Democles
(Δηοκλῆς).
1. Of Phigaleia, one of the ancient Greek historians. (Dionys. de Thuc., jud. 5 ; Strab. i. p.58.)
2. An Attic orator, and a contemporary of Demochares, among whose opponents he is mentioned. (Timaeus, apud Harpocrat. s. v. ᾧ τὸ ἱερὸν πῦρ.) He was a disciple of Theophrastus, and is chiefly known as the defender of the children of Lycurgus against the calumnies of Moerocles and Menesaechmus. (Plut. Vit. X Orat. p.842, D.) It seems that in the time of Dionysius of Halicarnassuis, some orations of Democles were still extant, since that critic (Deinarch. 11) attributes to him an oration, which went by the name of Deinarchus. It must be observed that Dionysius and Suidas call this orator by the patronymic form of his name, Democleides, and that Ruhnken (Hist. crit. orat. Graec. p. 92) is inclined to consider him as the same person with Democleides who was archon in B. C. 316. (Diod. 19.17.)
3. Surnamed the Beautiful, an Athenian youth, who was beloved by Demetrius Poliorcetes, and on one occasion being surprised by his lover in the bath, escaped from his voluptuous embraces by leaping into a caldron filled with boiling water. (Plut. Demetr. 24.) [L.S]
- Paus. 10.23.14