extol the characteristic generosity and humanity of the democratic city and its citizens in a variety of ways.
In their relations with other states, Athenians nobly run to assist ()
those suffering wrong and exercise their own power with mildness ().
Within their city, Athenians respect their fellow citizens freedom to live
as they wish and refrain from harsh judgment of, or interference with, this
(Thuc. 2.37.23), and thus are ableunlike many peoplesto live in concord
() without the horrors of civil strife. In their lawcourts, Athenians
are naturally inclined to show pity and mildness () in judging defendants. 15 Demosthenes, as we shall see, is intimately familiar with these
democratic ideals and the vocabulary traditionally used to articulate them, 16
but also links them to one another in finding Athenian philanthrpia operating across these diverse spheres. Essential to this Demosthenic project is the
flexibility of philanthrpia, which Demosthenes uses to connote not only
humanity, generosity, and kindness, but also the civility, sociability, and tolerance that hold the city together. 17
Philanthrpia as a Democratic Political and Social Virtue
As we turn to philanthrpia in Demosthenes, the first thing that is striking is
the relative frequency with which he uses this word and its cognates. 18 His
seventy-one attested uses of these represent more than double the total instances of them in Xenophon and Isocrates, and indeed exceed all occurrences
14. On the salience of in the state funeral orations for the war dead, see Ziolkowski 1981, 11032
and Loraux 1986. I agree with Ober (1989, 28992, 339; contra Loraux 1986, 217, 334) that the democracy
appropriates aristocratic virtues and ideals for its own purposes: the aristocratic ethos and terminology did
not serve to suppress or undermine egalitarian ideals, but rather aristocratic ideals were made to conform to the
needs of the democratic state (291). Cf. Balots excellent discussion (2010) of the Athenian democratization
of courage.
15. On the Athenian claim of helping wronged peoples, see Loraux 1986, 6775; Mills 1997, 6366; Tzanetou 2005; Forsdyke 2005, 25659; Low 2007, 17786; Hunt 2010, 178, 194; Christ 2012, 11876 (with further bibliography). On assertions of Athenian at home and abroad, see Dover 1974, 202; de Romilly
1979, 97112; Hansen 1991, 310; Whitehead 2000, 43738; Forsdyke 2005, 23132, 26566. On as
an Athenian ideal from the late fifth century on, see de Romilly 1972; Funke 1980; Wohl 2010, 21314; Christ
2012, 5067 (with further bibliography). On the complex role of pity in the Athenian lawcourts, see Johnstone
1999, 10925; Konstan 2001, 2748; cf. Sternberg 2005a.
16. De Romilly (1979, 49) observes that Demosthenes often uses philanthrpia in conjunction with related
terms. On Demosthenes fondness of doublets, see Cook 2009, 4344.
17. LSJ8 only captures some of these nuances in its definition of philanthrpia: humanity, benevolence, kind-heartedness, humane feeling, or, in a weaker sense, kindliness, courtesy (emphasis in original).
On philanthrpia and sociability, see de Romilly 1979, 50. Dover (1974, 2012) notes the wide range of
philanthrpia and its close connection with other value-terms.
18. Dem. 6.1; 8.33, 8.71; 13.17; 16.9, 16.17; 18.5, 18.112, 18.186, 18.209, 18.231, 18.268, 18.298, 18.316;
19.39, 19.96, 19.99, 19.102, 19.139, 19.140 (2x), 19.220, 19.225, 19.315; 20.55, 20.109, 20.165; 21.12, 21.44,
21.48, 21.49, 21.57, 21.75, 21.128, 21.148, 21.185; 23.13, 23.131, 23.156, 23.165; 24.24, 24.51, 24.156,
24.191, 24.193, 24.196; 25.51, 25.76, 25.81, 25.86, 25.87 (2x), 25.89; 36.47, 36.55, 36.59; 40.32; 41.2; 44.8;
45.4; 60.32; 61.13, 61.18, 61.21, 61.46; Prooemia 16 (2x), 23.1; Epistulae 1.10, 3.22, 3.41.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

206

MATTHEW R. CHRIST

of the word in these two authors, Plato, and Aristotle combined. 19 More significant than the number of times Demosthenes uses philanthrpia, however,
is how often he invokes it in connection with Athenians and their democratic
polity. Both in his own speeches before the Assembly and the popular lawcourts and in the forensic speeches that he writes for clients, Demosthenes
links philanthrpia closely to the Athenian dmos and a democratic way of
life. 20
Consistent with what we shall see to be Demosthenes appropriation of
philanthrpia as a democratic virtue is his denial of this virtue to the foreign
autocrats with whom the city has dealings. While Xenophon and Isocrates
are drawn especially to characterize the behavior of kings and other powerful individuals in terms of philanthrpia, Demosthenes warns his Athenian
audiences repeatedly of the false philanthrpia of foreign potentates, in particular Philip of Macedon. 21 In advance of Philips defeat of Athens and its
allies at Chaeronea in 338 B.C.E., he warns his audiences that Philip is a wolf
in sheeps clothing and that he is merely feigning philanthrpia toward the
Greeks he intends to conquer. 22 After Chaeronea, Demosthenes asserts in On
the Crown that Philips ostensible philanthrpia in granting moderate terms
should not veil his true nature from Athenians (18.231):
,
, , ,
,
.
I need not add that other peoples have had experience of the savagery that is always observable once Philip has gained power over men, whereas you through your good fortune
enjoy the fruits of the philanthrpia that he feigns while pursuing the rest of his goals.
(Trans. C. A. Vince and J. H. Vince, modified)

In the same speech, Demosthenes also reminds his audience that unlike
Aeschines and other rhtores, he has consistently seen through Philips
19. De Romilly (1979, 37) tabulates the following figures for the use of philanthrpia and cognates in
fourth-century authors: Xenophon (18), Isocrates (12), Plato (5), Aristotle (11), Demosthenes (72). A search
of the TLG yields slightly different results for Xenophon (19); Plato (3, excluding Def. 412e11 as spurious);
and Demosthenes (71, excluding [Dem.] 7.31). The only Attic Orators besides Demosthenes and Isocrates who
use philanthrpia are Aeschines (9, excluding instances in the spurious Epistles), Lycurgus (1), and Hyperides
(1). Philanthrpia only crops up once in fourth-century Athenian honorary decrees, in a mid-fourth-century
inscription (IG II2 1186 = Syll.3 1094) praising Damasius, a Theban metic at Eleusis, for acting generously
() toward those dwelling in the deme (see Veligianni-Terzi 1997, 131, 216; cf. de Romilly 1979,
51; Whitehead 1986, 15152); on the virtues most commonly praised in these decrees, see Whitehead 1993
and Veligianni-Terzi 1997.
20. In his extant speeches, Demosthenes uses philanthrpia six times before the Assembly, fifty-four times
before the popular lawcourts (thirty-seven times in his own voice, seventeen times in speeches written for his
clients, that is, in Dem. 23, 24, 36, 40, 41, 44, 45), and once in his epitaphios (see the list of citations in n.18).
The larger number of uses in Demosthenes forensic speeches likely reflects the fact that not only more of
these survive than of his deliberative speeches, but also Demosthenes envisions philanthrpia operating more
in a domestic context, on which forensic orations tend to focus, than in an interstate one, on which deliberative
orations usually center. Although the speeches in the Demosthenic corpus may sometimes have been revised
for publication, they likely do not deviate substantially from the actual speeches presented by Demosthenes
and his clients before Athenian audiences: see Hunt 2010, 27074.
21. Besides exposing Philip in this way, Demosthenes warns of the false philanthrpia of Cersobleptes
(23.1314) and Charidemus (23.1314; cf. 23.165), and of Cotys complete lack of philanthrpia toward Athens (23.131).
22. See Dem. 19.39, 102, 139, 140, 315; cf. 19.220; 6.1.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

DEMOSTHENES ON PHILANTHRPIA

207

pretense of philanthrpiahis and has offered Athenians honest and sound advice (18.297). 23
If Demosthenes adamantly rejects the pretended philanthrpia of Philip
and other potentates, he regularly portrays this as a virtue that Athenians collectively embrace. This crops up, for example, in the orators representation
of Athens relations with other states. In one of his prooimia, Demosthenes
plays off the idea that Athenians routinely act with philanthrpia toward other
peoples as he urges the Athenians in Assembly to look to their own interests
under the current circumstances (16): 24
, ,
,
.
,
.
,
, ,
, .
I would have wished, men of Athens, that you treat yourselves with the philanthrpia that
you are accustomed to practice toward all other peoples. As it now is, you are better at
rectifying the problems of others than you are at giving thought to the troubles that befall
you. Someone may perhaps say that this is exactly what brings the greatest glory to the
cityto have chosen to assume many risks for the sake of justice alone with no thought
of any private gain. I myself believe this reputation that prevails concerning the city to be
true and wish it to be, but I assume it also to be an obligation of prudent men to exercise
as much foresight in their own affairs as in those of strangers, so that you may show yourselves to be not only generous [] but sensible. 25 (Trans. N. W. DeWitt and
N.J. DeWitt, modified)

While Demosthenes regularly invokes Athens tradition of generously assisting other Hellenes (see esp. 18.95101), only occasionally does he attribute
this, as here, to the citys philanthrpia. 26 Interestingly, Demosthenes for the
most part reserves philanthrpia for talking about ideal political and social
relations within the city.
Philanthrpia, according to Demosthenes, permeates the democratic citys
institutions, laws, and citizen relations. 27 As we shall see, Demosthenes varies
in how explicitly he links philanthrpia to the Athenian democracy. Sometimes
Demosthenes makes this connection overtly and emphatically when he identifies philanthrpia with the citys democratic constitution and distinguishes
23. Aeschines, by contrast, speaks of the genuine philanthrpia and moderation of Philip toward the
defeated Athenians (3.57).
24. On the authenticity of Demosthenes preambles, see Yunis 1996, 28789 and Worthington 2006, 57.
25. For a similar appeal, see Dem. 2.24: I am amazed . . . that you have so often saved other states, both
all of them together and each separately in turn, but now sit down under the loss of what is your own (trans.
J. H. Vince, modified) ( . . .
, ); cf. also 18.101.
26. On Athenian philanthrpia toward other Greeks, see esp. Dem. 23.156; cf. 8.33; 16.9; [Dem.] 7.3031.
By contrast, Demosthenes speaks of the false philanthrpia of the Spartans toward fellow Greeks (16.16).
27. On the wide range of application of philanthrpia in connection with Athens, see de Romilly 1979,
4950; cf. 99100.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

208

MATTHEW R. CHRIST

between Athens and its oligarchic rivals on this basis (Dem. 20.109, 24.24;
cf. 40.32, 22.51). More commonly, however, Demosthenes focuses on how
philanthrpia operates within democratic institutions, like the Assembly and
lawcourts, and through democratic laws as the dmos collectively exercises
its authority to protect and advance its interests; or on how philanthrpia
makes possible the easygoing and tolerant daily relations of members of the
dmos with one another. Whether he makes the link with democracy more
or less explicitly in a particular instance, however, Demosthenes suggests
that philanthrpia is central to collective and individual behavior in the
democratic city.
Striking testimony to the philanthrpia of the Athenian dmos, Demosthenes has a client point out, is found in its decision, upon the restoration
of democracy in 403 B.C.E., not to force the sons of the Thirty into exile
(Dem. 40.32). 28 According to Demosthenes, in fact, the democracys central
institutions through which the dmos exercises its authority, the Assembly
and the popular lawcourts, regularly embrace philanthrpiaat least when
they behave as they should. Thus, he posits as a general principle that men
active in political life should accustom Athenians in the Assembly to be mild
and humane ( ) in matters involving themselves and
their allies, and to reserve their harshness for the citys enemies (8.33). 29
Similarly, Demosthenes asserts that Athenians in their lawcourts ought to act
with humanity ( ), and reserve intimidation and threats for
military campaigns (13.17). 30
One important way that the Assembly shows its philanthrpia, according
to Demosthenes, is by reciprocrating the good deeds of its benefactors with
honors and privileges. Thus, in his Against Leptines Demosthenes argues
against the revocation of honors bestowed by the dmos in Assembly on its
various benefactors because this would be at odds with the philanthrpia
that prompted the dmos to reward its benefactors and would violate the vital
principle of charis (20.55; cf. 20.165). 31 Demosthenes asserts, moreover, that
freedom in a democracy hinges on the ability of the dmos to encourage men
to compete to serve it through the rewards it offers (20.108; cf. 20.111), and
distinguishes oligarchic regimes like those found in Sparta and Thebes from
the Athenian democracy on the basis of their very different practices in the
dispensation of honors (20.1058). He holds up the Thebans in particular as
dark foils to the Athenians in this regard (20.109):

28. Cf. Isocrates 7.67, which cites this episode as evidence of the of the Athenian dmos. On the
likely authenticity of Demosthenes 40, see MacDowell 2009, 79.
29. Cf. Dem. 19.99: The Athenian people, acting the part of good and generous men (
), receive with goodwill those who put themselves forward
in public life.
30. As we shall see later, however, Demosthenes qualifies this view of the lawcourts when seeking stern
verdicts against his opponents. On Dem. 13 as an authentic Demosthenic speech, see MacDowell 2009, 226
27.
31. For the citys philanthrpia in honoring its benefactors, see also Dem. 36.47, in which Demosthenes
speaks of this in connection with its bestowal of citizenship on Pasio and Phormio; in the same speech, he also
emphasizes Phormios philanthrpia toward the city and its citizens (36.55, 5859).

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

DEMOSTHENES ON PHILANTHRPIA

209

, .
, ,
.
Again, concerning the absence of honors at Thebes, I think I can express the truth thus:
the Thebans, men of Athens, pride themselves more on savagery and iniquity than you on
philanthrpia and desire for justice. (Trans. J. H. Vince, modified)

Here and elsewhere, Demosthenes portrays philanthrpia as a mark of, and

preserver of, a civilized society in which relations are based on reciprocity and
fairness; such a society, he emphasizes, lies in stark contrast to one that cultivates savagery () instead. 32 Thus, when the Athenian dmos embraces
philanthrpia and rewards its benefactors, it not only serves its own best
interests by encouraging a competition among its benefactors that sustains
democratic freedom, but also establishes itself as superior to its oligarchic
rivals in its embrace of a civilized standard for social life.
If Demosthenes is committed to defend the honors that the dmos bestows
on others as a proper and admirable show of philanthrpia, he is also ready
to defend the honors that Ctesiphon proposed for him on the same basis.
In his On the Crown, Demosthenes speaks in support of Ctesiphon, whom
Aeschines had indicted on the grounds that his proposal in the Assembly
that Demosthenes should be honored with a crown was illegal. At the outset,
Demosthenes declares that he has a significant stake in the outcome of this
prosecution, as he stands to lose the peoples goodwill and philanthrpia
( . . . , 18.5). He blames Aeschines squarely for
advocating misanthrpiathat is, the polar opposite of philanthrpiatoward a generous benefactor of the city (18.112):

,
, ;
What law is so full of injustice and misanthropy that, when a man has given something
from his private resources and done something benevolent [] and generous,
it would deprive him of the gratitude [charis] owed to him and drag him before malicious
prosecutors and put them in charge of holding an audit of what he has donated?

Demosthenes is especially irked by Aeschines denigration of his good services

to the city on the grounds that they fall short of the great deeds of past patriots
(cf. Aeschin. 3.17789), expressing indignation that a wretch like Aeschines
should thereby seek to deprive him of the honor and philanthrpia (
. . . , 18.209) of the people. 33 He later asks (18.316):
, ,
,
, , ,
;
32. See also Dem. 18.231; 25.81, with 25.8384. On the antithesis of philanthrpia and , see Dover
1974, 2023; cf. Kremmydas 2012, 37778.
33. Elsewhere, Demosthenes attacks Aeschines for his pretense of philanthrpia (19.95).

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

210

MATTHEW R. CHRIST

Is it more decent and better for the city that for the sake of the benefactions of men of old
times, enormous as they were and indeed great beyond expression, the services that are
now being rendered to the present age should be treated with ingratitude and vituperation,
or that every man who does something with goodwill should receive some share of the
honor and philanthrpia of his fellow citizens? 34 (Trans. C. A. Vince and J. H. Vince,
modified)

Thus, in Demosthenes view he, like his patriotic predecessors, merits the
philanthrpia of the people as a show of charis in return for his services to
it; as a benefactor of his fellow citizens, Demosthenes has himself shown
philanthrpia (18.112, quoted above), and he deserves the same in return
from the dmos. 35 It is not only right that the dmos act in this way, but also
better for the city ( , 18.316), which relies on the goodwill
of its benefactors (cf. 20.108).
The same spirit of philanthrpia should prevail, Demosthenes proposes,
in the democracys laws, at least insofar as this serves the best interests of
the dmos and the average citizens who constitute it. In the speech that he
wrote for Diodorus in his prosecution of Timocrates for proposing an illegal
law, Demosthenes insists that the citys laws under the democracy should be
framed in such a way as to show philanthrpia to average citizens in their
daily lives and relations, not to public men in their conduct of the citys affairs
(24.19293):

. , ,
,
, ,
,
.


. ,
, ,
.
Again, with regard to the plea that mild and moderate laws are good for the many, you
must consider this. There are two sorts of things, men of Athens, with which the laws
of all cities are concerned. First, what are the principles under which we associate with
one another, have dealings with one another, define the obligations of private life, and
in general, live among ourselves? Second, in what manner is every man among us to
act in regard to our common city, if he wishes to take part in public life and says that
he cares for the city? Now it is to the advantage of the many that laws of the former
category, laws concerning private affairs, be distinguished by mildness and humanity
34. On Demosthenes emphasis on his goodwill () in this speech, see Cook 2009, 4052.
35. On Demosthenes philanthrpia, see also 18.268, in which the orator, after listing his liturgies (18.267),
speaks of his philanthrpia in his private life toward those in need, including his ransoming of captives and
provision of dowries. Cf. Dem. 8.7071, in which Demosthenes speaks of his trierarchies, chorgiai, payment
of eisphorai, ransoming of captives, and other such acts of philanthrpia ( ).
Lycurgus (1.3) goes so far as to speak of his service as volunteer prosecutor as an act of philanthrpia (on this
claim, see Christ 2012, 8687).

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

DEMOSTHENES ON PHILANTHRPIA

211

[]. In contrast, it is to your common advantage that laws of the second type,
the laws that govern our relations to the state, be strong and strict, because, if they are
so, those who are politically active will do the least harm to you, the many. Therefore,
when my opponent makes use of this plea, refute it by telling him that he is introducing mildness not into the laws that benefit you, but into the laws that intimidate politicians. 36 (Trans. J. H. Vince, modified)

Viewed in this light, the philanthrpia of the laws is intimately connected

with the interests of the many, which entail treating private persons with
philanthrpia but politicians with strictness and sternness. 37 If Demosthenes
tailors his theory of law here, as elsewhere, to do the most harm to a particular
defendant, he is consistent in arguing that the dmos and the laws it makes
must protect the interests of average citizens by showing philanthrpia selectively rather than indiscriminately. 38
In other forensic contexts, Demosthenes posits that philanthrpia is central not only to the laws regulation of private affairs under the democracy,
but to social relations themselves. In this context, philanthrpia encapsulates
for Demosthenes the sociability, civility, and tolerance that are essential for
amicable citizen relations under the democracy. Although Demosthenes predecessors, as noted earlier, had sought in diverse ways to articulate what
was distinctive about the relations among free and equal citizens under the
democracy, speaking, for example, of widespread tolerance among citizens
toward each others pursuits and the harmony (homonoia) among them arising
from mutual restraint and respect, the manner in which the orator elaborates
this ideal vision of social relations and the emphasis he places on this is
quite striking, and, I believe, largely unprecedented in extant Athenian public
discourse. Especially noteworthy is the way that Demosthenes invites jurors
collectively as members of the dmos who are alert to their interests to enforce
the practice of philanthrpia in social relations through their own selective
exercise of philanthrpia in the lawcourts.
Demosthenes invokes philanthrpia as central to Athenian social relations
in a variety of legal contexts, for example, when he has one of his clients tell
an Athenian lawcourt that he has only brought suit against his brother-in-law
as a last resort (41.12):
, ,
, ,

, .

36. Demosthenes also has Diodorus point out that Timocrates is seeking to exploit and manipulate Athenian philanthrpia through his proposed law (24.5152), and that he misrepresents his law as motivated by
philanthrpia (24.19091, 19597; cf. 156).
37. By contrast, Hyperides (Dem. 2425) asserts that the Athenian people embrace philanthrpia in letting
public men profit, within limits, from their positions.
38. As we shall see later in the text, Demosthenes offers a different distinction regarding the scope of the
laws philanthrpia in his Against Meidias, positing that it differentiates between intentional and unintentional
offenses. Ober (2005, 410) well observes, on the basis of such passages, that Demosthenes served as a public
political theorist of law. On Athenians diverse characterizations of the law, see Wohl 2010.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

212

MATTHEW R. CHRIST

And if, men of the jury, I had not shown all zeal and eagerness in my desire to find a
settlement and to submit the matters at issue to our friends, I would have blamed myself
for choosing to engage in a troublesome lawsuit rather than suffer a trifling loss. But, as
it is, the more mildly and civilly [] I conversed with the defendant, the
more contempt he showed toward me. (Trans. Murray, modified)

Although Demosthenes client suggests that philanthrpia should especially

prevail over contentiousness among kin (cf. Dem. 25.8789, discussed later),
he frames his appeal to jurors broadly in terms of the social ideals of cooperation and harmony that his opponent has violated. 39
In his own public prosecutions, Demosthenes likewise invokes philanthrpia
precisely because his sociopathic opponents have acted contrary to it. In his
prosecutions of Meidias and Aristogeiton, in fact, Demosthenes develops in
detail a picture of the centrality of philanthrpia to social life under the democracy in the course of showing how his opponents behavior constitutes
an attack on this. 40 As so often in Athenian public discourse, the articulation
and advancement of citizen ideals goes hand in hand with the repudiation of
their opposites. 41 Let us consider first how Demosthenes casts Meidias hubris
against him as a violation of philanthrpia, and then how he portrays Aristogeitons vicious and lawless behavior as a threat to this democratic virtue.
When Demosthenes prosecutes Meidias for slapping him in the face while
he was serving as chorgos at the City Dionysia, he presents this as an act
of hubris that poses a threat to the community at large. 42 An important,
but not fully appreciated, aspect of his legal counterassault on Meidias is
Demosthenes development of the position that Meidias has acted contrary
to philanthrpia, which is central to democratic life, and therefore does not
himself deserve philanthrpia from a jury that represents, and acts in the
interests of, the dmos at large. Near the beginning of his speech, Demosthenes amplifies the egregious nature of Meidias offense against a chorgos
participating in the festival by pointing out that the citys laws provide for
the prosecution even of those who simply disturb the festival by seeking to
exact payments from their debtors during it; this, he asserts, attests to the
high level of philanthrpia and piety ( ) that
Athenians observe during the festival (21.12). If the citys laws hold citizens
to an especially high standard of philanthrpia through the course of the
festival, however, they also seek to ensure that philanthrpia will prevail over
threats to it in daily life. Thus, as Demosthenes expands on the heinous nature
of hubris, he declares that while the citys laws treat unintentional offenses,
even in the case of homicide, with much consideration and philanthrpia
39. On ideals of cooperation among family members and fellow citizens in the Athenian courts, see Christ
1998, 16092.
40. Demosthenes uses philanthrpia and its cognates sixteen times in these two speeches: nine times in
Dem. 21 and seven times in Dem. 25 (see n. 18, above, for the citations).
41. On this feature of Athenian discourse, see Hunter 1994, 110 and Christ 2006, 4.
42. On this speech, see Ober 1989, 20812; 1994; MacDowell 1990, 137; 2009, 24553; Wilson 1991;
2000, 15668; Fisher 1992, 4451; Cohen 1995, 90101; Roisman 2003, 13641; Wohl 2010, 18188; Christ
2012, 10913.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

DEMOSTHENES ON PHILANTHRPIA

213

( ), they are strict () toward men

who are willfully hubristic (21.4244). 43 This strictness toward hubristic
offenders is, in fact, a consequence of the laws philanthrpia (
) toward the weak, which protects even slaves from hubris
(21.48). Indeed, if someone were to relay to the barbarian lands from which
these slaves come that there are some people in Hellas who are so mild
and humane ( ,
21.49) as to treat even their enemies with this regard, they would want to
make the Athenians their proxenoi (21.50). This humane character of the law
is useless, however, if jurors fail to enforce it against malefactors (21.57):
,
.
After all, there is no benefit in having laws that admirably and with philanthrpia protect
the many, if those who disobey and violate them escape the anger of you who have authority to enforce them on each occasion. (Trans. MacDowell, modified)

Thus, the protection of the many that the citys laws provide out of philanthrpia
requires that jurors actively defend their common interests and come down
hard on those who arrogantly and intentionally violate these laws.
Demosthenes goes on to argue that although jurors rightly take pity on
decent men and show them philanthrpia when judging them, this would be
completely out of place in the case of a villain like his hubristic opponent.
Meidias, Demosthenes insists, cannot claim that his life has generally been
moderate and humane ( . . . ) and thereby escape
the current charge against him (21.128); he is, in fact, a wicked, violent,
and hubristic man whom the jury should not deem worthy of any pardon,
philanthrpia, or favor [charis] (
, 21.148). 44 Demosthenes thus suggests that forensic charis, as an act
of collective philanthrpia, should be withheld from individuals who forego
philanthrpia in their social relations and therefore do not deserve this favorable treatment. Demosthenes elaborates on this principle of reciprocity more
explicitly in a passage that draws metaphorically on the eranosa friendly,
interest-free loan to which men contribute with the expectation that the recipient will reciprocate in like form if a lender should ever be in financial distress
(21.18485): 45
, ,
. ,
. ,
, .
43. By contrast, Demosthenes asserts in 24.19293, discussed earlier in the text, that the laws reserve their
strictness for men in public life.
44. On charis in forensic oratory, see Davies 1971, xviixviii; 1981, 9297; Millett 1998; Johnstone 1999,
100106; Rubinstein 2000, 21231; Christ 2006, 18084; 2012, 7276, 1069. On charis as a binding force
within the city, see Fisher 2010.
45. On the eranos, see Millett 1991, 15359; cf. MacDowell 1990, 32224.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

214

MATTHEW R. CHRIST

, .
, , ,
, .
, , .
One thing that contributes greatly to the advantage of all offenders, men of Athens, is your
characteristic mildness. Let me explain why it is not appropriate for you to extend any
of it whatsoever to this man. I believe that all men contribute to loans [eranoi] throughout their life for their own benefitnot just these loans that people collect and that have
contributors, but others too. For example, one of us is moderate, kind [], and
sympathetic to many; it is right for him to get the same treatment from everyone, if ever he
gets into a difficulty or a legal contest. Suppose someone else is shameless and treats many
with hubris, regarding some men as paupers, some as rubbish, and some as negligible:
it is right for him to get the same payments as he has given to the others. So, if you will
look into the matter, you will find that Meidias is a contributor to the latter kind of loan
[eranos], not the former. 46 (Trans. MacDowell, modified)

Viewed in this light, those who reject philanthrpia in their own social relations do not merit philanthrpia from the jurors collectively judging their
suits, and jurors thus are in the important position of enforcing this principle
of social relations as they determine who deserves their charis. 47
In his prosecution of Aristogeiton for addressing the Assembly and bringing suits before the lawcourts when he was disfranchised because of his
debts to the city, Demosthenes paints a similar picture of the centrality of
philanthrpia to social relations under the democracy while at the same time
elaborating on some of the details of this. 48 Although some scholars have
challenged the authenticity of this speech, it is quite plausibly Demosthenic. 49 Indeed, its presentation of philanthrpia, as we shall see, has much in
common with that found in Demosthenes Against Meidias and this may be
counted as a further indication of its authenticity. 50
Throughout his prosecution, Demosthenes casts Aristogeiton as an enemy
of the democracy and of a peaceful and harmonious democratic way of life,
who must be driven from the city. 51 Aristogeiton openly flouts the citys laws,
challenges the governing authority of the dmos, and generally perverts the
meaning of democratic freedom by interpreting it as license to do whatever
base thing he desires (25.2032). Aristogeiton not only threatens the democracy itself, but social relations within the city, as he acts as a sykophant in
46. Dem. 21.101, which invokes eranos in a similar vein, may be an earlier version of this passage: see
MacDowell 1990, 322.
47. On philanthrpia and reciprocity, see de Romilly 1979, 5152; cf. 109.
48. On the charge against Aristogeiton and the state debts attributed to him, see MacDowell 2009,
298301.
49. On the speechs likely authenticity, see MacDowell 2009, 31013, with earlier bibliography.
50. Although some might argue that this would be consistent with Dem. 25 being the work of a Demosthenic imitator, it is simpler to view the resemblance as evidence of common authorship. It is interesting in
this regard that the numerous speeches of Apollodorus that are included in the Demosthenic corpus do not use
philanthrpia at all (it appears in Dem. 45.4, but this speech could well be Demosthenic: see Trevett 1992, 73,
but note the reservations of MacDowell 2009, 120).
51. On Demosthenes characterization of Aristogeiton, see Christ 1998, 5659; Rosenbloom 2003; Worman 2008, 23032; MacDowell 2009, 298310; Lape 2010, 7178; Wohl 2010, 5064.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

DEMOSTHENES ON PHILANTHRPIA

215

abusing law and the legal process to harass, and extort money from, innocent
Athenians. 52 In complete contrast to other citizens who frequent the agora on
personal or public business, Aristogeiton (25.5152):
, ,
, ,
.
takes no part in any aspect of philanthrpia or social intercourse, but rather moves through
the agora like a snake or a scorpion with stinger held up, darting here and there, on the
lookout for someone on whom he can inflict disaster or calumny or mischief of some sort,
and whom he can terrify till he extorts money from him. (Trans. J. H. Vince, modified)

The philanthrpia that is essential to social relations among citizens, Demosthenes suggests, is utterly alien to the bestial and savage Aristogeiton.
Demosthenes insists that Aristogeiton, as an aggressive rogue who shakes
up and confounds society (25.19, 25, 75, 90), cannot seek, as other defendants
do, pity and philanthrpia from jurors on the basis of moderation or prudence
in his life or on any other grounds (25.76). 53 To merit collective philanthrpia
from a jury, a defendant must himself embrace this virtue (25.8182):
, ;
, ,
, , , .
. ;
, .
;
; ;
.
.
What help, then, remains for him, Athenians? The help, by Zeus, that comes to all defendants alike from the natural temper of the jury, the help that no man on his trial provides
for himself, but that each of you brings with him from home to the courtI mean pity,
pardon, and philanthrpia. But of such help it is neither pious nor lawful that this polluted
creature partake. Why? Because whatever law each mans nature prompts him to apply
to others, that law it is only fair that they should apply to him. What law do you think
Aristogeiton applies to all other men, and what are his wishes concerning them? Does he
wish to see them enjoying prosperity, happiness, and good reputation? If so, what becomes
of his livelihood? For he thrives on the misfortunes of others. Therefore, he wants to see
everyone involved in trials, lawsuits, and vile charges. (Trans. J. H. Vince, modified)

As in his extended deployment of the eranos-metaphor in his prosecution of

Meidias to emphasize that those who reject philanthrpia in their private relations cannot seek philanthrpia from the community in court, Demosthenes
insists here that Aristogeitons complete inversion of philanthrpia in his
52. On Athenian views of sykophancy, see Harvey 1990; Osborne 1990; Christ 1998.
53. Cf. how Demosthenes asserts that Timocrates can lay no claim to philanthrpia when he has joined
tax-collectors in the aggressive invasion of other citizens homes (24.19697).

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

216

MATTHEW R. CHRIST

social relations and utter savagery (, 25.84) bar him from receiving
pity and philanthrpia from jurors.
Aristogeiton shows his disdain for philanthrpia, Demosthenes asserts, not
only in his direct and aggressive harassment of citizens, but in his attempt
in court to assimilate his situation to that of other state-debtors and thus to
bring unwarranted collective hostility down upon them by association with
him. Other state-debtors have found themselves unable to pay their obligations
because of their standing surety for friends, acts of philanthrpia, and private
debts that involve no wrong to the city; by contrast, Aristogeitons debt arose
from a judicial fine imposed on him for his illegal attempt to have citizens
executed without trial (8687; cf. 83). The former deserve philanthrpia from
their fellow citizens, whereas Aristogeiton does not. The indulgence due to innocuous state-debtors, which Aristogeitons line of defense threatens, prompts
Demosthenes to discourse on the proper nature of social relations in the city
and the role of philanthrpia within this. His striking reflections, which set forth
an ideal vision of the democratic citys ethos, merit quoting in full (25.8790):

. , , , ,
, ,
. ; , ,

. ,
, , ,
,
, .
.
, , ,
, ,
,
.
.
.
[Further reason for hating Aristogeiton] is that he upturns and destroys the mutual
philanthrpia that you yourselves naturally preserve toward one another. For you, Athenians, observing what I have called a natural philanthrpia, live in this city in public just
as families live in their private homes. How then do families live? Where there is a father
and grown-up sons and possibly also grandchildren, there are bound to be many divergent
wishes; for youth and old age do not talk or act in the same way. Nevertheless, whatever
the young men do, if they are modest, they do in such a way as to most avoid notice; or if
not, at any rate they make it clear that such was their intention. The elders in their turn, if
they see any immoderation in spending or drinking or amusement, manage to see it without showing that they have seen it. The result is that everything that their various natures
suggest is done, and done well. And that is just how you, men of Athens, live in this city
like relatives and with philanthrpia [], some watching the proceedings of
the unfortunate in such a way that, as the saying runs, seeing, they see not; hearing, do
not hear; while the others by their behavior show that they are both on their guard and
alive to a sense of shame. The result is that that general concord [homonoia], which is the
source of all good things, abides and stands firmly established in our city. Those feelings,

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

DEMOSTHENES ON PHILANTHRPIA

217

that have been so admirably implanted in your nature and your character, Aristogeiton
would change and remove and overturn. (Trans. J. H. Vince, modified)

When Demosthenes emphasizes here the importance of philanthrpia to

Athenian society, he is clearly advocating not philanthropy in the common
modern sense of active assistance to those in need, but rather a benign tolerance of others minor offenses in the interest of civic harmony. 54 Because
Aristogeiton poses a threat to this fundamental social principle in and out of
court, the orator insists, he is manifestly an enemy of the Athenian people and
they should take decisive action to expel him from the city (25.95).
Several features of this excursus are noteworthy. First, while Demosthenes
was not the first to praise the democracy for the way its free and equal citizens
tolerate each others pursuits and pleasures, he innovates in rooting this tolerance in the specific virtue of philanthrpia, which encapsulates the general
humanity and benevolence of Athenians toward one another. 55 Second, he
vividly envisions the philanthrpia that Athenians practice as similar to that
of family members, whose philanthrpia enables them to live in harmony
with each other, despite their diverse ages and desires. 56 Third, Demosthenes
proposes that the philanthrpia that governs relations among Athenians is, in
fact, responsible for the general concord (homonoia) that prevails within the
city, which he and other orators flag as a signal achievement of the Athenian
democracy (Dem. 20.110; Lys. 2.1819; Andoc. 1.1069; cf. Dem. 18.246). 57
Thus, Demosthenes directly links the tolerance of democratic Athenians for
one another and the resulting general harmony of their democratic city, which
mirrors that of a family, with their embrace of philanthrpia as an essential
virtue.
It is against this backdrop of Demosthenes exposition of the centrality of
philanthrpia to peaceful coexistence in the democratic city that we should
understand his designation of it as something natural to Athenians. He does
not mean to suggest by this that philanthrpia comes into being independently
of the democratic regime in which it is practiced, but rather that its practice
and cultivation by members of the dmos, whom he is addressing in a court,
has led it to become ingrained in the nature and character of Athenians. Notably, Demosthenes speaks of nature here, not as if it is something immutable, but rather as something, along with character, that can be shaped and
modified; the perfect participle, conveys that the Athenian nature
and character have come into being through a process over time, and that
virtues like philanthrpia can thus become implanted in these. Although Demosthenes does not pause here to explain precisely how philanthrpia came
to be a part of the nature and character of Athenians, he is likely thinking of
this as a product of the democratic citys laws and institutions. Earlier in his
54. See Christ 2012, 5556.
55. De Romilly (1979, 102; cf. 9799) rightly notes how Demosthenes elaborates here on the idea of tolerance in daily life found in Thucydides Periclean funeral oration (2.37.23).
56. Demosthenes also associates philanthrpia with ideal familial relations in 41.12 (quoted in the text);
45.4; 60.32. For the city as an extended family, see Dem. 10.3940.
57. On homonoia in Dem. 25.8790, see Christ 2012, 5456.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

218

MATTHEW R. CHRIST

speech, in fact, Demosthenes speaks of the salutary effect of laws in imposing

order on mens diverse natures (25.1516); 58 and in his funeral oration for the
citys war dead after the Battle of Chaeronea, he echoes the citys encomiasts
in crediting the democratic city for cultivating virtue () through its ideals
and institutions (60.1617; cf. Thuc. 2.36; Lys. 2.69). Thus, if philanthrpia
is natural to Athenians, this is because their democratic environment has
made it so.
Demosthenes as Popular Political Theorist
Demosthenes development of the idea that philanthrpia is a quintessential democratic virtue is simultaneously bold, opportunistic, and insightful.
His audacity shows forth in the fact that, having to a large extent invented
philanthrpia as a democratic virtue, he instructs and exhorts his popular audiences to embrace this collectively in administering the city and individually
in their daily lives. 59 There is at the same time an unmistakeable opportunism in Demosthenes deployment of this concept to promote himself and his
agenda in the Assembly and the lawcourts, as he insists that he himself embraces philanthrpia and that his rivals and enemies at home and abroad reject
it. Likewise, when Demosthenes speaks of philanthrpia in the speeches he
composed for his legal clients, he does so to advance their interests at the
expense of those of their opponents. If Demosthenes is bold and opportunistic
in his deployment of philanthrpia in his speeches, however, it would be a
mistake to view his treatment of this simply as further evidence of his oratorical skills and shrewdness. There is something intellectually ambitious and
even compelling in Demosthenes presentation of philanthrpia as a defining
attribute of the democratic city and its citizens.
In linking together the disparate characterizations of the Athenian democratic ethos that he inherited from his predecessors under the single rubric of
philanthrpia, Demosthenes offers his popular audience a new and unified
way to conceptualize what is distinctive about themselves and their democratic polity. Philanthrpia, Demosthenes suggests, subsumes many positive
aspects of the Athenian character, including gentleness, generosity, kindness,
tolerance, civility, and sociability. Demosthenes indicates, moreover, that this
virtue is central to the Athenian experience, as it shapes how citizens relate
to one another in their daily lives, how democratic laws regulate life within
the city, and how the dmos administers the Assembly and the lawcourts. If
philanthrpia is ubiquitous in Athens, however, Demosthenes insists that the
Athenian dmos does not apply this indiscriminately in governing the city;
instead, it employs its philanthrpia in a manner that is consistent with its
strong interest in honoring those who benefit the city and punishing those
who threaten average citizens and the ruling authority of the dmos. In brief,
one might say that Demosthenes identifies for his audience a distinctively
58. For an insightful analysis of Demosthenes portrayal of the interplay of nomos and phusis in this
speech, see Wohl 2010, 5064.
59. On Demosthenes didactic stance toward his audiences, see Ober 1989, 18687, 32122 (cf. 2008,
272) and Yunis 1996, 24777.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

DEMOSTHENES ON PHILANTHRPIA

219

democratic ethos, delineates where and how this manifests itself across the
spectrum of Athenian social and political experience, and proposes parameters for its application that protect the interests of the Athenian dmos.
Demosthenes reflection on philanthrpia as a democratic ideal in these
terms qualifies him as a serious and innovative political thinker. 60 To be
sure, Demosthenes does not convey his political ideas in the systematic and
expository form that we may find in Plato and Aristotle, but rather elaborates
them in relatively short excurses in orations presented before mass audiences
across time and always as part of his broader project of defeating rivals in
the competitive arena of the Assembly or lawcourts. The manner in which
Demosthenes presents his political ideas, however, reflects his medium and
the exigencies of persuading mass audiences rather than any deficiency in
the depth and sophistication of his thinking. Indeed, despite the constraints
of his medium, Demosthenes often reflects thoughtfully and expansively on
philanthrpia and its place in the citys laws and in social and political life.
There is, moreover, a broad consistency to Demosthenes presentation of
philanthrpia as a fundamental democratic virtue and some subtlety to his
application of this across diverse spheres of Athenian experience and to his
efforts to establish parameters for its application by the Athenian dmos.
Although Demosthenes expression of political thought necessarily diverges in form from that found in the works of contemporary philosophers,
this should not prevent us from appreciating its importance and significance as
an articulation of the democratic ethos that pervades daily life and the citys
institutions. While it was uncontroversial in the popular mind that freedom
and equality were fundamental to democracy, 61 the precise implications of
these for political and social relations were less clear and open to diverse interpretations. Viewed against this backdrop, Demosthenes elaboration of the
centrality of philanthrpia to democratic life takes on special significance as
a thoughtful expression of how free and equal citizens should behave in their
relations with one another and in their administration of the democratic city.
To judge from Demosthenes frequent invocations of philanthrpia before
large popular audiences, these may well have resonated with them as an appealing articulation of the democratic ethos thatthough it was difficult to
encapsulatehelped bind them together.
If Demosthenes exposition of philanthrpia as a democratic virtue illuminates his status as a political thinker, it may also provide insights more
generally into the relationship between elite orators and mass audiences.
Demosthenes promotion of democratic philanthrpia illustrates how an orator might not only invoke the received commonplaces of democratic ideology
that mass audiences expected him to employ and on which his predecessors
had drawn, but elaborate on, and give new expression to, them. Indeed, while
60. As Yunis (1996, 23841) observes in a different context, Demosthenes opportunism does not mean
we should not take him seriously as a political thinker. As noted earlier (see n. 38, above), Ober (2005, 410)
suggests that Demosthenes reflections on law make him a sort of public political theorist of law; cf. Ober
1998, 370 (on dialectical passages in forensic oratory).
61. On the centrality of freedom and equality in Athenian democracy, see Hansen 1991, 7485.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

220

MATTHEW R. CHRIST

we can identify recurring elements of democratic ideology in public discourse

through the Classical period, this continuity should not lead us to believe that
democratic ideology was entirely fixed and ossified. Demosthenes example
suggests, on the contrary, that public speakers were free to interpret and
clarify for their audiences what received democratic ideals meant for them
as citizens. Although Demosthenes was surely not the first to engage in this
process of innovation and elaboration, his advancement of philanthrpia as a
central democratic virtue in diverse ways across his large corpus allows us to
see vividly how a talented individual might shape how Athenians understood
themselves and their polity. This is testament not only to Demosthenes abilities as orator and political thinker, but to the wisdom of the Athenian dmos in
allowing speakers freedom to innovate in interpreting for it what is essential
to democracy and a democratic way of life. 62
Indiana University
62. I am grateful to this journals editors and its two anonymous referees for their very helpful suggestions
and criticisms.

LITERATURE CITED
Allen, Danielle. 2010. Why Plato Wrote. Malden, Mass.
Balot, Ryan. 2010. Democratizing Courage in Classical Athens. In War, Democracy and Culture
in Classical Athens, ed. David Pritchard, 88108. Cambridge.
Cartledge, Paul, Paul Millett, and Stephen Todd, eds. 1990. Nomos: Essays in Athenian Law,
Politics and Society. Cambridge.
Christ, Matthew. 1998. The Litigious Athenian. Baltimore.
. 2006. The Bad Citizen in Classical Athens. Cambridge.
. 2012. The Limits of Altruism in Democratic Athens. Cambridge.
Cohen, David. 1995. Law, Violence and Community in Classical Athens. Cambridge.
Cook, Brad. 2009. Athenian Terms of Civic Praise in the 330s: Aeschines vs. Demosthenes.
GRBS 49: 3152.
Cooper, Craig. 2000. Philosophers, Politics, Academics: Demosthenes Rhetorical Reputation
in Antiquity. In Demosthenes: Statesman and Orator, ed. Ian Worthington, 22445. London.
Davies, John. 1971. Athenian Propertied Families. Oxford.
DeWitt, N. W., and N. J. DeWitt. 1949. Demosthenes. Vol. 7, Funeral Speech, Erotic Essay,
Exordia and Letters. Cambridge, Mass.
Dover, Kenneth. 1974. Greek Popular Morality in the Time of Plato and Aristotle. Berkeley.
Fisher, Nick. 1992. Hybris: A Study in the Values of Honour and Shame in Ancient Greece.
Warminster.
. 2010. Kharis, Kharites, Festivals, and Social Peace in the Classical Greek City. In
Valuing Others in Classical Antiquity, ed. Ralph Rosen and Ineke Sluiter, 71112. Leiden.
Forsdyke, Sara. 2005. Exile, Ostracism, and Democracy: The Politics of Expulsion in Ancient
Greece. Princeton, N.J.
Funke, Peter. 1980. Homnoia und Arch: Athen und die griechische Staatenwelt vom Ende
des peloponnesischen Krieges bis zum Knigsfrieden (404/3387/6 v. Chr.). Historia Einzelschriften 37. Wiesbaden.
Hansen, Mogens. 1991. The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes. Oxford.
Harvey, F. D. 1990. The Sykophant and Sykophancy: Vexatious Redefinition? In Cartledge,
Millett, and Todd 1990, 10321.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

DEMOSTHENES ON PHILANTHRPIA

221

Hunt, Peter. 2010. War, Peace, and Alliance in Demosthenes Athens. Cambridge.
Hunter, Virginia. 1994. Policing Athens: Social Control in the Attic Lawsuits, 420320 B.C.
Princeton, N.J.
Johnstone, Steven. 1999. Disputes and Democracy: The Consequences of Litigation in Ancient
Athens. Austin.
Konstan, David. 2001. Pity Transformed. London.
Kremmydas, Christos. 2012. Commentary on Demosthenes Against Leptines. Oxford.
Lape, Susan. 2010. Race and Citizen Identity in the Classical Athenian Democracy. Cambridge.
Loraux, Nicole. 1986. The Invention of Athens: The Funeral Oration in the Classical City. Trans.
Alan Sheridan. Cambridge, Mass.
Low, Polly. 2007. Interstate Relations in Classical Greece: Morality and Power. Cambridge.
MacDowell, Douglas, trans. and ed. 1990. Demosthenes: Against Meidias (Oration 21).
Oxford.
. 2009. Demosthenes the Orator. Oxford.
Millett, Paul. 1991. Lending and Borrowing in Ancient Athens. Cambridge.
. 1998. The Rhetoric of Reciprocity in Classical Athens. In Reciprocity in Ancient
Greece, ed. Christopher Gill, Norman Postlethwaite, and Richard Seaford, 22753. Oxford.
Mills, Sophie. 1997. Theseus, Tragedy and the Athenian Empire. Oxford.
Mitchell, Lynette. 1997. , and Greek Interstate Relations. Antichthon 31: 2844.
Murray, A. T. 1939. Demosthenes. Vol. 5, Private Orations. Cambridge, Mass.
Ober, Josiah. 1989. Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens: Rhetoric, Ideology, and the Power of
the People. Princeton, N.J.
. 1994. Power and Oratory in Democratic Athens: Demosthenes 21, Against Meidias.
In Persuasion: Greek Rhetoric in Action, ed. Ian Worthington, 85108. London.
. 1998. Political Dissent in Democratic Athens: Intellectual Critics of Popular Rule.
Princeton, N.J.
. 2005. Law and Political Theory. In The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek
Law, ed. Michael Gagarin and David Cohen, 394411. Cambridge.
. 2008. Democracy and Knowledge: Innovation and Learning in Classical Athens.
Princeton, N.J.
Osborne, Robin. 1990. Vexatious Litigation in Classical Athens: Sykophancy and the Sykophant.
In Cartledge, Millett, and Todd 1990, 83102.
Roisman, Joseph. 2003. The Rhetoric of Courage in the Athenian Orators. In Andreia: Studies in
Manliness and Courage in Classical Antiquity, ed. Ralph Rosen and Ineke Sluiter, 12744.
Leiden.
Romilly, Jacqueline de. 1958. Eunoia in Isocrates or the Political Importance of Creating Good
Will. JHS 78: 92101.
. 1972. Vocabulaire et propagande ou les premiers emplois du mot . In Mlanges de linguistique et de philologie grecques offerts Pierre Chantraine, ed. Alfred Ernout,
199209. Paris.
. 1979. La douceur dans la pense grecque. Paris.
Rosenbloom, David. 2003. Aristogeiton Son of Cydimachus and the Scoundrels Drama. In Theatres of Action: Papers for Chris Dearden, ed. John Davidson and Arthur Pomeroy, 88117.
Auckland.
Rubinstein, Lene. 2000. Litigation and Cooperation: Supporting Speakers in the Courts of Classical Athens. Historia Einzelschriften 147. Stuttgart.
Sternberg, Rachel Hall. 2005a. The Nature of Pity. In Sternberg 2005b, 1547.
, ed. 2005b. Pity and Power in Ancient Athens. Cambridge.
Trevett, Jeremy. 1992. Apollodorus the Son of Pasion. Oxford.
Tzanetou, Angeliki. 2005. A Generous City: Pity in Athenian Oratory and Tragedy. In Sternberg
2005b, 98122. Cambridge.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).

222

MATTHEW R. CHRIST

Veligianni-Terzi, Chryssoula. 1997. Wertbegriffe in den attischen Ehrendekreten der Klassischen

Zeit. Heidelberger althistorische Beitrge und epigraphische Studien 25. Stuttgart.
Vince, C. A., and J. H. Vince. 1926. Demosthenes. Vol. 2, De Corona and De Falsa Legatione. Cambridge, Mass.
Vince, J. H. 1930. Demosthenes. Vol. 1, Olynthiacs, Philippics, Minor Public Speeches,
Speech against Leptines. Cambridge, Mass.
. 1935. Demosthenes. Vol. 3, Against Meidias, Androtion, Aristocrates,
Timocrates, Aristogeiton. Cambridge, Mass.
Whitehead, David. 1986. The Demes of Attica 508/7ca. 250 B.C.: A Political and Social Study.
Princeton, N.J.
. 1993. Cardinal Virtues: The Language of Public Approbation in Democratic Athens.
ClMed 44: 3775.
. 2000. Hypereides: The Forensic Speeches. Oxford.
Wilson, Peter. 1991. Demosthenes 21 (Against Meidias): Democratic Abuse. PCPS 37: 16495.
. 2000. The Athenian Institution of the Khoregia: The Chorus, the City and the Stage.
Cambridge.
Wohl, Victoria. 2010. Laws Cosmos: Juridical Discourse in Athenian Forensic Oratory. Cambridge.
Worman, Nancy. 2008. Abusive Mouths in Classical Athens. Cambridge.
Worthington, Ian. 2006. Demosthenes, Speeches 60 and 61, Prologues, Letters. Austin.
Yunis, Harvey. 1996. Taming Democracy: Models of Political Rhetoric in Classical Athens.
Ithaca, N.Y.
Ziolkowski, John. 1981. Thucydides and the Tradition of Funeral Speeches at Athens. New York.

This content downloaded from 002.087.227.095 on May 12, 2016 12:30:43 PM

All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c).