Apollodorus of Acharnae

Who is Apollodorus of Acharnae?

Apollodorus of Acharnae in Attica is known from several of Demosthenes' forensic speeches. Apollodorus was the son of the banker Pasion, who died in 370 BCE when Apollodorus was twenty-four. After Pasion's death his widow married Phormion, a freedman of Pasion, and subsequently died in 360 BCE. Phormion then became the guardian of her younger son Pasicles.

In 350 BCE, Apollodorus brought a lawsuit against Phormio. Demosthenes wrote the defence speech For Phormion, which is extant. At this time Apollodorus held the post of archon eponymos at Athens. A rumour later circulated that Demosthenes leaked the defence speech to Apollodorus before the trial. Apollodorus afterwards attacked the witnesses who had supported Phormion. Demosthenes wrote for Apollodorus the two extant speeches entitled On the crown.

Apollodorus had many lawsuits, for many of which Demosthenes wrote the speeches for him. The latest of them is Against Neaira, a courtesan, and which may date to 340 BCE. Apollodorus was extremely wealthy and performed the liturgy of trierarchy twice, in a period when it was unusual for a single person to take that role because of the enormous expense.