The Authenticity of Demosthenes 13, Again

What is it about?

The ancient Athenian politician Demosthenes (384-22 BCE) was one of the most important orators of classical Greece. Many surviving speeches are attributed to him; some are clearly genuine, others are clearly not. The authenticity of several others has been the subject of long debate. Speech 13, 'On Organisation' is one of these disputed works. The paper takes issue with the trend towards acceptance of the speech as genuine that has emerged over the last few decades, answering the arguments in favour of Demosthenes' authorship and raising several, hitherto overlooked, problems. Rather than an example of Demosthenes' rhetoric in the mid-fourth century BCE, the speech is more likely to be the product of the early-third century and throw light on the posthumous construction of Demosthenes' legacy.

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Why is it important?

Speech 13 has been used to help buttress a variety of historical arguments on the basis that it is a genuine work of Demosthenes. It is highly unlikely, however, to have been written in its entirety by Demosthenes. This conclusion does not leave us understanding less about classical and early Hellenistic Athens than we first thought. The speech instead provides us with a valuable illustration of how Demosthenes' rhetoric was received, redeployed and reshaped by the succeeding generation of Athens' democratic leaders.