Rhetoric was a major factor in the development and maintenance of the Athenian government and was used by many in order to gain power and ascend in politics. The ascendance of the great demagogues in Athens during the time of the Peloponnesian war was heavily influenced by their rhetoric and ability to effectively guide the Athenian democracy. The democratic government was composed of two groups: “public speakers […], those who made proposals and publicly argued for or against political projects, and demos, those who as a group decided on the proposals” (Yunis, 1991: 179). With this idea of democracy instilled in Athens, speakers were given an opportunity to present themselves and their proposals in a manner that they anticipated to be the most persuasive in support of their own argument. The goal of the public speakers was to persuade or instruct the demos to carry out the action that the speaker had just argued, but success relied heavily on the speaker’s ability to manipulate and guide the audience. Yunis (1991: 1) suggests that there were two types of political rhetoric, instructional rhetoric and rhetoric that disapproves of instruction, and that there is a distinct difference between the two. Pericles used instructional rhetoric to persuade the demos to respond logically, rendering the demos “capable of autonomous, conscientious decision-making” (Yunis 1991:2). Cleon’s rhetoric, however, was created to appeal to the majority of the demos who he assumed were already intelligent enough to see his reason, allowing them to make decisions that would not necessarily be responsible or in his favour. Thucydides’ account of the two different types of political rhetoric emphasizes the use of rhetoric as fundamental in the Athenian dem...
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...e most responsible decision and proves that the results of Cleon’s style of rhetoric does not always render the best results. It is essentially Cleon’s ability to clearly see the entirety of Athens’ power and the choices, guided by nomos or phusis, necessary to maintain their supremacy that allows him to ascend as a demagogue among The People and become one of the most influential voices in Athens.
Works Cited
Andrews, J.A. 2000. “Cleon’s Hidden Appeals (Thuc. 3.37-40)” Classical Quarterly
50: 45-62.
Ober, J. 2012. “Thucydides and the Invention of Political Science” in Rengakos, A. and A. Tsamakis (edd.) Brill's Companion to Thucydides
The Landmark Thucydides, edited by R.B. Strassler. Pantheon Books: New York, 1996.
Yunis, H. 1991. “How do The People Decide? Thucydides on Periclean Rhetoric and Civic Instruction” American Journal of Philology 112” 179-200.
Many great rulers have been tempted by the authority of absolute power. In Antigone, by Sophocles, Creon, the Theban king, will do anything in order to earn this absolute power. Creon’s prideful attitude, disregard of the authority of the gods, and failure to listen cause him to fail as a statesman, demonstrating the nature of kingship in Sophocles’s Antigone.
Demosthenes and Isocrates came to prominence in fourth century B.C.E. Athens as public speakers and as politicians. Isocrates was a teacher of rhetoric, or the art of public speaking, while Demosthenes was a professional litigator, writing speeches for clients arguing in the courts of law, and occasionally presenting arguments himself. Both men were highly respected citizens and opinion makers throughout the sphere of influence maintained by Athens, though they held opposing views regarding the proper course for Athenian government, warfare between the Greek city-states, and the prospect of invasion from the Persian Empire to the east. While the Greek city-states engaged in fratricidal warfare, Philip of Macedon began consolidation of his political power by essentially offering up his highly trained professional Macedonian army as mercenary soldiers to the various city-states requesting assistance or protection and demanding control as hegemon or monarch of the city-state in return for military aid. Following a declaration of truce, Philip would impose his rule upon the vanquished as well.
“Intellectuals and Democracy” by Mark Kingwell (2012) captures the essence of the commonality between higher education and philosophy and democracy. The author, who is a philosopher expresses his notion of the connection between the democratic system and that of the education system. Often, as the article expresses there is a preconception regarding the validation of careers promised with certain university degrees where other programs result in uncertainty or questioning from others. The use of rhetorical appeals used by the author throughout the article works towards building his article. I argue that through rhetorical appeals the author works his audience to grasp his personal stance of the education system as he attempts to persuade
In this paper, I will first extract Thucydides views from the Melian Dialogue and then analyze whether or not these views are well founded. Thucydides believed that the Athenians had the stronger argument. Proof of this lies in the way Thucydides picked the arguments for each side. For the moment, we will disregard the actual content of the arguments, and look at argumentation forms and the flow of the debate. The Melians argued using consequences of an Athenian take over.
Evolution of Democracy and the Athenian Constitution. Democracy is defined in modern times as government by the people. To put that in perspective and better understand all that democracy. entails we must consider its origins.
In a society that was greatly renowned for democracy, Creon had effectively turned it into tyranny.... ... middle of paper ... ... Therefore, he should have room for more than one opinion.
Legitimacy may rest on the belief of tradition, upheld by leaders who at the time portray authority. ‘Oedipus the King’ conveys Oedipus following the path of the Delphic Oracle after learning that the land must be rid of corruption; as a result, of the fate of the previous leader of Thebes, Laius. Apollo commands “drive the corruption from the land…” (Sophocles, 2000, ll.109-110). “Murder sets the plague-storm on the city.” (Sophocles, 2000, ll.114-115). Whist the message of Apollo is passed on through the mouth of Creon, it is evident that Apollo holds the authority. Oedipus is quick to act to the message delivered, knowing Athenians rely on him to rid the city of the plague.
The central theme of Act III, Scene ii of “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare is the power of rhetoric because it shows the effect of two funeral orators’ on the crowd. In this scene, Antony and Brutus have similar purpose in talking to the public, which is to gain the support of the Plebeians according to their conflicting views about Caesar’s assassination. This essay focuses on comparing the orations of the two speakers in this part of the play according to Aristotle’s rhetoric system. According to Aristotle’s writings, Antony’s speech is more persuasive than Brutus’ speech, because he is able to provide logical, emotional and ethical appeals to his audience. Firstly, in comparison to Brutus’ logic, Antony provides more evidence to prove that Caesar was not ambitious. Secondly, Antony’s emotional acts and speech moved his audience more than Brutus. Finally, Antony acts more noble than Brutus does.
The system of government we have today was starting to developed centuries ago by the Athenians and Romans. Both governments were established with the intent to give power to the people, even though it did not always play out that way in society. The Athenian democracy and the Roman republic were two very different governments in practice, but also maintained similar characteristics in both systems of government.
declares that he will improve the city (she) by his rulings. Creon describes how his
In addition, Creon disregards what had historically been the best counsel for the city, the blind prophet Tiresias. Despite Tiresias’ warnings that his “high resolve that sets this plague on Thebes,” will “strike [him] down with the pains [he] perfected,” Creon’s stubborn commitment to the laws of state turns to be his error. Eventually convinced by Tiresias’ warnings, Creon resolves to release Antigone from her isolated tomb. Regrettably, he’s too late and the consequences of his insolence for the divine laws were far worse than if he had “[L]ay[ed] [my] pride bare to the blows of ruin” (1220). Creon’s undoing can be viewed as an allegory of the calamities that ensue when the laws of man pursue to challenge the ancient laws of gods.
The death of Pericles was a significant event in the course of the Peloponnesian War; however, even without Pericles' leadership the Athenian Assembly had countless opportunities to prevent their loss and chose not to take them. The fickleness and inefficiency of democracy ('the mob') allowed the Athenians to be easily influenced and therefore electing populists such as Cleon, Lysicles and Hyperbolus into dominant leadership roles. Election, via democratic means, of such populists, meant that the Athenians would take a much more aggressive approach to the war and therefore abandon the policies that Pericles had previously established. So in turn, democracy the institution for which the Athenians fought tirelessly to protect, rather than the death of Pericles, ironically became the dominant factor influencing the final outcome of this Ancient Greek civil war.
The strengths and weaknesses of the Athenian character traits laid out in the “Funeral Oration” are exemplified by the character of Creon in Sophocles’ Antigone, and suggest that Athenians held certain concerns in the Golden Age of their empire.
Rhetorical Analysis and Persuasion Every day we are victims to persuasion whether anyone can notice it or not. Logos, pathos and ethos are the types of persuasion. Logos persuades by reason, pathos by appealing to emotion and ethos by the credibility of the author. The characters in The Iliad employ the use of these techniques to sway another character into doing or feeling something else.
As perspectives and opinions in the realm of political science are fluid and bound to change, he receives a variety of replies, for the representatives body he sent happen to comprise a Realist, a Liberal and a Constructivist. The variances the philosophies and universal laws his representatives throw back at him intrigue General Cleomedes. He recognizes that within the power play of the world, and the role of Athens as a superpower within the world’s political arena, he must be thoroughly versed in every possible political perspective. Thus, he invites his representatives to share their own view of what transpired between the dialogue between the Melians and the Athenians.