Mervin R. Dilts - Böcker

This volume, containing orations 1-18, is the first of four volumes intended to replace the previous Oxford Classical Text of Demosthenes, begun in 1901, in the light of more recent scholarship. It is based on a thorough study not only of the medieval manuscript tradition but of papyrus fragments, some of them published only in the past few years, and of quotations in other authors, many of which have nor previously been used for this purpose; a comprehensive apparatus of testimonia is printed underneath the text. The remaining volumes are scheduled to appear at four-yearly intervals. Professor Dilts is a well-known editor of Greek texts, including the scholia to both Demosthenes and Aeschines.

This volume, containing orations 41-61, is the last of four volumes intended to replace the previous Oxford Classical Text of Demosthenes, begun in 1901, in the light of more recent scholarship. It is based on a thorough study not only of the medieval manuscript tradition but of papyrus fragments, some of them published only in the past few years, and of quotations in other authors, many of which have not previously been used for this purpose. All this information is presented in notes in Greek and Latin, which not only allow convenient access to evidence for the text but also provide references to ancient and medieval interpretations of the orations. There is an English preface.

This is the first Oxford Classical Text of the speeches of Antiphon and Andocides, two Athenian orators of the fifth century BCE. An influential statesman, Antiphon of Rhamnus also wrote speeches for clients in court cases, of which three are extant, and three tetralogies consisting of speeches for hypothetical murder trials arguing for both prosecution and defence. The first oration of Andocides is our principal source about two scandals from the eve of the Athenian expedition against Syracuse in 415, while his second and third speeches shed light on his later exile and diplomatic efforts between Athens and Sparta. The volume also includes a fourth speech, falsely attributed to Andocides, which vigorously pillories the early career of Alcibiades up to a point just before he, like Andocides, was accused of mutilating herms and profaning the Eleusinian Mysteries in 415. Based on a comprehensive study of the manuscript tradition, this critical edition aims to set the standard for a definitive text of the speeches that will serve for the next century. Taking into account all the significant manuscript evidence as well as the most compelling corrections proposed by scholars, it also incorporates testimony from other ancient authors to establish the text of these earliest representatives of Attic oratory.