Actors and Voices

There is no trace of this comparison in the published version of Demosthenes’ response to Aeschines in the dispute over the crown (18); for whatever reason Demosthenes decided not to use it – or maybe it was Aeschines’ invention in the first place. 1 For my purposes ownership is not the most important point: either way, the music of the Sirens is a memorable image for the voice of the actor/orator, and its associations – glamour, power, danger – are relevant to the two related questions that I attempt to deal with in this paper, namely what is the logic of Demosthenes’ critique of Aeschines qua performer, and how far can this be related to contemporary perceptions of actors in public life.