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.
