Perseus lysias against alcibiades biography

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Possibly exiled from Thurii for his support of Athens following their failed invasion of Sicily, Lysias returned to Athens in the final years (perhaps 412/11 BCE) of the war with Sparta. If indeed the speech against Eratosthenes for the murder of his brother was Lysias’ first courtroom speech, it launched an immensely successful and productive career as a speech writer (logographos).

This speech, dating to 403/2 BCE and delivered by Lysias on his own behalf, appears to be his first foray into forensic oratory. Today, only 23 complete speeches ascribed to Lysias survive with another 12 in partial states of preservation, though not every speech in this collection is believed to be genuine.

perseus lysias against alcibiades biography

3rd pers.pronoun; -self; [the] same 2 55 (211.13) (173.647) (126.45) εἰμίto be 2 53 (203.45) (217.261) (145.55) γίγνομαιbecome, be born 2 22 (84.45) (53.204) (45.52) νόμοςusage, custom, law, ordinance 2 20 (76.78) (5.63) (4.23) οὐδείςnot one, nobody 1 18 (69.1) (19.346) (18.91) βούλομαιto will, wish, be willing 1 8 (30.71) (8.59) (11.98) αὐτοῦat the very place, just here, just there 1 15 (57.58) (26.948) (12.74) ὁπλίτηςheavy-armed, armed 1 5 (19.19) (0.409) (2.1) ζημίαloss, damage 1 1 (3.84) (0.342) (0.38) πολέμιοςhostile; enemy 1 13 (49.9) (2.812) (8.48) ἔρχομαιto come 1 2 (7.68) (6.984) (16.46) ὅςwho, that, which: relative pronoun 1 28 (107.49) (208.764) (194.16) δημεύωto declare public property, to confiscate 1 1 (3.84) (0.05) (0.01) ἄτιμοςunhonoured, dishonoured 1 2 (7.68) (0.224) (0.36) οὐnot 1 36 (138.2) (104.879) (82.22) μᾶλλονmore, rather 1 6 (23.03) (11.489) (8.35) ἐπιθυμέωto set one's heart upon 1 3 (11.52) (0.916) (1.28)

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Lysias' Life and Works

Lysias was a member of a wealthy and prominent family of metics, a legal category of resident immigrants in Athens who paid additional taxes and were restricted from participation in certain civic activities and institutions.

While Lysias managed to escape this unlawful detention with his life, his brother was killed by Eratosthenes. oh! The conditions of the amnesty did not apply, however, to those members of the Thirty shone to have committed homicide (Rhodes 1981: 468). Consequently, Lysias and his brother Polemarchos were arrested by agents of the Thirty, including a certain Eratosthenes.

1 19 (72.94) (6.146) (14.88) δίκαιοςjust, observant of custom, correct, balanced 1 7 (26.87) (4.795) (6.12) κινδυνεύωto be daring, to make a venture, take the risk, do a daring thing 1 2 (7.68) (0.652) (1.82) ὅλοςwhole, entire, complete in all its parts 1 1 (3.84) (13.567) (4.4) αἱρέωto take, (mid.) to choose 1 3 (11.52) (3.052) (8.73) ἀστρατείαexemption from service 1 1 (3.84) (0.007) (0.0) στρατόπεδονthe ground on which soldiers are encamped, a camp, encampment 1 1 (3.84) (1.032) (4.24) δικαστήςa judge 1 21 (80.61) (0.639) (0.52) δειλίαcowardice 1 5 (19.19) (0.261) (0.18) τάσσωto arrange, put in order 1 3 (11.52) (2.051) (3.42)

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1–20 of 42 lemmas; 60 tokens (2,605 in work)

wordshortdefcountwork (freq.)corpuscore
καίand, also 8 105 (403.07) (544.579) (426.61)
the 6 282 (1082.53) (1391.018) (1055.57)
οὗτοςthis; that 3 44 (168.91) (133.027) (121.95)
αὐτόςunemph.

Over the next two decades, he composed upwards of 200 speeches. The amnesty agreement allowed members of the Thirty to remain in Athens and keep their citizen status if they submitted to a public examination (euthuna) of their activities under the oligarchy. 3rd pers.pronoun; -self; [the] same

3 55 (211.13) (173.647) (126.45)
ὅτι2conj.: that, because 3 26 (99.81) (49.49) (23.92)
μετά(w gen) with, among; (w acc) after 3 13 (49.9) (21.235) (25.5)
ὅτιadv.

Besides his speech against Eratosthenes and some further fragmentary speeches, most of what we know about Lysias’ life comes from several ancient biographies, whose authors had access to sources now lost. The vast majority of these speeches were composed as part of court cases, and as such provide a rich trove of material for historians of late fifth- and early fourth-century Athens.

Beyond the general contours sketched above it is impossible to reconstruct an exact and detailed chronology of Lysias’ life given our current sources, even such major events as the date of his birth remain unclear.

As a result, Cephalus socialized with the upper echelon of Athenian society. oh!

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1–20 of 39 lemmas; 44 tokens (2,605 in work)

wordshortdefcountwork (freq.)corpuscore
οὐδείςnot one, nobody 2 18 (69.1) (19.346) (18.91)
ἡγέομαιto lead; to consider, believe 2 13 (49.9) (3.657) (4.98)
the 2 282 (1082.53) (1391.018) (1055.57)
ἐκfrom out of 2 9 (34.55) (54.157) (51.9)
αὐτόςunemph.

1 19 (72.94) (6.146) (14.88)
τιςany one, any thing, some one, some thing; 1 24 (92.13) (97.86) (78.95)
ἐπιτήδευμαa pursuit, business, practice 1 2 (7.68) (0.339) (0.53)
δικαστήςa judge 1 21 (80.61) (0.639) (0.52)
ὥστεso that 1 14 (53.74) (10.717) (9.47)
μήnot 1 8 (30.71) (50.606) (37.36)
τοιοῦτοςsuch as this 1 8 (30.71) (20.677) (14.9)
παρέχωto furnish, provide, supply 1 5 (19.19) (2.932) (4.24)
γάρfor 1 18 (69.1) (110.606) (74.4)
πολίτης(fellow) citizen 1 13 (49.9) (1.041) (1.81)
ὑμόςyour 1 33 (126.68) (6.015) (5.65)
σύyou (personal pronoun) 1 41 (157.39) (30.359) (61.34)
βούλομαιto will, wish, be willing 1 8 (30.71) (8.59) (11.98)

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1–20 of 41 lemmas; 57 tokens (2,605 in work)

wordshortdefcountwork (freq.)corpuscore
the 5 282 (1082.53) (1391.018) (1055.57)
αὐτόςunemph.

Lysias’ father, Cephalus, had emigrated from Syracuse to Athens, perhaps at the request of the famous Athenian statesman Pericles, where he established an extensive and profitable manufacturing enterprise producing shields for the Peloponnesian war effort. Since not every citizen wished to or had the ability to properly represent themselves in a legal proceeding, speechwriting developed into a profession.

On the authenticity of various speeches ascribed to Lysias, see the important discussions in Dover 1968 and Usher and Najock 1982.