Demosthenes, The Great Stammering Rapporteur

Demosthenes became known in history as the greatest of all the Greek rapporteurs. This in itself is a great success. But the really surprising part of his story is all he had to do for the honor. Hans is one of the most uplifting stories in history.

Demosthenes had many physical shortcomings to overcome. His health was fragile and he became ill all the time. But his most serious condition was his strain. This, of course, was a huge obstacle on his path to becoming the public figure he longed to be. But with perseverance and hard work, he finally found a way for his voice and thoughts to be heard.

Demosthenes, what a talent he had, received from nature and increased with practice. He used everything in his speeches. He transcends in energy and zeal all those who competed with him in the gallery and in the forum. ”
–Plutarch–

Demosthenes was born in Athens in the year 384 BC. He was a member of a wealthy family. However, his father was a merchant and therefore they were not “aristocracy”. Aristocratic members saw trade as an unworthy recognition. Yet the father of this great rapporteur had many things and wealth. Among them he had a knife factory, a furniture factory and an arsenal.
When Demosthenes was 7 years old, he faced the first major challenge of his life . He became an orphan. His inheritance was entrusted to three guardians until the boy became old enough.

Two of them were his father’s nephews, and the other was a childhood friend. The interim guardians slowly took away his incredible legacy . When Demosthenes reached the right age to cope, there was nothing left.

The legend of Demosthenes

Demosthenes received an education appropriate to his position . He had many serious health problems, but was a curious and motivated student who always wanted to learn more. Therefore, he became a voracious reader. Demosthenes became one of the most educated young men of his time. In fact, a whole story has been created around him, which can be a mixture of truth and pure legend.

This young Athenian wanted to become the best rapporteur in Greece. He was interested in political issues and longed for his ideas to have as much influence as he thought they deserved. He studied the great rapporteurs carefully.

But it is said that at a very young age he tried to hold his first “conference” and it was a failure. People say he was arched out of the audience. This was due to the fact that Demosthenes had a serious problem : he was stuttering.

His words collided with his lips and he could not make himself understood. It is said that a person in the audience shouted, “Draw the air down into your lungs, not your brain!” This really affected Demosthenes. But he was determined to reach his goal despite this obstacle, which at the time seemed to be so great.

A development process

Demosthenes viewed the ridicule and criticism as a challenge to his character. He had grown up alone and it had strengthened his temper. Thus, he decided to fight against his own limitations to become what he longed to be: the best rapporteur. No one believed he could do it: How could a person who stuttered give a good speech?

The story or legend says that Demosthenes set a strict regime for himself, to overcome his setbacks. The first thing he did was shave his head. Back then, it was looked down upon a lot to be seen without hair . He did so for the purpose of forcing himself not to go out so he would spend all his time working towards his goal. Demosthenes practiced speech at dawn.

When the first rays of the sun shone in the sky, Demosthenes went to the beach . There he cried to the sun with all his might. His goal was to strengthen his lungs. He had accepted advice from the anonymous person who had made fun of him.

After performing this ritual, he went home to practice. And he did it in a very peculiar way . He put a handful of stones in his mouth and a knife between his teeth. He forced himself to speak without stuttering.

After several years of training with demos, Demosthenes managed to speak normally. From then on, he actively participated in the city’s legal and political issues. It is said that his speeches were praised by thousands of people. Not only was he a good rapporteur, he was also an excellent writer. In fact, today, over 2,000 years later, he is still one of the most outstanding divr in history.