Book excerpt: This is the first Oxford Classical Text of the speeches of Antiphon and Andocides, two Athenian orators of the fifth century BCE. An influential statesman, Antiphon of Rhamnus also wrote speeches for clients in court cases, of which three are extant, and three tetralogies consisting of speeches for hypothetical murder trials arguing for both prosecution and defence. The first oration of Andocides is our principal source about two scandals from the eve of the Athenian expedition against Syracuse in 415, while his second and third speeches shed light on his later exile and diplomatic efforts between Athens and Sparta. The volume also includes a fourth speech, falsely attributed to Andocides, which vigorously pillories the early career of Alcibiades up to a point just before he, like Andocides, was accused of mutilating herms and profaning the Eleusinian Mysteries in 415. Based on a comprehensive study of the manuscript tradition, this critical edition aims to set the standard for a definitive text of the speeches that will serve for the next century. Taking into account all the significant manuscript evidence as well as the most compelling corrections proposed by scholars, it also incorporates testimony from other ancient authors to establish the text of these earliest representatives of Attic oratory.