Against Timarchus

"Against Timarchus" (Greek: Κατὰ Τιμάρχου) was a speech by Aeschines accusing Timarchus of being unfit to involve himself in public life. The case was brought about in 346–5 BC, in response to Timarchus, along with Demosthenes, bringing a suit against Aeschines, accusing him of misconduct as an ambassador to Philip II of Macedon.[1] The speech provides evidence of a number of actions which, according to Aeschines, would cause a citizen to lose the right of addressing the Assembly. Aeschines accuses Timarchus of two of these forbidden acts: prostituting himself, and wasting his inheritance.[2] Along with the accusations of prostitution and squandering his inheritance for which Timarchus was on trial, the speech contains charges of "bribery, sycophancy, the buying of office, embezzlment, and perjury".[3]

Modern scholars have criticised the lack of evidence that Aeschines put forward in Against Timarchus,[4] for instance by pointing out that he has no evidence that any of Timarchus' lovers ever paid him.[5] Indeed, Hubbard observes that he does not even manage to produce a single witness who will testify that Timarchus had any sexual relationship with the men in question at all,[6] though in his speeches Aeschines says that Timarchus' affairs were well known to the jury.[7] Aeschines won the case and Timarchus was punished by disenfranchisement.[8]