Isocrates II

6. ARCHIDAMUS

G&S Typesetters PDF proof 6. ARCHIDAMUS introduction This discourse is written in the voice of Archidamus, the 24-yearold son of Agesilaus, one of the two Spartan kings. Its dramatic date of 366 is a dark time in Spartan history. Sparta’s hopes for hegemony were dashed at the battle of Leuctra in 371, where it was defeated by Thebes and its famous general Epaminondas. After this, the Thebans continued to harass Sparta in a variety of ways: they encouraged the helots, a serf population controlled by Sparta; in 369 they began settling the city of Messene in nearby Messenia to be a rival of Sparta; and they continued to invade Spartan territory in the summers following 371. The cities near Sparta suffered under Theban invasions and, led by Corinth, negotiated with Thebes for peace. At a crucial assembly held in Sparta in 366 to discuss the peace, Thebes demanded that one of the conditions must be the independent status of Messene; Thebes thought that this city would serve as an effective counterweight to Spartan influence in the Peloponnese. Corinth then urged Sparta to agree to the Theban proposal. The speech translated here is a Spartan reply to the Corinthian speech. Archidamus urges Sparta to reject such a peace and says that Sparta should fight to maintain its claim of leadership in the Peloponnese and its hereditary control of Messene, a view that reflects Spartan attitudes at the time. It is unclear whether this discourse was actually written for Archidamus to present to the Spartan assembly or whether it was an exercise for Isocrates’ school. If it was written on the actual occasion of the peace negotiations (whether or not it was really written for Archida06 -T2896 3/31/04 2:16 PM Page 109 G&S Typesetters PDF proof 110 isocrates ii 1 This is the dating provided by Norlin 1928: 345. 2 Thus Brémond (in Mathieu and Brémond II 1938) does not feel bound to 366 and using other internal evidence, dates the speech to 362. If we entertain the idea that Isocrates looked back to 366 as a source for a teaching text, then he might be seen as an antecedent to the ancient educational tool suasoria, the deliberative example of a declamation. On declamation, see Kennedy 1994: 83–84 and Russell 1983. 3 Cf. 8.36 to 6.57, 82, 94. 4 Though not unprecedented. The speech On the Peace closes with a praise of the Spartan kingship (8.142–144). mus), its date would be 366.1 If the speech was a rhetorical exercise for his school, it would have to be dated sometime after 366, but further precision would be difficult. One could argue that Isocrates would choose subjects for his example speeches from recent events and thus date the speech close to 366. One could also argue, however, that Isocrates chose this particular occasion because of its crucial moment in history to demonstrate how to make a plea in a deliberative context at a critical time.2 The date could then be much later, and the work has been seen as a companion piece to the discourse On the Peace (8), which has a dramatic date of 355 (Harding 1973). The latter argues for a peace treaty and abuses those who use patriotic themes to argue for war, as Archidamus does.3 The speech shows a pro-Spartan flavor that is unusual in the works of Isocrates.4 Isocrates, however, viewed Archidamus favorably and sent him a flattering letter about 356 after Archidamus replaced his father as king (Ep. 9). Thus there are again two possibilities: the proSpartan sentiment could argue for its status as a rhetorical exercise. The rhetor must learn to take on the character of his client. This skill was called ēthopoiïa and was most notably demonstrated in ancient Greece by the works of Lysias. The pro-Spartan sentiment, however, might also be a result of Isocrates’ actual admiration of Archidamus (and his father Agesilaus) and his hopes for what could be accomplished by a benevolent monarch. 6. archidamus [In the voice of Archidamus, prince of Sparta, to the Spartan assembly:] 06-T2896 3/31/04 2:16 PM Page 110 G&S Typesetters PDF proof 6. archidamus 111 5 This argument is a rhetorical commonplace. Demosthenes also uses it in the First Philippic (4.1), and it appears in the Demosthenic Prooemia (1). 6 On...