Evolution of the Term “Sycophant” in the Context of Politicization of the Judicial System in Athens in the 5th and 4th Centuries BC
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52575/2687-0967-2025-52-4-808-815Keywords:
sycophant, ancient Greek orators, Athens, Hyperides, judicial speechesAbstract
The article analyzes the etymology of the term “sycophant” during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. The purpose of the study is to trace how the content of the term “sycophant” has changed since its first use in Aristophanes' comedies, and to identify the factors that have contributed to the expansion of its meaning. As a result of their research, the authors conclude that the images of the sycophant and the demagogue are similar in the sources of the 5th and 4th centuries. The article examines examples of the participation of professional prosecutors in political trials in the late 5th century BC, followed by an analysis of the use of the concept in a fragment of Hyperides' speech “Against Diondes” from the Archimedes Palimpsest. The article concludes that as the judicial system became increasingly politicized, the word “sycophant”, which was not used in the context of political persecution in the 5th century BC, began to be applied to those who systematically used the judiciary to combat their political opponents in the second half of the 4th century BC.
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Bonner R.J., Smith G. 1938. The Administration of Justice from Homer to Aristotle. Vol. II. Chicago, The University of Chicago press, 320.
Care C. et al. 2008. Fragments of Hyperides' «Against Diondas» from the Archimedes Palimpsest. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 165: 1–19.
Christ M.R. 1998. The Litigious Athenian. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 317.
Evangelos A. 2020. Greek Rhetoric of the 4th Century BC. The Elixir of Democracy and Individuality. Berlin, De Gruyter, 322.
Harvey D. 1990. The Sycophant and Sycophancy: Vexatious Redefinition? In: P. Cartledge et al. (eds). Nomos, Essays in Athenian Law, Polities and Society. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press: 103–123.
Herrman J. 2009. Hypereides' «Against Diondas» and the Rhetoric of Revolt. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 52: 175–185.
Horvath L. 2009. Hiperidea. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 52: 187–222.
Kucharski J. 2023. Hyperides, Diondas, and the First Ascendancy of Demades. In: A. Kapellos (eds). The Orators and Their Treatment of the Recent Past. Berlin; Boston, De Gruyter: 397–411.
Lofberg O. 1917. Sycophancy in Athens. Chicago, University of Chicago libraries, 104.
Osborne R. 2010. Vexatious Litigation in Classical Athens: Sykophancy and the Sycophant. In: Athens and Athenian Democracy. New York, Cambridge University Press: 83–102.
Rhodes P.J. 2009. Hypereides' «Against Diondas»: Two Problems. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 52: 223–228.
Tchernetska N. 2005. New Fragments of Hyperides from the Archimedes Palimpsest. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 154: 1–6.
Todd S.C. 2009. Hypereides «Against Diondas», Demosthenes «On the Crown», and the Rhetoric of the Political Failure. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 52: 161–174.
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