Demosthenes - NYC, NY
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Metro2
N 40° 46.720 W 073° 57.767
18T E 587523 N 4514704
Demosthenes was a Greek statesman who unsuccessfully opposed Macedonia's expansion throughout Greece.
Waymark Code: WMKBBM
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 03/13/2014
Views: 6
This life-sized marble bust of Demosthenes depicts him as a middle-aged man, curly hair but a receding hairline. he has a heavy beard and mustache as well. The nose has been broken off. The accompanying placard indicates that it is from the 2nd century AD and is a copy of a bronze work by Polyeuktos from c. 280 BC.
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Demosthenes (... 384–322 BC) was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC. Demosthenes learned rhetoric by studying the speeches of previous great orators. He delivered his first judicial speeches at the age of 20, in which he argued effectively to gain from his guardians what was left of his inheritance. For a time, Demosthenes made his living as a professional speech-writer (logographer) and a lawyer, writing speeches for use in private legal suits.
Demosthenes grew interested in politics during his time as a logographer, and in 354 BC he gave his first public political speeches. He went on to devote his most productive years to opposing Macedon's expansion. He idealized his city and strove throughout his life to restore Athens's supremacy and motivate his compatriots against Philip II of Macedon. He sought to preserve his city's freedom and to establish an alliance against Macedon, in an unsuccessful attempt to impede Philip's plans to expand his influence southward by conquering all the other Greek states. After Philip's death, Demosthenes played a leading part in his city's uprising against the new King of Macedonia, Alexander the Great. However, his efforts failed and the revolt was met with a harsh Macedonian reaction. To prevent a similar revolt against his own rule, Alexander's successor in this region, Antipater, sent his men to track Demosthenes down. Demosthenes took his own life, in order to avoid being arrested by Archias, Antipater's confidant."