Lysias: Five Speeches: 1, 12, 19, 22, 30

Description

Litigants in ancient Athens were obliged to represent themselves, and cases were decided on the basis of speeches delivered by the opposing parties. Inexperienced litigants would turn for help to professional speech writers and one of the leading exponents of the art of speech-writing in the late fifth- and early fourth-century Athens was Lycias. These five examples of his work are selected to cover a range of cases and offer a fascinating insight into Athenian society of the period. Their relatively simple language and style make them useful texts for the inexperienced reader of Greek, as well as the more advanced student. This edition provides an up-to-date introduction and commentary to meet the needs of A-level and undergraduate students tackling Greek oratory for the first time.

Michael Edwards is Professor of Classics at Queen Mary College, University of London and Director of the Institute of Classical Studies. He has written a number of books on the Attic Orators, including commentaries on speeches of Antiphon, Andocides, and Lysias, and a translation of the speeches of Isaeus.