Le serment du discours Sur la couronne (Dém., XVIII, 208) dans la critique littéraire et rhétorique de l'Antiquité

Abstract

The oath sworn by the fighters of Persian Wars (μὰ τοὺς Μαραθῶνι προκινδυνεύσαντας τῶν προγόνων κτλ.) is one of the most famous passages of Demosthenes' On the Crown speech (§ 208). It was often quoted and commentated upon in Antiquity ; however twentieth century scholars have been inclined to neglect the ancient celebrity of this text. The purpose of the present paper is to go back to the matter and to conduct a fresh examination of the available evidence. Testimonies include forty-five quotations, allusions, or critical studies, in Greek and Latin, that happen to be instructive in several respects, (i) They offer some pieces of information — neglected by editors — about the history of Demosthenes' text (ancient uariae lectiones attested by the indirect tradition), (ii) They illustrate the methods of rhetorical analysis, because ancient rhetores on this passage are particularly expansive and revealing, (iii) They provide us with landmarks in the long history of Demosthenes' « reception », as they show how the problems raised by the text were subject to various interpretations according to changing historical contexts and gave occasion, during the imperial period, to some reflections on the relationship between Greeks and Romans and pagans and Christians.