American Journal of Philology

Athenian litigants often used direct address when referring to an action carried out on behalf of Athens even when it was impossible for many on the jury to have participated. This rhetorical fiction allowed the Athenians to imagine the rule of the people as transcending time and place, as well as individuals and institutions, and to represent the demos as eternal and unchanging. Through rhetoric, the jury acquired its authority and the Athenians preserved their link to the past even as the composition of the courts changed and even as new juries rendered new verdicts.