Editing Anytus (section)

== Ancestry ==
Anytus appears to have been one of the ''nouveaux riche'' of Athens, that is, of the commercial class and not one of the landed aristocracy that had ruled the city since time immemorial.  His father is believed to be the Anthemion, son of Diphilus, that dedicated a statue on the [[Acropolis of Athens|Acropolis]] in thanks for his rise to class of “knight”.  The Aristotelian ''Athenaion Politeia'' had this attribution:<blockquote>In the Acropolis there is a votive offering, a statue of Diphilus, bearing this inscription:  

“Anthemion, the son of Diphilos, has dedicated this statue to the Gods, when from the status of a Thetis he had been raised to the status of a Knight.”

And a horse stands in evidence beside the man, implying that this was what was meant by belonging to the rank of Knight.<ref>''Atheneion Politeia'' §7.4. There were four classes of citizens from the time of Solon (early 6thcentury BCE): ''pentacosiomedimnus'' (the richest of the rich), ''hippeis'' (knights, or members of the cavalry – i.e., they had the means to provide their own horse), ''zeugates'' (those who could afford to outfit themselves for the infantry), and ''thetis'' (the poorest, who served as oarsmen in the Athenian navy).  Aristotle appears to have misunderstood the inscription; the statue was of Anthemion, not Diphilus.  See also Plutarch, ''Life of Solon'', §18.2 and von Fritz and Kapp, ''Aristotle’s Constitution of Athens'', p. 75 and notes on p. 155.</ref></blockquote>Though this connection for Anytus is not certain, most modern historians accept it based on Socrates’ comment in Plato’s ''Meno'' to the effect that Anytus was:<blockquote>the son of Anthemion, a man of property and good sense, who didn’t get his money out of the blue or as a gift… but earned it by his own brains and hard work.<ref>Plato, ''Meno''90a.  See also Davies, ''APF'' §1324, p. 41.</ref></blockquote>The family wealth was generated by Anthemion’s tannery and shoemaking businesses.<ref>Xenophon, ''Apology'', 29; Dio Chrysostom, ''Discourse on Homer and Socrates'', lv.22. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dio_Chrysostom/Discourses/55*.html#ref15 ; Scholion to Plato, ''Apology'', 18b, quoted in Tell (not paginated)</ref>  Anytus inherited and continued to manage these.<ref>Davies, ''APF'', op cit.; Xenophon, ''Apology'', §30.</ref>