Midterm Essays

5) Politics and Rhetoric

Politics and rhetoric in ancient Greece share a very close relationship. As others have noted in their posts, rhetoric is the art of persuasion, and politics is the art of influence (Ben C., Kevin D.). But, the link between ancient Greek politics and rhetoric isn’t just an incidental one. The ancient Greeks had their own subgroup of rhetoric that operated mostly within the political arena. They called this branch of oratory Deliberative, or Legislative, oratory. Its original usage was in legislatures, and it had to do with persuading lawmakers about policy and thus inherently considered the future. Politicians used specific topics of invention related to Deliberative oratory: the good and the unworthy, and the advantageous and disadvantageous. The former looked at how different laws or courses of action would affect the “good” of the public, and vice versa. The latter looked at how laws or proposals would have pros and cons attached to them; this topic of invention was thus practical.

One example of Deliberative oratory was Pericles’ Funeral Oration. While the entire speech wasn’t necessarily a Legislative one, Pericles did use some aspects of Deliberative oratory to lift the spirits of the mourning families. In particular, he suggested the good of focusing on the greatness of Athens and of remembering that the fallen soldiers contributed to its greatness. He also stated the need for the families to follow the courage of their dead sons because Athenian freedom depends on it, even suggesting that they have more children to grow up and become like their courageous brothers; the families actions would have implications for the good of society in future generations. Pericles’ effectiveness as a politician in this setting depended on how well he could persuade the Athenians to be good citizens for the good of the people. In other words, Pericles needed to persuade the people in order to influence a political outcome.

Because of the relationship that rhetoric and politics in ancient Greece shared, rhetoric was always political in the hands of a politician. This is notable in how politics had its own branch of rhetoric, and also in how Pericles, even in a funeral setting, could persuade Athenians to be better citizens. But, most of all, to persuade and to influence is one and the same.

1) The Irrational

Humans are, for the most part, irrational. Why do we cry when we’re happy and also when we’re sad? How can we feel so much love for a family member and still be driven out of our minds by them? Why do we gain pleasure from doing painful or uncomfortable things? Humans are paradoxes packaged neatly in a fleshy frame. And the Greeks, as it happened, loved paradoxes.

Greek drama had a way of building up emotional tension throughout the play, and then releasing it in a flurry of spoken action. In Electra especially, the entire play is simply a buildup of dialogue, constantly connecting the audience to the characters until finally the bottling of emotion bursts. Aristotle called this catharsis; we would probably just call it a good cry. But whatever it’s called, the audience still feels a sense of relief at this release. And this, just like life, is irrational. Why do we relieve ourselves of emotion with more emotion? It’s a paradox, and the only way to explain it is that it feels better afterwards.

The Greeks seemed to understand that humans are paradoxes, and that life isn’t something to be understood. It’s for this exact reason that we feel emotion, the frustration of not being able to comprehend the reality of irrationality. Greek drama, especially tragedy, provided a way for human emotion to be magnified in the hope that by its magnification, we can come to learn something about life, even despite its unknowable-ness. The moment of catharsis was the moment of greatest learning; breathing out a sigh of relief left room for looking in. Greek drama, at its core, was a driver of self-reflection.