Quel est votre verdict ?

Le résultat des discours contenus dans le canon des dix orateurs attiques

Abstract

It is commonly said that we know only a few verdicts of the forensic speeches preserved in the canon of the Attic orators. Moreover, the lists of successes and defeats drawn up by law specialists do not match. The survey of the known or conjectured results makes it possible to propose a clear and reliable list, which reveals a relatively extensive knowledge of the verdicts delivered: the jurors’ decision can be proposed with a certain probability for almost a third of the corpus. It is true that we know the sentence of pleadings written for or against one of the canon’s authors more than when they wrote their speeches as logographers, but our knowledge of the judgements is broader than what historians and commentators think and repeat. Jurors’ verdicts are of particular interest because they provide a better understanding of the speeches themselves, through the examination of the strategies that support the publication of a text.