Demosthenes, Speeches 50-59

54. Against Conon

54. AGAINST CONON 1If we can believe a fourth-century ad account by Eusebius, admiration for the work was first manifested by the plagiarism of Against Conon by Demosthenes ’ enemy Dinarchus in Against Cleomedon for Battery. 2The matter is highly controversial. Recent discussions include M. Gagarin, “The Athenian Law againsthubris,” in G. W. Bowersock, W. Burkert, and M. C. J. Putnam (eds.), Arktouros: Hellenic Studies Presented to B. M. W. Knox (Berlin, 1979), 229–236; N. R. E. Fisher, “The Law of hubris in Athens,” in P. Cartledge, P. Millett, and S. C. Todd (eds.), Nomos (1990), 123–145; and Johnstone 1999, 58. introduction From antiquity1 until the present day, Against Conon has been one of the favorite speeches of the Demosthenic corpus. Moderns are amused by its vivid portrayal of drunken brawling in an army camp and in the streets of Athens itself, as well as the other forms of shocking behavior the speaker describes. There is, moreover, much interest in the speaker’s discussion of the choices available to a man contemplating a lawsuit and his account of an arbitration hearing. If we are to believe Ariston, the speaker, there was no enmity between himself and Conon until he had the bad luck to find himself bivouacked near Conon’s sons, who for no good reason directed what we can term frank anal aggression against Ariston’s slaves. The hostilities continued and escalated when Ariston returned from military duty. This time (so we are told) Conon, the defendant, was not only an active participant in the abuse but took the lead. The actual charge is battery (aikeia), but Ariston repeatedly refers to hybris. That term, much studied in recent years,2 may suggest maltreatment intended to diminish the victim’s status, but in this speech, “assault” seems a sufficient 05-T2434-54 2/18/03 12:45 PM Page 66 54. against conon 67 3For hybris as an undefined term, see Dem. 21.47. For a short general discussion of the matter of terminology, see Todd 1993: 61– 62. 4In the earlier speech, Demosthenes says, “We go out with arms”; in Against Conon the term used is “guard duty.” For more detailed discussion, see Carey and Reid 1985: 69, and Carey 1997: 84. 5Lit. “subject to hybris.” See the Introduction. 6This would have been understood as a crime committed not to acquire a valuable object but to humiliate the victim. translation. The speaker offers no definitions of the term hybris and aikeia, only an indication that the former is the more serious offense. Perhaps the meaning of the words was so well known that a formulation in the form of a written law was unnecessary.3 Neither the date of the events Ariston describes nor the date of the trial can be confidently ascertained. In the third section, Ariston places the initial clash at Panactum two years before the trial, and a remark at Demosthenes 19.326 appears to point to 343 as a possible date and to exclude the period 355–346. This reasoning entails a date of either 355 or 341. But Demosthenes may be unreliable in that speech, and the military activity mentioned there may not be the sort described in this one.4 There are commented texts by Sandys 1896 and Carey and Reid 1985, and a translation by Carey 1997. 54. against conon [1] I was assaulted,5 gentlemen of the jury, and at the hands of Conon, the man here, I suffered injuries so severe that for a very long time neither my family nor any of the doctors expected I would survive. But when I unexpectedly recovered and was out of danger, I initiated this private case for battery (dikē aikeias) against him. All the friends and relatives whom I asked for advice were saying that for his deeds Conon was liable to summary arrest (apagōgē)6 as a cloak stealer, and to public suits for hybris (graphai hubreōs). But they advised me and urged me not to involve myself in greater troubles than I could handle; and also, not to be seen to complain more than a young man should about what was done to me. I have acted accordingly and, because of those advisers, have instituted a private case, but I would, with the 05-T2434-54 2/18/03 12:45 PM Page 67 68 demosthenes 7To the northwest of...