INTERPRETING INSTABILITY: CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LIVES OF THE TEN ORATORS

Abstract

The text that has been preserved among Plutarch's writings under the title βίοι τῶν δέκα ῥητόρων (Lives of the Ten Orators, henceforth LTO) is, on the one hand, an invaluable and often the best source about the canonical Attic orators: it is, for example, our only source for the verdict against Antiphon after the oligarchic revolution of 411 and for Lycurgus’ state copy of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. On the other hand, it is a shambles, containing dubious anecdotes, obvious factual mistakes, and blatant contradictions.