Demosthenes was a Greek statesman. He was a great orator of his time. He was born in Athens in 384 BC. Demosthenes’s orations depict a lot of ancient Athenian culture and intellectual prowess.
His birth time is also remembered as the first year of the 99th Olympiad. His father was a chief member of the tribe and he was extremely rich. He was a rich sword-maker.
Demosthenes lost his mother first and after some time his father. Demosthenes was an orphan at the infant age of 7 years.
When his father died, he left much wealth for his son Demosthenes. He was his heir.
But little Demosthenese’s uncles usurped all his properties and money. Demosthenes was such a young child who was at their mercy. A 7-year-old child was couldn’t understand their malicious plans.
Demosthenes had “an inarticulate and stammering pronunciation” problem.
He overcame by speaking with pebbles in his mouth and by repeating verses when running or out of breath. He also practised speaking in front of a large mirror.
He passed away in 322 BC.
Table of Contents
Facts About Demosthenes
Facts About Demosthenes
- He was a stammerer
- He was a frail child who could not properly handle his life.
- His lungs were weak. He can’t cry and run fast
- He was a timid kind of boy because of the circumstances around him.
- He used to live poorly till 14 years of age
- One day an old man from Athens(his father’s friend) asks him, why do you live so shabbily when you have so much property inherited by your father?
- He got motivation from his father’s friend.
- On that day, Demosthenes came to know that the house and money used by my uncles belong to his father.
- At that time, Greece was a Republic. It was a Greek culture that you have to put every matter to court to settle the issue.
- But a weak and stammering child can’t defend himself. So he decided to become an orator the biggest orator in his town. So that he could defend his viewpoint and get back his property and also get respect because of his oratory.
- Demosthenes’ story starts from here. The story is full of inspiration and motivation.
1- Demosthenes Story Of Speech Training
- When he started his speech training he was 16 years old only
- At that time oratory was a big skill. The person who has mastery in it was seen with respect and honour
- An advisor has suggested he keep stones in his mouth and practice speaking then. It will put pressure on the tongue and he will be able to overcome his speech problem.
- It was an ancient technique to improve delivery, dictum and speech. All big orators used to practise it to improve their communication.
- People laughed at him because he was a weak and timid boy. But he showed his resilience and practised extremely hard for 20 hours a day for years to change his fortune.
- After rigorous practice, his language improved. Repeated tries make him perfect. His language, delivery, dictum, pronunciation, and speech improved manyfold.
- He taught each one of us an important lesson that what you can perceive, you can achieve. Have faith in yourself and don’t quit.
2- Demosthenes Story Of Oratory(Half-bald Story)
- Now Demosthenes has improved his speech. He can speak much better.
- But there was still one problem. How to know what to speak? His speech was his failure.
- For that, he had to study a lot and train himself. Then only he can go to the king’s court and speak in any trial or debate with someone. Then only he can give any political or social discourse.
- For that, he locked himself in his house for months. He didn’t move outside his house to save himself from distractions.
- He also shaved his half-head. The intention was to force himself not to go out in this mad-like condition else people would laugh at him.
- People used to laugh at him and call him insane. Because of his obsessive activities.
- He remained in his self-exile for years. After that when he got mastery in various subjects like literature, politics, philosophy, and social sciences, he came out.
- We have an important lesson here. Make a long-term goal and be mad at accomplishing it. Don’t be awestruck by the situation. Testing time will come. But if your goal is bigger, your problems will become smaller.
3- Demosthenes Story For Lung Treatment
- His lungs were weak. It affected his oratory. He started panting and feeling tired. He couldn’t use long sentences in one go. He had to break sentences.
- This was a flaw in his oratory skill.
- He obsessively faced this challenge and overcame it.
- He used to run on mountains speaking and shouting. The up and down, up & down many times, speaking and shouting.
- People used to jest at him that he has gone mad. But nothing disturbed him.
- He surmounted this weak lung problem in a few months because of his dedication. He became the best orator in Athens and the world. His speeches and debates are still discussed.
- He is in the syllabus of many classes. The world studies his lifestyle and life philosophy. He was a true warrior who won all the battles of life.
- He taught us a valuable lesson here. Hard work and regular practice are the only things that matter in life.
Inspirations & lessons From Denosthenes’s life
Your background and financial status don’t matter. Your determination matters
Every problem has a solution. When you find one, be mad to change the course.
You don’t have to be a born genius. You have to be a hard-working, consistent person who shows up daily for his activities.
When you remain small, problems rule you.
Your impediments are opportunities for your bigger success. Solve them and surprise the world.
Please share the post with someone who needs inspiration. You may change someone’s life.
May God bless you. Amen.
Thank you.