Phaeax (orator)
Encyclopedia
Phaeax was an Athenian
orator and statesman. He was of good famity, being the son of Erasistratus
. The date of his birth is not known, but he was a contemporary of Nicias
and Alcibiades
. Plutarch
(Alcib. 13) says, that he and Nicias were the only rivals from whom Alcibiades had any thing to fear when he entered upon public life. Phaeax, like Alcibiades, was at the time just rising to distinction. In 422 BCE
Phaeax with two others was sent as an ambassador to Italy
and Sicily
, to endeavor to induce the allies of the Athenians in that quarter and the other Siceliots to aid the Leontines against the Syracusans. He succeeded with Camarina
and Agrigentum, but his failure at Gela
led him to abandon the attempt as hopeless. In his way back he did some service to the Athenian cause among the states of Italy. (Thucyd.
v. 4, 5.) According to Theophrastus
(ap. Plut.) it was Phaeax, and not Nicias, with whom Alcibiades united for the purpose of ostracizing Hyperbolus. Most authorities, however, affirmed that it was Nicias. (Plut. l.c. Nic. 11, Aristid. 7.) In the Lives of the Ten Orators (Andoc.) there is mention of a contest between Phaeax and Andocides
, and a defence of the latter against the former. It is difficult to say to what period this could have referred. Andocides did not come into notice until after the affair of the mutilation of the Hermae.
Phaeax was of engaging manners, but had no great abilities as a speaker. According to Eupolis
(ap. Plut. Alcib. 13) he was a fluent talker, but quite unable to speak. (Comp. A. Gellius, N. A. i. 15.) Aristophanes
gives a description of his style of speaking (Equit. 1377, etc.), from which we also gather that, on one occasion, he was brought to trial for some capital offence and acquitted.
There has been a good deal of controversy respecting the speech against Alcibiades, commonly attributed to Andocides, which Taylor maintained to be the production of Phaeax. Plutarch (Alcib. 13), according to the opinion of most editors, speaks of an oration against Alcibiades, reported to be the production of Phaeax. It seems not unlikely that he refers to the very oration which is extant, the passage which he quotes (though not quite accurately) being found in the speech in question, which could not have been written by Andocides, as the author speaks of the rival claim of himself, Nicias, and Alcibiades being decided by ostracism. There are, however, strong reasons for believing that it is the production of some rhetorician writing in the name of Phaeax. The style does not at all resemble what the notice in Aristophanes would lead us to expect; and the writer betrays himself by various inaccuracies. If then the speech was written as if by Phaeax, and reliance can be placed on the biographical notices in it (which are in part at least borne out by good authorities), Phaeax was four times put upon his trial for life, and each time was acquitted (§ 8, 36. Comp. Aristoph. l.c.), and was sent as ambassador to Thessaly
, Macedon
ia, Molossia, and Thesprotia
, besides Sicily and Italy, and had gained various prizes. (Taylor, Led. Lys. c. 6; Valckenaer, Advers. ap. Sluiter, Lect. Andoc. pp. 17-26; Ruhnken, Hist. Crit. Orat. Gr. Opusc. p. 321, et seq.; Becker, Andokides, pp. 13 et seq., 83-108; and especially Meier, Comment. de Andocidis quae vulgo fertur oratione contra Alcibiadem.)
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 statesman. He was of good famity, being the son of Erasistratus
Erasistratus
Erasistratus was a Greek anatomist and royal physician under Seleucus I Nicator of Syria. Along with fellow physician Herophilus, he founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria, where they carried out anatomical research...
. The date of his birth is not known, but he was a contemporary of Nicias
Nicias
Nicias or Nikias was an Athenian politician and general during the period of the Peloponnesian War. Nicias was a member of the Athenian aristocracy because he had inherited a large fortune from his father, which was invested into the silver mines around Attica's Mt. Laurium...
and Alcibiades
Alcibiades
Alcibiades, son of Clinias, from the deme of Scambonidae , was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last famous member of his mother's aristocratic family, the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War...
. Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
(Alcib. 13) says, that he and Nicias were the only rivals from whom Alcibiades had any thing to fear when he entered upon public life. Phaeax, like Alcibiades, was at the time just rising to distinction. In 422 BCE
422 BC
Year 422 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Capitolinus, Mugillanus and Merenda...
Phaeax with two others was sent as an ambassador to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, to endeavor to induce the allies of the Athenians in that quarter and the other Siceliots to aid the Leontines against the Syracusans. He succeeded with Camarina
Camarina
thumb|240px|Remains of the Temple of Athena.Kamarina is an ancient city of Sicily, southern Italy, situated on the south coast, about 27 kilometers South East of Gela . It was founded by Syracuse in 599 BC, but destroyed by the mother city in 552 BC. Its remains are today in the municipality of...
and Agrigentum, but his failure at Gela
Gela
Gela is a town and comune in the province of Caltanissetta in the south of Sicily, Italy. The city is at about 84 kilometers distance from the city of Caltanissetta, on the Mediterranean Sea. The city has a larger population than the provincial capital, and ranks second in land area.Gela is an...
led him to abandon the attempt as hopeless. In his way back he did some service to the Athenian cause among the states of Italy. (Thucyd.
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
v. 4, 5.) According to Theophrastus
Theophrastus
Theophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...
(ap. Plut.) it was Phaeax, and not Nicias, with whom Alcibiades united for the purpose of ostracizing Hyperbolus. Most authorities, however, affirmed that it was Nicias. (Plut. l.c. Nic. 11, Aristid. 7.) In the Lives of the Ten Orators (Andoc.) there is mention of a contest between Phaeax and Andocides
Andocides
Andocides or Andokides was a logographer in Ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace in the third century BCE.He was implicated during the Peloponnesian War in the mutilation of the...
, and a defence of the latter against the former. It is difficult to say to what period this could have referred. Andocides did not come into notice until after the affair of the mutilation of the Hermae.
Phaeax was of engaging manners, but had no great abilities as a speaker. According to Eupolis
Eupolis
Eupolis was an Athenian poet of the Old Comedy, who flourished during the time of the Peloponnesian War.-Biography:Nothing whatsoever is known of his personal history. There are few sources on when he first appeared on the stage...
(ap. Plut. Alcib. 13) he was a fluent talker, but quite unable to speak. (Comp. A. Gellius, N. A. i. 15.) Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
gives a description of his style of speaking (Equit. 1377, etc.), from which we also gather that, on one occasion, he was brought to trial for some capital offence and acquitted.
There has been a good deal of controversy respecting the speech against Alcibiades, commonly attributed to Andocides, which Taylor maintained to be the production of Phaeax. Plutarch (Alcib. 13), according to the opinion of most editors, speaks of an oration against Alcibiades, reported to be the production of Phaeax. It seems not unlikely that he refers to the very oration which is extant, the passage which he quotes (though not quite accurately) being found in the speech in question, which could not have been written by Andocides, as the author speaks of the rival claim of himself, Nicias, and Alcibiades being decided by ostracism. There are, however, strong reasons for believing that it is the production of some rhetorician writing in the name of Phaeax. The style does not at all resemble what the notice in Aristophanes would lead us to expect; and the writer betrays himself by various inaccuracies. If then the speech was written as if by Phaeax, and reliance can be placed on the biographical notices in it (which are in part at least borne out by good authorities), Phaeax was four times put upon his trial for life, and each time was acquitted (§ 8, 36. Comp. Aristoph. l.c.), and was sent as ambassador to Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
, Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ia, Molossia, and Thesprotia
Thesprotia
Thesprotia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital is the town of Igoumenitsa. It is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region in antiquity.-History:...
, besides Sicily and Italy, and had gained various prizes. (Taylor, Led. Lys. c. 6; Valckenaer, Advers. ap. Sluiter, Lect. Andoc. pp. 17-26; Ruhnken, Hist. Crit. Orat. Gr. Opusc. p. 321, et seq.; Becker, Andokides, pp. 13 et seq., 83-108; and especially Meier, Comment. de Andocidis quae vulgo fertur oratione contra Alcibiadem.)