Greek orators - Antiphon

Rational persuasion and appeal to an audience's emotions are
elements of most literature, but they are found in their purest
form in oratory. The speeches written by the Greek Orators for
delivery in law-courts, deliberative councils and assemblies
enjoyed an honoured literary status, and rightly so, for the best
of them have great vitality. There is no crude, primitive stage
of development: the earliest speeches are perfect in form and
highly sophisticated in technique. They inform the reader about
aspects of Greek society and about their moral values, in a
direct and illuminating way not paralleled in other
literature.This edition offers a contrasting pair of early
orators. In his speech The Murder of Herodes, edited by Michael
Edwards, Antiphon relies on a varied and resourceful use of
probability argument, presented with great force and gravity.
Motivation of both defendant and prosecutor is also explored
thoroughly, as are the religious aspects of homicide. The five
speeches by Lysias, edited by Stephen Usher, illustrate that
orator's skill in using narrative to portray character and his
talent for creating and dispelling personal and political
prejudice in difficult cases. The Commentary seeks to call
attention to the orators' rhetorical and stylistic skills to a
degree not previously attempted in editions of the orators, to
elucidate historical and legal matters and to explain textual and
grammatical difficulties. The notes are keyed to the translation,
rendering the speeches accessible to the reader with little or no
Greek.Greek text with translation, commentary and notes.