Source edition
Isocrates, Vol 2. Norlin, George, editor. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1929 (printing).
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a political oration by the Athenian rhetorician Isocrates, which warns of the hidden crises behind Athens' current prosperity and proposes a plan for national reform. The author attributes the decline of contemporary Athens to defects in its current constitution and argues that the only way to avoid ruin is to return to the ancestral democracy established by Solon and Cleisthenes. In particular, he highlights the crucial role of the Areopagus Council, which in former times maintained public order by overseeing education, youthful discipline, and civic morals. He defends his proposal against accusations of oligarchic bias, asserting that he advocates for a return to genuine ancestral democracy rather than the tyranny experienced under the Thirty. Ultimately, by contrasting the glorious past with current political and moral decay, the speaker concludes that reviving the ancestral constitution is the sole path to restoring the dignity and safety of Athens and all of Greece.