Androtion
Who was Androtion?
4th-century BC Athenian orator
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Androtion (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Androtion was an Athenian orator and politician born between 415 and 405 BC. He was the son of Andron, a member of the oligarchic council known as the Four Hundred and an associate of the moderate politician Theramenes. Androtion seems to have been Andron's eldest son and likely inherited a significant fortune from him. In his youth, probably in the late 390s or early 380s BC, he studied rhetoric under the teacher Isocrates, whose school influenced many intellectual and political leaders of the fourth century. He may have also written a work on agriculture, though only fragments remain.
Androtion began his political career shortly before 385 BC. The first office he is known to have held was that of epistates, sometime during the 370s BC. Over the years, he held various civic and administrative roles. Notably, he was governor of Arkesine on the island of Amorgos for at least two years up to 357 or 356 BC, and he was a member of the Athenian boule, the Council of Five Hundred, in 356 or 355 BC. These roles placed him at the heart of Athenian civic administration during a politically turbulent time.
In 355 or 354 BC, Androtion faced a major legal challenge when he was tried by Euktemon and Diodorus. He was accused of illegally proposing that a crown be awarded to the outgoing Council of Five Hundred, which was against Athenian law. The prosecution speech, composed by the young Demosthenes, survives as the oration Against Androtion. This speech remains one of the main sources of information about Androtion's career and public standing. Despite the prosecution's efforts, Androtion was acquitted. After his acquittal, he served as an Athenian ambassador to Mausolus, the ruler of Caria in Asia Minor.
Sometime after 346 BC, Androtion reportedly went into exile in Megara. Sources like Pausanias mention that while in exile, he wrote an Atthis, a historical account of Attica from mythological times to his present day. Whether the orator Androtion and the writer of the Atthis are the same person has been debated. The Italian historian Gaetano De Sanctis argued in 1908 that a historical fragment found among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri should be attributed to Androtion the Atthidographer, though this was contested by E. M. Walker. The question remains unresolved, but modern scholarship generally accepts that they are likely the same person.
Before Fame
Androtion was born into a family deeply involved in Athenian politics. His father Andron was a member of the Council of Four Hundred, the oligarchic group that briefly ruled Athens in 411 BC, and had ties with Theramenes, a politician known for his practical yet sometimes controversial political actions. Growing up in such an environment likely gave Androtion early insights into Athenian politics and government. He inherited his father's wealth and, it seems, his interest in public life.
He was educated by Isocrates, a renowned teacher of rhetoric in the ancient world, who prepared him for a career in public speaking and civic roles. Isocrates trained many students who went on to have successful careers in politics and writing throughout Greece, and Androtion was one of those who gained from this education. By the time he started his political career in the 380s BC, Athens was recovering from its loss in the Peloponnesian War and trying to regain power through the Second Athenian League, a situation that provided ambitious men like Androtion many opportunities for public involvement.
Key Achievements
- Served as governor of Arkesine on Amorgos, demonstrating administrative authority over Athenian-controlled territory in the Aegean
- Was acquitted in a high-profile trial prosecuted by Demosthenes, with the surviving speech becoming a key historical document
- Composed an Atthis, one of the annalistic local histories of Attica that formed an important part of the Atthidographic tradition
- Served as an Athenian ambassador to Mausolus of Caria following his acquittal, indicating continued political standing
- Studied under Isocrates and pursued a sustained career as both orator and politician across multiple decades of Athenian public life
Did You Know?
- 01.The prosecution speech used against Androtion in his 354 BC trial was one of the early public speeches composed by Demosthenes, who was not yet the dominant orator he would later become.
- 02.Androtion's father Andron was a member of the oligarchic Council of Four Hundred that seized power in Athens in 411 BC, making Androtion the son of a former anti-democratic conspirator.
- 03.Androtion studied under Isocrates, the same rhetorical teacher who trained figures including the historian Ephorus and the orator Isaeus.
- 04.He is reported to have written his historical Atthis while living in exile at Megara, suggesting the work was produced outside Athens and perhaps without access to all official Athenian records.
- 05.A fragment discovered among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri in Egypt was attributed by the scholar Gaetano De Sanctis to Androtion, sparking a scholarly controversy in 1908 over authorship that remained unresolved.