Foreign Hetairai , Deceitful Rhetoricians, Opportunist Phaselites: The Construction of Metic Ēthos in Forensic Narratives in the Demosthenic Corpus
Abstract
Abstract: This study explores the moral character ( ēthos ) of metic litigants and non-litigants in select forensic orations of public nature in the Demosthenic corpus and argues the ad hoc socio-economic standing of metics, their legal status, and their occupations were critical factors in constructing elaborate and complex metic portrayals (individual or collective) in forensic narratives. The evidence shows negative portrayals of metic men and women, but metics were not invariably depicted as the malevolent "other." Taking as its starting point the Aristotelian teachings about constructing ēthos in forensic narratives, which ought themselves to be ēthikai , this analysis draws attention to legal status as a critical factor in constructing moral character, and in more nuanced and complex ways than contemporary, 4th-century BCE rhetorical theory would advise. Provided these portrayals were curated to appeal to large panels of citizen dikastai , these rhetorical portrayals of metics in court may shed light on ambivalent Athenian attitudes towards metics.
- Journal
- Rhetorica
- Published
- 2026-01-01
- DOI
- 10.1353/rht.2026.a985669
- CompPile
- Open Access
- Closed
- Topics
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