Apollodorus of Acharnae

Apollodorus (Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος Apollodōros) of Acharnae in Attica (394 – after 343 BCE) was an Athenian politician known from several ancient forensic speeches which were preserved as part of the Demosthenic corpus.

Apollodorus was the son of the banker Pasion, and was born when his father was not yet an Athenian citizen.[1] Some time between the birth of Apollodorus and 376 BCE, Pasion was made an Athenian citizen, along with his sons.[2] In 370 BCE, when Apollodorus was 24, his father died,[3] leaving part of his property in the hands of his bank manager Phormion.[1] After Pasion's death, Apollodorus' mother married Phormion, and died in 360 BCE. Phormion then became the guardian of her younger son Pasicles. In 350 BCE, Apollodorus brought a lawsuit against Phormion. Demosthenes wrote the defence speech For Phormion, which is extant. At this time Apollodorus held the post of archon eponymos at Athens.[4] A rumour later circulated that Demosthenes leaked the defence speech to Apollodorus before the trial.[5] Apollodorus afterwards attacked the witnesses who had supported Phormion.

Politically, Apollodorus allied himself with Demosthenes and his anti-Macedonian opinions, in 349/348 BCE proposing the use of the Theoric fund for military purposes.[6] This proposal, though it was passed by the Assembly, was found to be illegal, and Apollodorus was fined one talent.[7]

Apollodorus was involved in many lawsuits, and the speeches which he gave in a number of these are preserved as part of the Demosthenic corpus. Six of these speeches, however, are generally attributed to a pseudo-Demosthenes, often identified as Apollodorus himself.[8] Apollodorus' final preserved speech is Against Neaera, which dates to between 343 and 340 BCE, after which we know nothing of his life.[9] Apollodorus was extremely wealthy and performed the liturgy of trierarchy twice, in a period when it was unusual for a single person to take that role because of the enormous expense.[10] As well as being trierarch in 362 and 356/ BCE, Apollodorus was choregus in 352/1.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Kapparis, Konstantinos A. (1999). Apollodoros 'Against Neaira' [D.59]. p. 45.
  2. ↑ Hamel, Debra (2003). Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. p. 137.
  3. ↑ Demosthenes, For Phormion.
  4. ↑ Diodorus Siculus 16.46.
  5. ↑ Aeschines, On the embassy 165; Plutarch, Demosthenes 15.
  6. ↑ Macurdy, Grace H. (1942). "Apollodorus and the Speech Against Neaera (Pseudo-Demosthenes LIX)". The American Journal of Philology 63 (3): 257.
  7. ↑ Macurdy, Grace H. (1942). "Apollodorus and the Speech Against Neaera (Pseudo-Demosthenes LIX)". The American Journal of Philology 63 (3): 259.
  8. ↑ Hamel, Debra (2003). Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. p. xii.
  9. ↑ Hamel, Debra (2003). Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. p. 162.
  10. ↑ Pseudo-Demosthenes, Against Polycles, Against Nicostratus.
  11. ↑ Macurdy, Grace H. (1942). "Apollodorus and the Speech Against Neaera (Pseudo-Demosthenes LIX)". The American Journal of Philology 63 (3): 263.

Sources

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