Like I mentioned in my comment under Alexander's post, Gorgias' use of definition really improves the strength of his argument for Helen's innocence.Love: n. the god, not the emotion
Notice the capital letter Gorgias uses. He's talking about Aphrodite, who we generally think of, or also Eros, Aphrodite's male counterpart.* The Greek word eros as Prof. Burton explained last class was also the word for homosexual behavior or sexual desire. But instead of employing this as a description of a human's (or a woman's) weakness, Gorgias puts Love into the higher and more powerful category of deity. Then surely Helen is innocent: nobody's going to argue with the gods, right?
In a similar but more serious manner, I have felt greatly persuaded by the power of the Spirit of God. I remember once sitting in sacrament meeting on fast Sunday and feeling filled with the Spirit. I was prompted to bear my testimony. It wasn't just that, though--without any spoken words or physical hands pushing on my back, I felt completely persuaded to get up and speak. The only way I can think to describe it is that the Spirit carried me up to the pulpit. Indeed, the persuasion of God is immensely powerful.
*More about Eros the god.
Making love a god definitely takes away from Helen's guilt. It's interesting that as Gorgias persuades us to acquit Helen, he also expounds upon the lying nature of persuasion. Is he perhaps a hypocrite or does he generally believe that people must always be persuaded?
ReplyDeleteKatie: I thought the same thing about Gorgias as I was reading through the Encomium, about how hypocritical it seemed to some of his remarks in the previous reading, and the thoughts he had there. Perhaps his goal of having the reader believe in Helen's innocence no matter what persuaded her, allows his to contradict even his own thoughts about persuasion and speech. Also I liked your post, great Mr. T reference. Macey: Bearing testimony isn't always our first choice on fast sundays, as you expressed first hand. I liked your story because I think there are many of us reading that have had similar experiences and I think it teaches an important principle that although persuasion usually has a negative connotation (or at least being persuaded), that sometimes persuasion can lead to positive outcomes. Great thoughts!
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