DINARCHUS  , last of the " ten "

Attic orators, son of Sostratus (or, according to Suidas, Socrates), born at Corinth about 361 B.C . He settled at Athens early in life, and when not more than twenty-five was already active as a writer of speeches for the law courts . As an alien, he was unable to take part in the debates . He had been the pupil both of Theophrastus and of Demetrius Phalereus, and had early acquired a certain fluency and versatility of style . In 324 the Areopagus, after inquiry, reported that nine men had taken bribes from Harpalus, the fugitive treasurer of Alexander . Ten public prosecutors were appointed . Dinarchus wrote, for one or more of these prosecutors, the three speeches which are still extant—Against Demosthenes, Against Aristogeiton, Against Philocles . The sympathies of Dinarchus were in favour of an Athenian oligarchy under Macedonian control; but it should be remembered that he was not an Athenian citizen . Aeschines and Dernades had no such excuse . In the Harpalus affair, Demosthenes was doubtless innocent, and so, probably, were others of the accused . Yet Hypereides, the most fiery of the patriots, was on the same side as Dinarchus . Under the regency of his old master, Demetrius Phalereus, Dinarchus exercised much political influence .

The years 317307 were the most prosperous of his life . On the fall of Demetrius Phalereus and the restoration of the

democracy by Demetrius Poliorcetes, Dinarchus was condemned to death and withdrew into exile at Chalcis in Euboea . About 292, thanks to his friend Theophrastus, he was able to return to Attica, and took up his abode in the country with a former associate, Proxenus . He afterwards brought an action against Proxenus on the ground that he had robbed him of some money and plate . Dinarchus died at Athens about 291 . According to Suidas, Dinarchus wrote 160 speeches; and Dionysius held that, out of 85 extant speeches bearing his name, 58 were genuine,–28 relating to public, 30 to private causes . Although the authenticity of the three speeches mentioned above is generally admitted, Demetrius of Magnesia doubted that of the speech Against Demosthenes, while A . Westermann rejected all three . Dinarchus had little individual style and imitated by turns Lysias, Hypereides and Demosthenes . He is called by Hermogenes o ,cpi3cvos &.111oo &'17s, a metaphor taken from barley compared with wheat, or beer compared with wine,—a Demosthenes whose strength is rougher, without flavour or sparkle . Editions: (text and exhaustive commentary) E . Matzner (1842) ; (text) T .

Thalheim (1887), F .

Blass (1888); see L . L . Forman, Index Andocideus, Lycurgeus, Dinarcheus (1897) ; and, in general, F . Blass, Attische Beredsamkeit, iii . There is a valuable treatise on the life and speeches of Dinarchus by Dionysius of Halicarnassus .