Aristogeiton was an Athenian

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 orator and adversary of Demosthenes

Demosthenes

Demosthenes was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC. Demosthenes learned rhetoric by...

 and Dinarchus

Dinarchus

Dinarchus or Dinarch was a logographer in Ancient Greece. He was the last of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace in the third century BC.A son of Sostratus , Dinarchus settled at Athens early in life, and...

. His father, Scydimus, died in prison, as he was a debtor of the state and unable to pay: his son, Aristogeiton, who inherited the debt, was likewise imprisoned for some time. He is called a demagogue

Demagogy

Demagogy or demagoguery is a strategy for gaining political power by appealing to the prejudices, emotions, fears, vanities and expectations of the public—typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalist, populist or religious themes...

 and a sycophant

Sycophant

Sycophancy means:# Obsequious flattery; servility.# The character or characteristic of a sycophant.Alternative phrases are often used such as:-Etymology:...

, and his eloquence is described as of a coarse and vehement character. His impudence drew upon him the surname of "the dog." He was often accused by Demosthenes and others, and defended himself in a number of orations which are lost. Among the extant speeches of Demosthenes there are two against Aristogeiton, and among those of Dinarchus there is one. The Suda

Suda

The Suda or Souda is a massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Suidas. It is an encyclopedic lexicon, written in Greek, with 30,000 entries, many drawing from ancient sources that have since been lost, and often...

mentions seven orations of Aristogeiton, and an eighth against Phryne

Phryne

Phryne was a famous hetaera of Ancient Greece .- Early life :Her real name was Mnesarete , but owing to her yellowish complexion she was called Phryne "Toad", a name given to other courtesans. She was born at Thespiae in Boeotia, but seems to have lived at Athens...

 is mentioned by Athenaeus

Athenaeus

Athenaeus , of Naucratis in Egypt, Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourished about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century AD...

. Aristogeiton died in prison.

External links

• Dinarchus, Against Aristogeiton (Perseus Project)
• Demosthenes, Against Aristogeiton 1 (Perseus Project)
• Demosthenes, Against Aristogeiton 2 (Perseus Project)