Demetrius of Phalerum (also
Demetrius of Phaleron or
Demetrius Phalereus, ; c. 350-c. 280 BC) was an
AthenianAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
orator originally from Phalerum, a student of
TheophrastusTheophrastus , a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. His interests were wide-ranging, extending from biology and physics to ethics and metaphysics. His two surviving botanical works, Enquiry into Plants and On the Causes of Plants, were an...
and one of the first Peripatetics. Demetrius was a distinguished statesman who was appointed by
CassanderCassander , King of Macedonia , was a son of Antipater, and founder of the Antipatrid dynasty.-Early history:...
to govern
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
, where he ruled as sole ruler for ten years, introducing important reforms of the legal system while maintaining pro-
CassanderCassander , King of Macedonia , was a son of Antipater, and founder of the Antipatrid dynasty.-Early history:...
oligarchic rule.
Demetrius of Phalerum (also
Demetrius of Phaleron or
Demetrius Phalereus, ; c. 350-c. 280 BC) was an
AthenianAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
orator originally from Phalerum, a student of
TheophrastusTheophrastus , a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. His interests were wide-ranging, extending from biology and physics to ethics and metaphysics. His two surviving botanical works, Enquiry into Plants and On the Causes of Plants, were an...
and one of the first Peripatetics. Demetrius was a distinguished statesman who was appointed by
CassanderCassander , King of Macedonia , was a son of Antipater, and founder of the Antipatrid dynasty.-Early history:...
to govern
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
, where he ruled as sole ruler for ten years, introducing important reforms of the legal system while maintaining pro-
CassanderCassander , King of Macedonia , was a son of Antipater, and founder of the Antipatrid dynasty.-Early history:...
oligarchic rule. He was exiled by his enemies in 307 BC, and he went first to
ThebesThebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
, and then, after 297 BC, to the court of
AlexandriaAlexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports...
. He wrote extensively on the subjects of
historyHistory is the study of the human past, with special attention to the written record. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it often attempts to investigate objectively the patterns...
,
rhetoricRhetoric is one of the arts of using language as a means to persuade. Along with grammar and logic or dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. From ancient Greece to the late 19th Century, it was a central part of Western education, filling the need to train public...
, and
literary criticismLiterary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
.
Life
Demetrius was born in Phalerum, c. 350 BC. He was the son of Phanostratus, a man without rank or property. He was educated, together with the poet
MenanderMenander , Greek dramatist, the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy, was the son of well-to-do parents; his father Diopeithes is identified by some with the Athenian general and governor of the Thracian Chersonese known from the speech of Demosthenes De Chersoneso...
, in the school of
TheophrastusTheophrastus , a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. His interests were wide-ranging, extending from biology and physics to ethics and metaphysics. His two surviving botanical works, Enquiry into Plants and On the Causes of Plants, were an...
. He began his public career about 325 BC, at the time of the disputes concerning
HarpalusFor other uses, see Harpalus Harpalus son of Machatas was an aristocrat of Macedon and boyhood friend of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. Being lame in a leg, and therefore exempt from military service, Harpalus did not follow Alexander in his advance within the Persian Empire but...
, and soon acquired a great reputation by the talent he displayed in public speaking. He belonged to the pro-oligarchic party of
PhocionPhocion was an Athenian statesman and strategos, and the subject of one of Plutarch's Parallel Lives.Phocion was a successful politician of Athens...
; and he acted in the spirit of that statesman. When
XenocratesXenocrates of Chalcedon was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, and leader of the Platonic Academy from 339 to 314 BCE. His teachings followed those of Plato's, which he attempted to define more closely, often with mathematical elements...
was unable to pay the new
taxTo tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law.Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
on metics (foreign residents) c. 322 BC, and the Athenians threatened him with slavery, he was only saved (according to one story) when Demetrius purchased his debt and paid his tax. After the death of Phocion in 317 BC,
CassanderCassander , King of Macedonia , was a son of Antipater, and founder of the Antipatrid dynasty.-Early history:...
placed Demetrius at the head of the administration of
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. He filled this office for ten years, instituting extensive legal reforms. The Athenians conferred upon him the most extraordinary distinctions (almost all of which were revoked after his later expulsion from Athens), and no less than 360
statues-General Rules:#A person starts out as the "Curator" and stands at the end of a field. Everyone else playing stands at the far end...
were erected to him. However, Demetrius was unpopular with the lower classes of Athenians and with pro-democratic political factions, who resented the limitations he placed on the democratic franchise and viewed him as little more than a pro-Macedonian puppet ruler.
He remained in power until 307 BC when Cassander's enemy, Demetrius Poliorcetes captured Athens, and Demetrius was obliged to take to flight. It was claimed that during the latter period of his administration he had abandoned himself to every kind of excess, and we are told he squandered 1200 talents a year on dinners, parties, and love affairs.
Carystius of PergamumCarytius of Pergamum was an ancient Greek grammarian who lived at the end of the 2nd century BCE, all of whose works are now lost. Among his works were Historical Notes , On the Dramatic Poets , and On Sotades...
mentions that he had a lover by the name of Diognis, of whom all the Athenian boys were jealous. After his exile, his enemies contrived to induce the people of Athens to pass the
death sentence"Death Sentence" is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov....
upon him, in consequence of which his friend Menander nearly fell a victim. All his statues, with the exception of one, were demolished.
Demetrius first went to
ThebesThebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
, and then (after Cassander's death in 297 BC) to the court of
Ptolemy I SoterPtolemy I Soter I was a Macedonian Greek general under Alexander the Great who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty...
at
AlexandriaAlexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports...
, with whom he lived for many years on the best terms, and who is even said to have entrusted to him the revision of the laws of his kingdom. During his stay at Alexandria, he devoted himself mainly to literary pursuits, ever cherishing the recollection of his own country. On the accession of Ptolemy Philadelphus, Demetrius was sent into exile to
Upper EgyptUpper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
, where he is said to have died of the bite of a
snakeSnakes are elongate legless carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
. His death appears to have taken place soon after the year 283 BC.
Works
Demetrius was the last among the Attic orators worthy of the name, after which the activity went into a decline. His orations were characterised as being soft, graceful, and elegant, rather than sublime like those of
DemosthenesDemosthenes was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC. Demosthenes learned rhetoric by...
. His numerous writings, the greater part of which he probably composed during his residence in
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
, embraced a wide range of subjects, and the list of them given by
Diogenes LaërtiusDiogenes Laërtius , was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is known about his life, but his surviving Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is one of the principal surviving sources for the history of Greek philosophy.-Life:Nothing is known about his life. He must have lived after...
shows that he was a man of the most extensive acquirements. These works, which were partly historical, partly political, partly philosophical, and partly poetical, have all perished. The work
On Style which has come down under his name, is the work of a later writer, c. 2nd century AD.
His literary merits are not confined to what he wrote, for he was a man of a practical turn of mind, and not a merely a scholar. Whatever he learned or knew was applied to the practical business of life; for example, the performance of tragedy had fallen into disuse in Athens, on account of the great expense involved; and in order to afford the people less costly and yet intellectual amusement, he caused the Homeric and other poems to be recited on the stage by rhapsodists.
According to
StraboStrabo was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born in a wealthy family from Amaseia in Pontus , which had recently become part of the Roman Empire.. He studied under various geographers and philosophers; first in Nysa, later in Rome...
, Demetrius inspired the creation of the Mouseion, better known as the
Library of AlexandriaThe Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was probably the largest, and certainly the most famous, of the libraries of the ancient world...
, which was modeled after the arrangement of Aristotle's school. The Mouseion contained a
peripatos (covered walkway), a
syssition (room for communal dining) and a categorized organization of scrolls.
Further reading
- Fortenbaugh, W., Schütrumpf, E.
Eckart Schütrumpf is a professor of classics at the University of Colorado at Boulder known for his work on political, ethical, rhetorical and poetic issues in Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, and other ancient writers. In 2005 he won a prestigious research prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation...
, (1999), Demetrius of Phalerum: Text Translation and Discussion. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-7658-0017-9
External links