Eforo e Teramene

Theramenes is never mentioned in Ephorus’ fragments. On the contrary, several references to him are found in Diodorus, Books XIII and XIV, as well as in other sources which could have been influenced by the Ephorean tradition. This paper considers some episodes in Theramenes’ career which emphasize the peculiarity of Diodorus’ reconstruction: the fall of the Four Hundred, the Arginousai trial and the establishment of the Thirty Tyrants. By presenting Theramenes as a democrat, the historian reflects a late phase of the pro-Theramenes tradition. Diodorus’ favourable interpretation of Theramenes, which stresses his (unlikely) democratic orientation, could have been influenced by Isocrates (who presented his oligarchical ideas as democratic, in order to make them more easily acceptable by Athenian public opinion) and could consequently be traced back to his disciple Ephorus. In any case, Ephorus must have largely re-elaborated on his sources (Hellenica Oryrhynchia?), thus widely contributing to the evolution of the “Theramenes myth”. As a matter of fact, Ephorus wrote many years after the events, when a “democratic” new reading of previous historical facts was common, as highlighted by the treatment of Phrynichus’ murder in Lycurgus (Leocr. 112-114) and of Aristocrates’ career in [Demosthenes] (58, In Theocr., 66-67). Thus, as far as the democratic vision of Theramenes is concerned, Ephorus’ influence on Diodorus can be accepted as a work hypothesis.