Hyperides
Hyperides
The orator of Athenian liberty
390 BC – 322 BC
Hyperides was born around 390 BC in Athens into a wealthy family. He studied rhetoric under Isocrates and became one of the most successful advocates and politicians of his generation — and, by common ancient reckoning, one of the ten greatest Attic orators.
He was a political ally of Demosthenes in the resistance to Macedon, though the two men fell out during the Harpalus scandal. After the failure of the Lamian War (323–322 BC), the final Athenian revolt against Macedon, Hyperides fled but was captured by Antipater's agents on Aegina and executed. Plutarch reports that he bit off his own tongue to prevent being forced to betray his allies under torture.
For centuries Hyperides was known only from fragments and quotations. Then, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, papyrus finds in Egypt recovered substantial portions of six speeches. The effect was electrifying: Hyperides' style is vivid, witty, and emotionally direct in a way that distinguishes him from the ponderous grandeur of Demosthenes. His Funeral Oration for the dead of the Lamian War is genuinely moving. The recovery of his speeches is one of the great success stories of papyrology.
Works (6)
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1
Against Athenogenes oratory
A prosecution of Athenogenes for fraud in the sale of a perfume shop — the sale included hidden debts.
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2
Against Demosthenes oratory
Hyperides prosecutes Demosthenes for accepting twenty talents from Harpalus, Alexander's absconding treasurer. The case that broke the greatest orator...
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4
Funeral Oration oratory
A funeral oration for the Athenian dead in the Lamian War, praising their commander Leosthenes. One of the finest examples of the genre, rediscovered...
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5
In Defence of Euxenippus oratory
A defence of Euxenippus against a charge of making a false report about a dream vision at the temple of Amphiaraus.
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6
In Defence of Lycophron oratory
A defence of Lycophron against a charge of seducing a citizen woman.