Polyeuctus
2. An Athenian orator of the demus Sphettus, was a political friend of Demosthenes, with whom he worked in resisting the Macedonian party and in urging the people to make war against Philip. Hence we find him accused along with Demosthenes of receiving bribes from Harpalus (Dinarch.
c. Dem. p. 129). Polyeuctus was very corpulent, at which his adversary Phocion made himself merry (
Plut. Phoc. 9), and his love of luxury was attacked by the comic poet Anaxandrides (
Athen. 4.166,d.).
The orations of Polyeuctus are referred to by Aristotle (
Aristot. Rh. 3.10.7) and Diogenes Laertius (6.23); and a fragment of his oration against Demades is preserved by Apsines (
Rhet. p. 708, ed. Ald.). For further particulars see Dem.
Philipp. iii. p. 129;
Plut. Dem. 10,
Phoc. 5,
Vitae X. Orat. pp. 841, e., 844, f., 846, c.,
Polit. Praec. p. 803e.; and along modern writers, Ruhnken,
Hist. Critica Orat. Graec. pp. 80, 81; Westermann,
Gesch. d. Griech. Beredtsamkeit, ยง 53, n. 5, 6.
