Demosthenes, Speeches 20-22

20. Against Leptines

. AGAINST LEPTINES introduction The Athenians assigned many public duties called liturgies to wealthy citizens and metics (resident aliens). These were divided into military (e.g., the trierarchy) and festival liturgies. The festival liturgies were quite numerous: there were normally over 97 every year, but this number could rise to over 118 once every four years when the Panathenaic festival was celebrated. They fell into four general categories. The most important was the choregia for dramatic festivals . The person assigned to this duty was responsible for paying the expenses of a chorus and for hiring an instructor to train its members (see also the Introduction to Against Meidias). The second was the gymnasiarchia, which involved providing financial support for various athletic competitions such as the festival for Prometheus, Pan, and Hephaestus. The third was the hestiasis (“giving a feast”) for one of the ten Attic tribes. The final type of liturgy was the architheoria or the responsibility for leading a sacred embassy to one of the Panhellenic festivals such as the Olympic games or to the temple of Apollo at Delphi. These liturgies were distinguished from duties such as the trierarchy and the property tax (eisphora), which were imposed on the richest citizens during wartime. Those who had performed outstanding public service might, however, receive exemptions from liturgies (but not from the trierarchy—see 26) and other public duties and  For the number of liturgies, see Davies 1967.  On the choregia, see Makres 1994 and Wilson 2000.  On the hestiasis, see Schmitt Pantel 1992: 121–131. 16 demosthenes taxes. Famous generals such as Conon and Chabrias had been given exemptions for their military victories, and several foreigners who had acted in Athenian interests had also received them. During the Social War (357–355) the Athenians found themselves in dire financial straits and passed several measures to increase public revenues. Aristophon proposed a decree calling for the appointment of a commission to collect all money owed to the treasury (see the Introduction to Against Androtion). There was also a reform of the trierarchy by Periander in 357. In 356 a politician named Leptines passed a law abolishing all exemptions from liturgies. The main provisions of the law can be reconstructed from Demosthenes’ speech. Its aim was to ensure that the wealthiest men performed liturgies, and it provided that no one, whether citizen, metic, or foreigner, be exempt except the descendants of Harmodius and Aristogeiton. Henceforth it was illegal for the people to grant an exemption (2, 55, 160); if anyone were to ask for an exemption, the punishment was loss of rights (atimia) and confiscation of property. All those convicted of this crime were to be subject to denunciation (endeixis) and arrest (apagoge) if they tried to hold public office and subject to the same law that applied to public debtors (156). Soon after the law was passed, it was attacked by a man named Bathippus, who died before he could bring his case to trial. Two other men also brought charges, but were persuaded to drop their cases (145).  For the different types of exemptions, see Sandys 1890: xi–xviii and MacDowell 2004: 127–128.  Demosthenes alludes to this reform at 23.  Little is known about Leptines. He may be the person of this name who spoke in support of the Spartan appeal for help during the Theban invasion of the Peloponnese in 369 and declared that “he would not allow the Athenians to stand aside while Greece lost one of its two eyes” (Arist. Rhetoric 3.10.7). He may also be the Leptines of Koile mentioned at Dem. 20.60.  That Leptines’ measure was a law (nomos) and not a decree (psephisma) is made clear at 26, 92.  29, 127, 160. Although the stated intent of the law gives the impression that it covered only exemptions for liturgies, 29 shows that it extended to all types of exemptions, though this may have been “owing to careless drafting” (Sandys 1890: xvii–xviii). 20. against leptines 17 The prosecution was then taken up by Bathippus’ son Apsephion, who brought a public charge against the law on the grounds that it was inexpedient (graphē nomon mē epitēdeion theinai). Because the case was brought two years after the law was passed, Leptines was no longer subject to prosecution, and so the case was aimed solely at repealing his law (89–98). At the same time, Apsephion proposed...