Des émotions du people à l’ἦθος de l’orateur: écarts et conformités chez Eschine et Démosthène

Maxime Woehrlé

Abstract:

The Athenian court constituted a privileged arena for representing and debating the emotional norms that permeated Athenian society. In the five speeches preserved from the long judicial conflict that opposed Aeschines and Demosthenes between 345 and 330, the emotions of the people
are repeatedly represented or invoked. Depending on whether these emotions are portrayed as conforming to or deviating from established norms, they are praised, condemned, or subjected to redefinition. This article explores how Aeschines and Demosthenes negotiate and represent the passions of the people, not only to advance their own rhetorical strategies but also to shape their individual ἦθος as orators—oscillating between critical distance and the attempt to embody the δῆμος. Underlying these strategic divergences lie distinct conceptions of democracy and of the orator’s relationship to the δῆμος.