LY'SIAS, one of the ten Athenian orators, was born at Athens, B.C. 458. His father Cephalus was a native of Syracuse, who settled at Athens during the time of Pericles ; he was a person of considerable wealth, and lived on intimate terms with Pericles and Socrates. His house is the supposed scene of the celebrated dialogues of Plato's 'Republic.' Lysiss, at the age of fifteen, went to Thurium in Italy, with his brother Polemarchus, at the first foundation of the colony. Here he remained for thirty-two years; but in consequence of his supporting the Athenian interests, ho was obliged to leave Italy after the failure of the Athenian expedition in Sicily. Ile returned to Athens p.c.
411, and carried on, in partnership with his brother Polemarchua, an extensive manufactory of shields, in which they employed as many as 120 slaves. Their wealth excited the cupidity of the Thirty Tyrants; their house was attacked one evening by an armed force, while Lysias was entertaining a few friends at supper; their property was seized, and Polemarchus was taken to prison, where he was shortly after exeented (u.o. 404). Lysias, by bribing some of the soldiers, escaped to the Piraeus, and sailed from thence to Megan.. Ile has given us a graphic account of his escape in his oration against Eratosthenes, who had been one of the Thirty Tyrants. Lysias actively assisted Thraeybulus in his enterprise against tho Thirty; he supplied him with a large sum of money from his own resources and those of his friends, arid hired a considerable body of soldiers at his own expense.
In return for these services Thrasybulus proposed a decree, by which the right of citizenship should be conferred upon Lyaias; but in con sequence of some informality this decree was never carried into effect. He was however allowed the peculiar privileges which were some times granted to resident aliens. Lysias appears to have died about B.C. 378.
The author of the life of Lyslas, attributed to Plutarch, mentions four hundred and twenty-fivo orations of Lysias ; two hundred and thirty of which were allowed to be genuine. At present there are thirty-five extant, attributed to this orator, as well as a few fragments of fifty-three others. But some of these may not be genuine; and at least the Epitaphius ' bears strong internal evidence of being by another hand. Dionysius of Halicarnassua has written a laboured essay on the style and merits of Lysias. He allows him almost every excellence except those of sublimity and the power of strongly moving the passions. "His style," he observes, "is not so well adapted to show the power of art as to represent the truth of nature." In narrating events or circumstances, Dionyaius considers him as superior to all the orators, and as the rule and model in this department of the art. The 'Apology for the death of Emstosthenes' is a pattern of simple and perspicuous narration.
According to Suidas and other ancient biographers, Lyaias also wrote some treatises on the art of oratory (which he is said by Cicero, Brut.' c. 12, to have taught), and discourses on love. There is still extant a treatise ou love, which bears the name of Lyaias, and which has been edited by Menial), Leip., 1827, but this work evidently belongs to a much later period in Greek literature.
The best edition of the text of Lysias is by Bekker. Useful editions have also been published by Taylor, 1738 ; by Fcertsch, 1829; and by Franz, 1831. Lyaias has been translated into French by Auger, Paris, 1783, and into English by Gillies, together with the orations of 'secretes, London, 1778.
(Dionysius of Halicarnassus ; Life of Lysias, attributed to Plutarch ; Photius, C., 261; Life of Lysias, prefixed to Taylor's edition.)