Human rights and fundamental freedoms are entitlements thought to be inherent to humans, shared equally by all and thought to exist beyond the authority of any human institution or structure. They are critical part of modern social and political discourse, describing the basic social conditions needed for human dignity, appealing to a shared understanding of both what it means to be a human, and what humanity ought to aspire to. However, the extent to which the language and discourse of human rights, fundamental freedoms and human dignity was utilised in Classical Athens remains unclear. The focus for human rights scholarship has been on modern formulations of human rights, while scholarship on Classical Athens has focussed attention primarily on human institutions and structures such as Athenian citizenship, to the exclusion of concepts of shared humanity and fundamental freedoms. This thesis applies modern human rights theory to Classical Athenian oratory to identify rights claims justified by language that describes such rights as inherent to the human condition and fundamental to human society. The language used in oratory is an important component of public discourse in Classical Athens, particularly in the way it sought to persuade listeners. Six rights and freedoms which invoke human rights justifications are identified: free and equal speech; personal security; self-defence, treatment according to law; fulfilment of oath and promised action; and possession of property. These rights and freedoms are shown to represent both discrete fundamental entitlements, but also a collective ideal of human freedom and equality. Human dignity in Athenian oratory is presented as life within a human society that enables each individual to live their best life, and the orators cast Athens as the benchmark in this regard. As such, these human rights were framed communally, so that the rights held by individuals worked to support the polis, rather than as a limit on state power. The framing of human dignity as a social structure rather than an individual endowment is also shown to raise issues in relation to entrenching the discrimination within the polis, which this thesis touches upon but which ultimately warrants further exploration.