Androtion (; before 405after 346 BC), was a Greek

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

, and one of the leading politicians of his time. He was born between 415 and 405 BC, the son of Andron, who was a member of the Four Hundred and an associate of Theramenes. Androtion was probably Andron's first son, and seems to have inherited his fortune. In the late 390s or early 380s BC, he studied under

Isocrates Isocrates (; ; 436–338 BC) was an ancient Greek rhetorician, one of the ten Attic orators. Among the most influential Greek rhetoricians of his time, Isocrates made many contributions to rhetoric and education through his teaching and writte ...

. He may have been the author of a work on agriculture which survives in fragmentary form. Androtion began his political career not long before 385, and the first position we can place him as holding is that of epistates, some time in the 370s BC. Androtion held various other positions during his career, including governing Arkesine on Amorgos for at least two years up to 357–6, and being a member of the boule in 356/5 BC. In 355–4, Androtion was brought to trial by Euktemon and Diodorus, accused of illegally proposing a crown be awarded to the Council of Five Hundred at the end of its term of office. The prosecution speech, composed by

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and cu ...

, survives as speech "

Against Androtion "Against Androtion" was a speech composed by Demosthenes in which he accused Androtion of making an illegal proposal. This was the first surviving speech of Demosthenes composed on public charges (γραφαί, ). The case was brought in 355/4 by ...

", and it is a major source of information about his career up to this point. Androtion was acquitted, and was appointed as an ambassador to

Mausolus Mausolus ( or , ''Mauśoλ'') was a ruler of Caria (377–353 Common Era, BCE) and a satrap of the Achaemenid Empire. He enjoyed the status of king or dynast by virtue of the powerful position created by his father Hecatomnus ( ), who was the fi ...

, the ruler of

Caria Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...

. He is said to have gone into exile at Megara, and to have composed an ''Atthis'', or annalistic account of

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

from the earliest times to his own days ('' Pausanias'' vi. 7; x. 8). It is disputed whether the annalist and orator are identical. Professor Gaetano De Sanctis (in ''L'Attide di Androzione e un papiro di Oxyrhynchos'',

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, 1908) attributes to Androtion, the Atthidographer, a 4th-century historical fragment, discovered by B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt (''Oxyrhynchus Papyri'', vol. v.). Strong arguments against this view are set forth by E. M. Walker in the ''Classical Review'', May 1908.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Androtion Ancient Greek rhetoricians 4th-century BC Athenians Demosthenes