The aim of this thesis is to examine certain aspects of the thought of the orator Demosthenes, which relate to foreign affairs. Starting from the Demosthenic corpus, the investigation goes beyond the question at issue in any particular speech in order to note some of the permanent principles which governed the politics of the orator and determined his choices. / It deals particularly with Demosthenes' position on certain ideas, such as interest, power, alliances, reputation and law, his choice of war or of peace, and the importance which the orator gives to chance and opportunity. / After a contextual examination of these ideas, the thesis suggests the existence of an ensemble of principles the foundation of which was the interest of the city; in view of the instability of the times, this interest required an extent of power which only alliances could ensure. To achieve them, a city needed to cultivate its image, since it had no ability to impose alliances. As for chance, it is suggested that, without being a fatalist, Demosthenes took serious account of it.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.34986 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Konstadatos, Spiridon. |
| Contributors | Silverthorne, M. J. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of History.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001610028, proquestno: NQ44476, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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