Analysis Of Parrhasis's Painting: Unveiling The Curtain

Unveiling the Curtain Zeuxis, the great Greek painter, once staged a contest. He and his artistic rival, Parrhasius, were to unveil their paintings for a large crowd, who were then to decide the superior artist. Zeuxis went first, revealing his magnificent painting of a delicious grapevine. The image was so real, birds flocked down from the sky and pecked at the purple paint. The birds, it seemed, had decided the winner. When it was Parrhasius’s turn, however, he had Zeuxis unveil his painting. When the great painter pulled at the curtain concealing the piece, he realized he had been tricked: the painting was not hidden behind a curtain—the painting was, in fact, of a curtain. The crowd was floored, breaking out into laughter. Zeuxis might’ve fooled the birds, but Parrhasius had fooled Zeuxis—gaining him the support of the audience. Parrhasius had won the people.

At the same time, Alexander the Great was conquering most of Eurasia. A student of Aristotle, Alexander managed to permanently change the geography of the Eastern Hemisphere. He had a modest army, yes, but through the power of leadership, deeply rooted in his studies on persuasion with his teacher Aristotle, Alexander the Great changed the world. In Rhetoric, Aristotle defines the three modes of persuasion: ethos, an appeal to character; logos, an appeal to logic; and pathos, an appeal to emotion. All were used by Alexander: logos, in his sophisticated battle simulations; ethos, in his title “the Great”; and pathos, in his fierce speeches given to his men. However, the question becomes which mode of persuasion was the most important to Alexander’s prowess, or in more general terms, which mode is the most important to