Oxford University Press, 1995. Hardcover. Gray cloth covered hardcover with silver lettering to the spine. Dust jacket has minor sun fading to the spine. 8vo. (6.5 x 0.42 x 9.5 inches) Clean text free of marks or underlining. Includes notes, references and an index. 233 pp.

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ISBN: 9780195082852

Filling a major gap in modern scholarship on Classical Athens, Edward Harris offers the first full-length study of the orator and politician Aeschines. Along with Isocrates, Aeschines was among the prominent Athenian politicians who advocated friendly ties with the Macedonian king Philip II. Though overshadowed by his famous rival Demosthenes, Aeschines played a key role in the decisive events that marked the rise of Macedonian power in Greece and formed the transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic period.

Three long speeches by Aeschines, delivered in court battles with his opponent Demosthenes, provide valuable information on both Athenian politics and Aeschines as a politician. In addition the book gives consideration to Aeschines' family background and early career as one of the few Athenian politicians who did not belong to the liturgical (i.e., most wealthy) class in Athens. In this study of Aeschines political life, Harris examines the reliability of court speeches as historical evidence as well as what they reveal about the actual workings of Athenian democratic institutions when faced with the threat of Macedonian domination.

Aeschines and Athenian Politics will interest both the ancient historian and classicist, while, at the same time, remaining accessible to laypersons with some knowledge of classical Greece.

Price: $128.95