Classical Rhetorics and Rhetoricians: Critical Studies and Sources

The engaging political speeches and persuasive writing of today are carefully crafted instances of rhetoric. The governing theories behind contemporary speakers and writers are deeply rooted in the classical world, where such great thinkers as Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintillian formulated strategies for effective discourse. This book includes alphabetically arranged entries on some 60 leading rhetoricians of antiquity, with each entry providing biographical information, a discussion of the rhetorician's works and theories, and primary and secondary bibliographies. Because of the lasting influence of these thinkers, this book is an essential guide to the foundations of modern expression. Political speeches and persuasive writing are central to our modern democratic society and are carefully crafted to influence our thoughts and opinions. But what many people do not realize is that the theories behind such works are deeply rooted in the classical world. The great philosophers and statesmen of Greece and Rome formulated rules and strategies for effective argumentation, and their writings shaped the history of Western civilization for centuries. Because citizens of the modern world are exposed to so many attempts to influence their views, the theories of the ancient rhetoricians are as relevant today as in antiquity. This book is a guide to the lives and works of these influential classical figures. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and provides a biography, a discussion of the rhetorician's works, and primary and secondary bibliographies. While some of the figures are relatively minor, others are among the most important names from classical civilization. The volume gives special attention to the contributions of women to ancient rhetoric. An introductory essay sketches the rough outline of classical rhetoric and its influence, while a bibliographical essay identifies the most important general works for further reading.

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Michelle Ballif and Michael G. Moran Alcidamas by Neil O'Sullivan Anaximenes, Rhetorica ad Alexandrum by Sean Patrick O'Rourke Antiphon by Michael Gagarin Anonymous Seguerianus by Parker Luchte Apsines of Gadara by Sean Patrick O'Rourke Aristides, Aelius by Jeffrey Walker Aristotle by Janet Atwill Aspasia of Miletus by Kathleen Ethel Welch and Karen D. Jobe Attic Orators: Demosthenes, Aeschines, and Lysias by David Christopher Ryan Augustinus, Aurelius (Saint) by Roxanne Mountford Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus by Beth S. Bennett Chrysostom, John by Justin Killian and David M. Timmerman Cicero, Marcus Tullius by Richard Leo Enos Corax and Tisias by Wilfred E. Major Cornelia by D. Alexis Hart Demetrius of Phaleron by Lara O'Sullivan Demetrius, On Style by Scott G. Reed Dio (Chrysostom) Cocceianus by George Pullman Diogenes of Sinope by Victor J. Vitanza and D. Diane Davis Dionysius of Halicarnassus by Jeffrey Walker Diotima of Mantinea by C. Jan Swearingen Dissoi Logoi by Edward Schiappa Favorinus by Victor J. Vitanza Fronto, M. Cornelius by Gary Hatch Gorgias by John Poulakos Gregory of Nazianzus by Roxanne Mountford Heraclitus by John T. Kirby Hermagoras of Temnos by Beth S. Bennett Hermogenes of Tarsus by Janet B. Davis Herodes Atticus by Angela Mitchell Himerius by Charles Platter Hippias of Elis by Jane Sutton Homer by Patrick O'Sullivan Hortensia by D. Alexis Hart Hypatia by Elizabeth Ervin Socrates by Takis Poulakos Libanius by George Pullman "Longinus," On the Sublime by Hans Kellner Menander of Laodicea by Martin M. Jacobsen Pericles by David M. Timmerman Philodemus by Robert N. Gaines Philostratus by Jerry L. Miller and Raymie McKerrow Plato by Yun Lee Too Pliny the Younger by Joy Connolly Plutarch by Hans Kellner Polemo, Marcus Antonius by Grant Boswell Prodicus of Ceos by Neil O'Sullivan Progymnasmata by Christy Desmet Protagoras by Edward Schiappa Pythagorean Women by Ekaterina Haskins Quintilianus, Fabius by Joy Connolly Rhetorica ad Herennium by Richard Leo Enos Sappho by David M. Timmerman Seneca the Elder by Beth S. Bennett Seneca the Younger by Michael G. Moran Sextus Empiricus by Robert N. Gaines Socrates by Christopher Lyle Johnstone Tacitus, Cornelius by Eizabeth Ervin Theophrastus by Christy Desmet Thrasymachus by Patrick O'Sullivan Verginius Flavus by Daniel R. Frederick Bibliographic Essay by Michelle Ballif and Michael G. Moran

About the Author :
MICHELLE BALLIF is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Franklin College Writing Intensive Program at the University of Georgia. Her work has appeared in such journals as Rhetoric Review, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, and JAC, and she is the co-editor of Twentieth-Century Rhetoric and Rhetoricians (Greenwood, 2000). MICHAEL G. MORAN is Graduate Coordinator and Associate Professor of English at the University of Georgia. His many books include Research in Composition and Rhetoric (1984), Research in Technical Communication (1985), Research in Basic Writing (1990), Eighteenth-Century British and American Rhetorics and Rhetoricians (1994), and Twentieth-Century Rhetoric and Rhetoricians (2000), all available from Greenwood Press.

Review :
The current consensus among scholars is that rhetoric and its histories are culturally constructed rhetorical acts. This supposition has stimulated research that revises the history of rhetoric--history established by such venerable scholars as James Murphy and George Kennedy--into a more inclusive history of rhetorics. Although this book could not exist without the codified historical narrative it challenges by deemphasizing the universal in favor of the particular, clearly its time has come. Ballif and Moran provide an excellent and succinct introduction that surveys the current state of historical scholarship and establishes three goals: to encourage readers to think of rhetoric as including figures who challenge the established canon (the book includes nontraditional as well as traditional figures--women, poets, pre-Socratic philosophers, etc.); to reshuffle the deck of future influence by spotlighting less traditional figures; and to open readers' eyes to the contemporary application and significance of rhetoric….Although this volume will not displace the revised histories, it will supplement them and cannot be ignored. Essential. All collections; all levels. This handsomely bound volume of studies supplies a much-needed resource for teachers and students of classical rhetoric: concise stand-alone summaries of ancient Greek and Roman writers who wrote about the practiced art of rhetoric….[t]his overview is bound to supply teachers, students, and libraries with one of the most accessible, useful, and diverse treatments of its subject currently available.