The Oratory of Classical Greece

More than 150 speeches survive from the late 5th and 4th centuries BC. Written mainly for the Athenian courts and assembly, they address political issues, financial and inheritance disputes, petty quarrels, homicide, and more. These texts are an invaluable resource for the study of ancient Greek life and culture. They can be mined for evidence on Greek moral views, social and economic conditions, political and social ideology, and other aspects of Athenian culture that have been largely ignored: women and family life, moral values, slavery, religion, and the economy, to name just a few. And scholars in many other areas, such as history, rhetoric, economics, women's studies, and law, are also realizing the value of evidence from Greek oratory. Until recently, however, little effort has been expended to make these speeches available to those who know no Greek, and most are currently available in translation only in the rather dated Loeb Classical Library series.

The University of Texas Press plans to publish a complete series, in about 15 volumes, of new translations by classical scholars who are at the forefront of the discipline and are also sensitive to the needs and interests of today's undergraduates, of Greekless scholars in other disciplines, and of the general public. The translations will be accurate, readable, and convenient, with informative introductions and brief explanatory notes. Michael Gagarin, Professor of Classics at The University of Texas, is the series editor.

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