Hyperides was ranked in antiquity as second in greatness only to Demosthenes amongst the Ten Attic Orators. His execution in 322 BC for opposition to Macedonian rule left Dinarchus as the last of the Ten to survive. This book critically evaluates the speeches of both orators against Demosthenes and discusses Hyperides' funeral oration as an important historical source for understanding Athens in the last years of the reign of Alexander the Great. The history of the period of discussed in detail, as is the rhetorical style of the two orators. Amongst other distinctions this text provides the first commentary in English on Hyperides' two speeches. A Greek text of Dinarchus' and Hyperides' fragmented speeches is provided along with an English translation. The commentary is essentially historical, but some literary and philological points are also discussed.
