Chapter 2
The Origins and Early History of Rhetoric
Chapter Overview
The Sophists of ancient Greece played a role in developing the art of rhetoric, and thus in developing democracy. The major Sophists—Hippias, Protagoras, Gorgias, Lysias–were active in Athens between about 450 and 380 BCE. These provocative and innovative rhetoricians had a surprising influence on Greek life and thought. Sophists emphasized the centrality of persuasive discourse to civilized, democratic societies, and appreciated the power of language. The Sophists’ theoretical explorations remain important to discussions of language’s role in social life. The Sophist’s view of law as conventional and truth as relative influenced later political and philosophical thought. Finally, the Sophists placed training in rhetoric at the center of education, which constituted an innovation not found in rhetorical practices in other parts of the world and that would continue to have influence for centuries. Protagoras insisted that a persuasive case can be made on either side of an issue, not just on the side favored by prevailing moral assumptions. The chapter also takes note of the fact that women were restricted from making public speeches in ancient Greek city-states, with notable exceptions. The poet Sappho was widely known for her linguistic gifts in a generation preceding the rise of the Sophists. Later, Aspasia had a reputation as a skilled rhetorician, debater, and teacher of rhetoric. The freedom of Spartan women to speak in the marketplace is explored.
Review Questions
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The Sophists were a group of orators, writers, and teachers of rhetoric in ancient Athens. Many of them became famous and wealthy through their abilities and teachings. Most of the Sophists were foreigners, charged money for education, and believed in a relative view of truth, all of which created controversy amongst many Greeks who held to more traditional values. All of the Sophists were known for their skills with words and are now credited with systemizing and developing the art of rhetoric.
The Sophists disrupted the Athenian educational tradition by claiming to teach arête (virtue or excellence) and for charging money for instruction. The Sophists claim to teach excellence in this way was disruptive as this meant education became a means of entering higher social classes. Charging money for education went against Athenian culture and was seen by many to be unethical. The Sophists were also controversial because of their relative views on truth and justice and because many saw their rhetorical methods as deceptive.
Many Sophists discuss the idea that two antithetical statements could be made on any subject and often used dissoi logoi (contradictory arguments) in the teaching of rhetoric to their students. Because many of them saw truth as being relative and momentary, they believed that the clashing of arguments was required to gain better understanding and that this was the only way truth could emerge.
With the rise of democracy in Athens, power was distributed to more citizens of the city. This new system allowed every man the right to speak and argue in the courts and assemblies, increasing the power and influence of persuasive speech. Thus, rhetoric was important to all citizens.
Gorgias believed that the rhetor was a psychagogos or a “leader of souls through a kind of incantation, like a poet.” Because in ancient Greece poetry was closely connected to religion, ritual, and the supernatural, Gorgias saw rhetoric as verbal magic to be used to sway audiences.
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Essay Questions
- Write an essay describing the rise and influence of the Greek Sophists. What characteristics defined the Sophists? When were they active in Greece? What did they say they would teach, and what were some of their methods of instruction? What events or social conditions contributed to their rise to prominence and their tremendous impact on Athens? Why were the Sophists so controversial?
- Identify and describe two major Greek Sophists discussed in the text. When was each active? What concerns or interests characterized each?
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Recommended Readings
Want to learn more? Check out these bonus readings!
On the Sophists
Harold Barrett. The Sophists. Novato, CA: Chandler & Sharp, 1987.
Jacqueline de Romilly. Magic and Rhetoric in Ancient Greece. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1975.
Jacqueline de Romilly. The Great Sophists in Periclean Athens. Trans. Janet Lloyd. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992.
John Dillon, Tania Gergel, The Greek Sophists. Penguin, 2003.
W. K. C. Guthrie. The Sophists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971.
Susan C. Jarratt. Rereading the Sophists: Classical Rhetoric Refigured. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1991.
B. Kerferd. The Sophistic Movement. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981.
John Poulakis. Sophistical Rhetoric in Classical Greece. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1995.
D. Rankin. Sophists, Socratics and Cynics. London: Croom Helm, 1983. Mario Untersteiner. The Sophists. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1954.
On Gorgias
Bruce E. Gronbeck. “Gorgias on Rhetoric and Poetic: A Rehabilitation.” Southern Speech Communication Journal 38 (Fall 1972): 27–38.
Charles P. Segal. “Gorgias and the Psychology of the Logos.” Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 66 (1962): 99–155.
On Isocrates
Ekaterina Haskins. Logos and Power in Isocrates and Aristotle. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2004.
W. R. Johnson. “Isocrates’ Flowering: The Rhetoric of Augustine.” Philosophy and Rhetoric 9 (1976): 217–231.
On Protagoras
Edward Schiappa. Protagoras and Logos. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1991.
On Antiphon
Michael Gagarin. Antiphon the Athenian: Oratory, Law, and Justice in the Age of the Sophists. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2009.
On Rhetoric in the Classical Period
George Kennedy. The Art of Persuasion in Greece. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963.
Josiah Ober. Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens: Rhetoric, Ideology, and the Power of the People. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989.
Readings in Classical Rhetoric. Ed. T. Benson and M. Prosser. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1969.
A Companion to Greek Rhetoric, ed. Ian Worthington. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
A Synoptic History of Classical Rhetoric. Ed. James J. Murphy. Davis, California: Hermagoras Press, 1983.
Kathleen E. Welch. The Contemporary Reception of Classical Rhetoric: Appropriations of Ancient Discourse. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1990.