Demosthenes

Timeline

1. c. -384–-355Athens · AtticaDemosthenes was born in Athens and, having suffered a stammer in childhood, practiced public speaking diligently. He studied under rhetoricians such as Isaeus, reading legal and political speeches, laying the foundation for his later eloquence in the assembly and courts.
2. c. -355–-338Athens · AtticaEntering politics, Demosthenes keenly perceived the threat Philip II of Macedon posed to the Greek city-states, delivering a series of Philippics calling for military reform, a stronger alliance, and resistance to Macedonian expansion. His speeches became classic examples of classical rhetoric and political mobilization.
3. -338–-323Athens · AtticaAfter the defeat at Chaeronea in 338 BCE, Demosthenes was at one point forced into exile, but briefly returned to Athenian political life after Alexander's death and a surge of anti-Macedonian sentiment. He consistently advocated city-state autonomy and refused to compromise with Macedonian hegemony.
4. -322Calauria · EuboeaAfter the Macedonian regent Antipater suppressed anti-Macedonian forces, Demosthenes went into exile again. Pursued while taking refuge at Calauria in 322 BCE, he drank poison and took his own life, defending his political convictions to the end and becoming a symbolic figure of Greek liberty and civic virtue.