Editing Hypereides

{{Short description|Athenian logographer (c. 390 – 322 BC)}}
{{for|the potter|Hypereides (potter)}}
{{Expand Italian|topic=bio|Iperide|date=October 2021}}
[[File:Hypereides Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek IN1967.jpg|thumb|Roman copy of an anonymous Greek portrait type of the late 4th or early 3rd century BCE, often identified as Hypereides ([[Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek]])]]
'''Hypereides''' or '''Hyperides''' ({{langx|grc|Ὑπερείδης}}, ''Hypereidēs''; c. 390 – 322 BC; English pronunciation with the stress variably on the penultimate or antepenultimate syllable<ref>Mackey and Mackey, ''The Pronunciation of 10,000 Proper Names'', New York, 1922, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=4rp8kMDkizkC&q=Hyperides&pg=PA138 138] (penult.); [[John Walker (lexicographer)|John Walker]], ''Critical Pronouncing Dictionary'', New York, 1828, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dNkUAAAAYAAJ&q=Hyperides&pg=PA673 61] (antepenult.); John Hogg in ''[[The Gentleman's Magazine]]'', 1857, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ePoIAAAAIAAJ&q=%22pronunciation%20of%20the%20word%20Hyperides%22&pg=PA423 423] (considering both possibilities)</ref>) was an [[Classical Athens|Athenian]] [[logographer (legal)|logographer]] (speech writer).  He was one of the ten [[Attic orators]] included in the "Alexandrian canon" compiled by [[Aristophanes of Byzantium]] and [[Aristarchus of Samothrace]] in the third century BC.

He was a leader of the Athenian resistance to King Philip II of Macedon and [[Alexander the Great]]. He was associated with Lycurgus and [[Demosthenes]] in exposing pro-[[Macedon]]ian sympathizers. He is known for prosecuting [[Philippides of Paiania]] for his pro-Macedonian measures and his decree in honoring Alexander the Great.<ref name="Dinarchus, Hyperides & Lycurgus">{{cite book|last1=Worthington|first1=Ian|title=Dinarchus, Hyperides & Lycurgus|date=2001|publisher=University of Texas|location=Austin, Texas|isbn=0-292-79142-9}}</ref>

== Rise to power ==
Little is known about his early life except that he was the son of Glaucippus of the [[deme]] of [[Collytus]] and that he studied [[logography]] under [[Isocrates]]. In 360 BC, he prosecuted [[Autocles]] for treason.<ref>(frags. 55–65, [[Friedrich Blass|Blass]])</ref> During the [[Social War (357–355 BC)|Social War]] (358–355 BC) he accused [[Aristophon of Azenia|Aristophon]], then one of the most influential men at [[Athens]], of malpractices,<ref>(frags. 40–44, Blass)</ref> and impeached [[Philocrates]] (343 BC) for high treason. Although Hypereides supported [[Demosthenes]] in the struggle against [[Philip II of Macedon]]; that support was withdrawn after the [[Harpalus]] affair. After Demosthenes' exile Hypereides became the head of the patriotic party (324 BC).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

== Downfall ==
After the death of [[Alexander the Great]], Hypereides was one of the chief promoters of war against Macedonian rule.   His speeches are believed to have led to the outbreak of the [[Lamian War]] (323–322 BC) in which Athens, [[Aetolia]], and [[Thessaly]] revolted against Macedonian rule.  After the decisive [[battle of Crannon|defeat at Crannon]] (322 BC) in which Athens and her allies lost their independence, Hypereides and the other orators were captured by [[Archias of Thurii]] and condemned to death by the Athenian supporters of [[Macedon]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Hypereides fled to [[Aegina]] only to be captured at the temple of [[Poseidon]].  After being put to death, his body (according to others) was taken to [[Cleonae (Argolis)|Cleonae]] and shown to the Macedonian general [[Antipater]] before being returned to Athens for burial.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

== Personality and oratorical style ==
Hypereides was an ardent pursuer of "the beautiful," which in his time generally meant pleasure and luxury.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} He was a flamboyant figure, unwavering in public in his hostility to Macedon. He was a well-known epicure given to fine food and women. He engaged in countless affairs with prostitutes, some of whom he defended in court.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Worthington |first1=Ian |title=Dinarchus, Hyperides, and Lycurgus |date=2001 |publisher=University of Texas Press, Austin |location=Texas |isbn=0-292-79142-9 |pages=65–66}}</ref> His temper was easy-going and humorous. Though in his development of the [[periodic sentence]] he followed [[Isocrates]], the essential tendencies of his style are those of [[Lysias]]. His diction was plain, though he occasionally indulged in long compound words probably borrowed from [[Middle Comedy]]. His composition was simple. He was especially distinguished for subtlety of expression, grace and wit.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}<ref>([http://attalus.org/translate/longinus2.html#34 ''De sublimitate'', 34]) in the phrase-"''Hypereides was the [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan|Sheridan]] of Athens''"</ref> Hypereides is known to have owned at least two or three pieces of property: an estate in [[Eleusis]], a house in Athens, and a house in [[Piraeus]], where he kept one of his many women. In around 340 BC he is known to have performed only two public services, as trierarch and Chorus producer. It is said he had received money from the Persian King who was alarmed at Macedon's expansion.<ref name="Dinarchus, Hyperides & Lycurgus"/>

== Surviving speeches ==
[[image:P.Lit.Lond. 134.jpg|thumb|The final two columns of P.Lit.Lond. 134, the 2nd-century BC papyrus that transmits the conclusion to ''Against Philippides'']]
Hypereides's speech in trial against [[Philippides of Paiania|Philippides]] lasted over thirty minutes. In the first speech against Philippides he attacked [[Philip II of Macedon|King Philip II of Macedon]] and [[Alexander the Great]]. In the second part of the [[papyrus]], he attacks Philippides and his associates and states: Each one of them was a traitor, one in [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], another in [[Tanagra, Greece|Tangara]], another in [[Eleutherae]], doing everything in the service of the [[Ancient Macedonians|Macedonians]]. He pleaded Philip's cause and campaigned with him against our country which is his most serious offense. Hypereides detested Philippides pro-Macedonian sympathies. Hypereides exposed Philippides who was known as saying in the Assembly: We must honor Alexander for all those that died at his hand.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harris|first1=Edward M.|title=Dinarchus, Hyperides, and Lycurgus|date=2001|publisher=University of Texas Press|location=Austin, Texas|isbn=0-292-79142-9}}</ref>  
Seventy-seven speeches have been attributed to Hypereides, of which twenty-five were regarded as spurious by his contemporaries. It is said that a manuscript of most of the speeches survived as late as the 15th century in the [[Bibliotheca Corviniana]], library of [[Matthias Corvinus]], king of [[Hungary]], but was later [[Book burning|destroyed]] after the capture of [[Buda]] by the Turks in the 16th century. Only a few fragments were known until relatively recent times. In 1847, large fragments of his speeches, ''Against Demosthenes'' and ''For Lycophron'' (incidentally interesting for clarifying the order of marriage processions and other details of Athenian life, and the Athenian government of [[Lemnos]]) and the whole of ''For Euxenippus'' (c. 330 BC, a ''[[locus classicus]]'' on εἰσαγγελίαι ''eisangeliai'' or state prosecutions), were found in a tomb at [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes in Egypt]].  In 1856 a considerable portion of a ''logos epitaphios'', a ''Funeral Oration'' over [[Leosthenes]] and his comrades who had fallen in the Lamian war was discovered.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Towards the end of the nineteenth century further discoveries were made including the conclusion of the speech ''Against Philippides'' (dealing with an indictment for the proposal of unconstitutional measure, arising out of the disputes of the Macedonian and anti-Macedonian parties at Athens), and of the whole  of ''Against Athenogenes'' (a perfumer accused of fraud in the sale of his business).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

=== New discoveries ===
In 2002 Natalie Tchernetska of [[Trinity College, Cambridge]] discovered fragments of two speeches of Hypereides, which had been considered lost, in the ''[[Archimedes Palimpsest]].''  These were from two new speeches, the ''Against Timander'' and ''Against Diondas'', increasing the quantity of material known by this author by 20 percent.<ref name="Lee NYT" /> Tchernetska's discovery led to a publication on the subject in the ''[[Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Natalie |last=Tchernetska |year=2005 |title=New Fragments of Hypereides from the Archimedes Palimpsest |journal=ZPE |volume=154 |pages=1–6 |jstor=20190979 }}</ref> This prompted the establishment of a working group under the auspices of the [[British Academy]], which includes scholars from the UK, Hungary and the US.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=C. |last=Carey |title=Fragments of Hyperides' ''Against Diondas'' from the Archimedes Palimpsest |journal=ZPE |volume=165 |year=2008 |pages=1–19 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

In 2006, the ''[[Archimedes Palimpsest]]'' project together with imagers at [[Stanford University]] used powerful X-ray fluorescence imaging to read the final pages of the ''Palimpsest,'' which contained the material by Hypereides.  These were interpreted, transcribed and translated by the working group.

In 2018 a passage of another speech of Hypereides (''Against the envoys of Antipater'') was discovered in a papyrus from [[Herculaneum]].<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Kilian |last=Fleischer |year=2018 |title= Eine neue Hypereidesrede aus Herkulaneum: Gegen die Gesandten des Antipatros (PHerc. 1021, Kol. 11+12) |journal=ZPE |volume=207 |pages=21–38}}</ref>

== Lost speeches ==
[[Image:Jean-Léon Gérôme, Phryne revealed before the Areopagus (1861) - 01.jpg|right|thumb|250px|[[Jean-Léon Gérôme]], ''[[Phryne before the Areopagus]]'', 1861]]
Among the speeches not yet recovered is the ''Deliacus''<ref>(frags. 67–75, Blass)</ref> in which the presidency of the [[Temple of the Delians]] claimed by both Athens and Cos, which was adjudged by the [[Amphictyonic League]] to Athens.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} Also missing is the speech in  which he defended the illustrious [[courtesan]] [[Phryne]] (said to have been his mistress) on a capital charge: according to [[Plutarch]] and [[Athenaeus]] the speech climaxed with Hypereides stripping off her clothing to reveal her naked breasts; in the face of which the judges found it impossible to condemn her.<ref>(Athenaeus, ''Deipnosophistae'', [http://attalus.org/old/athenaeus13c.html#590 XIII.590])</ref>

== Portraits ==
Portraits of Hypereides are known to have existed in antiquity: a papyrus fragment from Egypt records that the Athenians honored him with statues after their liberation from [[Demetrius of Phalerum]] in 307 BCE, and an inscribed base, once in the [[Villa Mattei]] in Rome but now lost, bore a statue of Hyperides signed by the artist Zeuxiades.<ref name=Richter>{{cite book |last=Richter |first=G. M. A. |author-link=Gisela Richter |title=The Portraits of the Greeks |location=London |publisher=Phaidon |year=1965 |volume=II |pages=210-211 |url=https://archive.org/details/portraitsofgreek0002unse/page/210/}}</ref> No inscribed portrait of Hypereides survives, however, and no existing ancient portrait type can be securely identified with him.<ref name=Richter/> In 1913, Frederik Poulsen suggested that a double herm of the Roman period in the [[Musée Antoine Vivenel|Musée Vivenel]] in [[Compiègne]], which bears a portrait of a bearded man on one side and a portrait of a woman on the other, represented Hypereides and Phryne;<ref>{{cite journal | last=Poulsen | first=Frederik | title=Un portrait de l'orateur Hypéride | journal=Monuments et mémoires de la Fondation Eugène Piot | volume=21 | issue=1 | year=1913 | pages=47–58 | doi=10.3406/piot.1913.1780 }}</ref> as a result, the male portrait type, which exists in at least half a dozen Roman versions, is now commonly referred to as Hypereides.<ref name=Richter/> The style of the portrait that lies behind these copies seems to fit the late 4th or early 3rd century BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last=Richter |first=G. M. A. |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=R. R. R. |title=The Portraits of the Greeks |edition=abridged and revised |location=Cambridge  |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1984 |pages=150-151}}</ref> Poulsen's argument has not been universally accepted, however, and critics have described it as "dubious"<ref>{{cite book |last=Lawrence |first=A. W. |title=Classical Sculpture |place=London |publisher=Jonathan Cape |year=1929 |page=259 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.157882/page/n262/}}</ref> and "speculative".<ref>{{cite book |first=Bernard |last=Frischer |title= The Sculpted Word: Epicureanism and Philosophical Recruitment in Ancient Greece |place=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |year=2023 |at=p. 269, note 225}}</ref>

==Assessment==
William Noel, the curator of manuscripts and rare books at the [[Walters Art Museum]] in [[Baltimore, Maryland]] and the director of the ''[[Archimedes Palimpsest]]'' project, called Hypereides "one of the great foundational figures of Greek democracy and the golden age of Athenian democracy, the foundational democracy of all democracy."<ref name="Lee NYT">{{Cite news |title=A Layered Look Reveals Ancient Greek Texts |first=Felicia R. |last=Lee |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=November 27, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/27/arts/27greek.html }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Churchill Babington]]
* [[Phryne]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* Herrman, Judson (ed., trans. comm.). ''Hyperides. Funeral oration''. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009. xiv, 148 p. (American Philological Association. ''American Classical Studies'', 53).
* {{Cite book |last=Whitehead |first=David |title=Hypereides: The Forensic Speeches |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |isbn=0-19-815218-3 }}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Hypereides|volume=14|page=200}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline|Hypereides}}
* [http://www.attalus.org/info/orators.html#hypereides The Speeches of Hypereides] - links to online translations
* [http://attalus.org/translate/orators2.html#Hypereides Life of Hypereides] - attributed to Plutarch
* ''[https://archive.org/details/hyperidisoration00unse Hyperidis orationes sex cum ceterarum fragmentis]'', [[Friedrich Blass]] (ed.), 2nd edition, Lipsiae, in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1881.
* '[https://archive.org/details/orationessexcum01hypegoog Hyperidis orationes sex cum ceterarum fragmentis]'', [[Friedrich Blass]] (ed.), 3rd edition, Lipsiae, in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1894.

{{Attic orators}}
{{Ancient Athenian statesmen}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:390s BC births]]
[[Category:322 BC deaths]]
[[Category:Attic orators]]
[[Category:4th-century BC Athenians]]
[[Category:People who died under the regency of Antipater]]
[[Category:Executed ancient Greek people]]