The speeches of the Attic orators were composed for delivery in the Athenian law-courts and assembly, and at other public meetings such as state funerals in the late fifth and fourth centuries BC. They contain much information about, and valuable insights into, life, thought, and institutions of classical Athens, while at the same time being central evidence for the development of Athenian prose literature.

This accessible book includes chapters on each of the ten Attic orators, their lives, literary style and works, as well as a survey of the origins of oratory in Greece. Aimed at the late school and undergraduate student, it includes valuable comments on the orators' styles and a chronologically arranged catalogue of speeches.