Midterm Essays

Why or why not does the Encomium of Helen or the Funeral Speech of Pericles typify epideictic oratory? What other function is it serving?

The Funeral Speech of Pericles does serve as an epideictic oratory; just not in the way that its title would have you believe. The speech is more of a funeral oration for Athens than it is for Pericles. It assigns the role of "the noble" to not only the soldiers that dies fighting in the Peloponnesian war but everyone that called Athens home and it assigns the role of "the base" to Sparta, the victors of the war. Thucydides's speech places blame upon the enemies for doing that which is vicious and evil, despite the reality that neither side was truly virtuous in this instance.

Thucydides's speech also serves as a call to arms. Athens was devastated as a result of the war, and Thucydides saw that this threatened their way of life. He appeals to their emotions and their sense of honor as Athenians to not be defeated as a people, even if they had been defeated as a nation.

The Funeral Speech of Pericles was an epideictic oratory for the men that died and for the Athens that was. But it was also an inspiring model for the Athens that they could continue to struggle to become again.

What is the relationship between politics and rhetoric in ancient Greece?

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion - convincing someone that they should agree with what one says, even if sometimes they don't know that they are. Politics is the practice of influence - getting someone to do what one wants, even if they don't know that they are. In the modern world, where people have instant access to readily available information, politicians can convince them of almost anything.

Consider Greece, on the other hand, where such information is not as readily available and knowledge of the world around you is only attainable from the people around you. Greece was the birthplace of democracy; it was the first society in which the people's voices could be heard - even if "the people" were limited to free males. This meant that it was the first opportunity that someone gifted in the art of persuasion had to imprint his ideas on another person with legitimate effect. People were given the power to act on the opinions that they held, and the opinions that they held belonged to those with the power of persuasion.

What is the relationship between politics and rhetoric in ancient Greece? Rhetoric is the tool, politics is the product, and ancient Greece was an intellectual culture with minds waiting to be molded into something new.