Based on the material of Attic orators' speeches, this paper examines the issue of military service evasion in clas- sical Athens. Two categories of military service evasion in Athens are identified: evasion of service as a whole (evad- ing mobilization or participation in a military campaign) and evasion of service «while in the service», when a person already serving in the army tries to avoid the dangers of war. As it follows from the speeches of the orators, there have been cases of evasion of service both during the civil strife in Athens at the end of the 5th century BC, and during the war against the external enemy. As a rule, facts of evasion of military service are not specific subjects of the speeches; they are only used to create the negative characteristics of the opponent. Only two speeches of Lysias against Alci- biades the Younger are dedicated specifically to the issue of military service evasion. According to the orators, the main reason for evading military service was the pursuit of own security.
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