The Greeks made an art of public speaking, or oratory (OHR-uh-tohr-ee), in the Golden Age and thereafter. As with most other arts, it flourished in Athens, where it formed an important part in the development of democracy. In order to make informed decisions regarding the issues of the day, the people needed to hear informed opinions on many sides. Thus the Greeks placed a premium on speaking ability, an art taught by the Sophists, among others.
Just because the Athenian government was democratic did not mean that it was nice. Modern Americans wring their hands over disagreements in Congress, but in fact the behavior of U. S. politicians is downright civil compared with that of their Athenian counterparts. In Athens, if a speaker bored his listeners, they would boo him and shout him down.
The first important Greek orator was Antiphon (AN-tuh-fahn; c. 480-411 B. C.), who also wrote speeches for lawyers and others participating in murder cases. Lysias (LlS-ee-uhs; c. 445-c. 380 b. c.) is best remembered for his opposition to the Thirty Tyrants installed by Sparta after it gained control of Athens in 401 b. c.. Isocrates (ie-SAHK-ruh-teez; 436-338 b. c.) founded a school where he taught many of the leading orators of the next generation, including Lycurgus (lie-KUHR-guhs; c. 390-324 b. c.) Then there was Lycurgus's associate, Demosthenes.
When Demosthenes was a young man, few people would have picked him to be a future orator. He was physically weak, and his voice was soft, but he was smart. He could have had a good career writing speeches for someone else to deliver. Yet he dreamed of holding audiences spellbound, so he worked on his voice by speaking to the crashing waves on the shore, trying to be heard over them. He put pebbles in his mouth to make speaking still harder. He would often run up and down hills—still speaking with pebbles in his mouth—to strengthen his body. In the end, he became the greatest orator of ancient Greece, and one of the greatest speakers of all time.
World History
