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Article published In:
Journal of Argumentation in Context
Vol. 10:3 (2021) ► pp.315–348

Demosthenes’ strategic maneuvering in the First Olynthiac

Balancing effectiveness and reasonableness of argumentation in the context of the Athenian Assembly of the People

| University of Hradec Králové

The article focuses on the analysis of Demosthenes’ strategic maneuvering in the First Olynthiac delivered in the Athenian Assembly of the People in 349 BC. It is a case study of the famous § 24 in which Demosthenes calls for the attack on Philip of Macedonia, based on a hypothetical reciprocal scenario: Philip would attack Athens in a similar situation. The first part of the paper offers an argumentative characterisation of the Assembly of the People. Subsequently, the historical and situational circumstances of the speech are described, and an argumentative reconstruction of Demosthenes’ speech is presented. The evaluation of the speech’s context serves as a reference point for the analysis of strategic maneuvering by putting forward the argument in § 24. The argument is analysed in terms of three strategic maneuvering aspects: choice of topical potential, adaptation to audience demands, and presentational devices.

Keywords: Assembly of the People, Demosthenes, communicative activity type, First Olynthiac , pragma-dialectics, strategic maneuvering
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • 1.Macro-context: The course of the Assembly of the People
    • 1.1Argumentative characterisation of the Assembly of the People
      • 1.1.1Initial situation
      • 1.1.2Procedural and material starting points
      • 1.1.3Argumentative means and criticism
      • 1.1.4Outcome of discussion
  • 2.Meso-context: Historical circumstances of Demosthenes’ First Olynthiac
    • 2.1Historical context
    • 2.2Circumstances of Demosthenes’ speech
  • 3.Micro-context: Reconstructing the argumentation in the First Olynthiac speech
  • 4.Strategic maneuvering with argument in § 24
    • 4.1Adaptation to audience demands
      • 4.1.1The strategy of including the hypothetical scenario among the material points of the audience of Athenians
      • 4.1.2The strategy of including the principle of legitimacy among the material points of the audience of Athenians
    • 4.2Choice from the topical potential
      • 4.2.1Choice of the scheme with respect to the anticipated demands of the audience
      • 4.2.2The assessment of alternative choices in relation to the starting points of the audience
      • 4.2.3Strategic choice of argument
    • 4.3Presentational devices
      • 4.3.1Presentational device used to strengthen the acceptability of the hypothetical scenario
      • 4.3.2Presentational devices used to strengthen the acceptability of the principle of legitimacy
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 14 December 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jaic.20013.sva
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