The Date of [Demosthenes] 49

WITH OCCASIONAL EXCEPTIONS, scholars who have concerned themselves with the date of the pseudo-Demosthenic speech Against Timotheos ([Dem.] 49) have accepted the view of Arnold Schiifer that it was delivered during the summer of 362.1 Recently, however, E. M. Harris has sought to show that the speech was delivered considerably earlier, at some point at the beginning of the 360s.2 Potentially significant as this radical redating is for our understanding of the career of Timotheos, the real novelty of Harris's article lies in his argument that, contrary to the general assumption of scholars, a minor could act as a witness in an Athenian court. If his arguments are valid, then they must necessarily have a considerable impact on our understanding of the nature and operation of the Athenians' system of justice. In this article, I hope to demonstrate that, although Schifer's original dating is not wholly secure, the balance of probabilities tells against Harris's hypothesis, and that 362 remains the most likely date for the delivery of the speech. The speech was written for (and possibly by) Apollodoros the son of Pasion of Acharnae, who was seeking to recover from Timotheos a series of loans which his father, who had been a prominent banker, had made to Timotheos in the late 370s.3 The argument for dating it to 362 runs as follows. Apollodoros' younger brother Pasikles, who gave evidence at the trial (42), came of age at some time between 364 and 362.4 On the

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• Maritime Traders in the Ancient Greek World

  Open Access•C M Reed•Maritime Traders in the Ancient…•2003

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