Demosthenes was a Greek statesman and orator, who influenced the governance and culture of Greece through his unparalleled intellectual prowess. Through his sublime orations, he abjectly opposed the Macedonian expansion and went on to devote his entire life to restore Athenian supremacy and lead a campaign against Philip II of Macedon. Demosthenes, while motivating his fellow compatriots, attempted to impede Philip’s vanquishing agendas unsuccessfully. After the demise of Philip II of Macedon, Demosthenes was instrumental in city’s rebellion against Alexander the Great. Another unsuccessful revolt against the Macedonian Empire meant that Demosthenes had to live the rest of his life on the run. He committed suicide, in order to escape imprisonment or capital punishment. Demosthenes corpus is the only prominent collection of oration from Demosthenes, written by various other authors. Furthermore, Library of Alexandria preserved 56 prologues which are believed to be genuine. Let us go through some of the most sublime quotes from this Greek philosopher and orator, highlighting his thoughts and sayings on issues subjected to intellectuality, spirituality, motivation, freedom, tyranny and many more. Following are some noteworthy quotations and thoughts by Demosthenes that would give you a peek in the culture and politics of ancient Greece.
