Demosthenes (384-322 BC) is regarded as the greatest of Greek orators and perhaps the greatest orator of all times. He saw clearly the significance of the rise of an autocratic Macedonia and its implications for traditional Athenian and Greek political freedom.

Demosthenes was the son of a wealthy manufacturer of weapons named Demosthenes of the deme of Paeania in Attica. The orator's father died when Demosthenes was 7 years old, and his estate was turned over to his two brothers, Aphobus and Demophon, and a friend, Therippides, who sorely mismanaged it.

Early Career

Though a sickly child, Demosthenes was determined to obtain redress from his guardians. In order to prepare himself, he studied rhetoric and law under Isaeaus, and though by age 20 only about one-tenth of the capital remained for him, he successfully prosecuted his guardians. The four speeches dealing with this business are preserved in "Against Aphobus" and...