Who Is Timarchus Being Committed By Aeschines?

In “Aeschines: Against Timarchus” Aeschines, using only indirect language, convincingly argues that Timarchus, being a citizen male who is active in public political life, has committed hubris acts upon himself through his sexual promiscuity with various men. In ancient Greek society, to talk candidly about male same sex acts was considered indecorous, and it would offend the members of the court if Aeschines spoke explicitly. For this reason, the language Aeschines uses when describing the sexual acts committed by Timarchus is at once discrete and poignant. While avoiding transparency in his descriptions, Aeschines nonetheless leads the jury to a resolute conclusion regarding the exact nature of Timarchus’ past sexual experiences with men.

Aeschines undercuts Timarchus’ credibility by carefully wording the nature of Timarchus’ alleged shameful past, insinuating that Timarchus is the passive, receiving partner in his sexual ventures with Misgolas and other men (41). The unnameable sins that Misgolas actively “wanted to do” (41) to Timarchus, Timarchus passively wanted to “have done” to him (41). This attack on the character of Timarchus serves to effeminate him in the eyes of the jury, for to be “a creature with the body of a man defiled with the sins of a woman” (185) is a shameful disposition for a politically active male. This use of the active and passive verb tense in Aeschines’ speech successfully laid the foundation for the jury to begin to question the masculinity of