Gorgias

E amazed the Athenians, quick-witted and fond of oratory as they were, by the strangeness of his language, by the extraordinary antitheses, isocola, parisa, homoeoteleuta, and other figures of the same kind, which at the time from the novelty of their style were deemed worthy of adoption." 1 So wrote Diodorus about the reception given in 427 B. C. to Gorgias of Leontinum, the head of an embassy which was imploring aid against the Syracusans.He was another of those Sicilian rhetoricians who was destined to make a powerful impression on his contemporaries and to influence future generations.Corax, a fellow countryman, had laid the foundations of rhetoric, resting it upon proper arrangement and upon persuasion by probability. 2Protagoras was unfolding the importance of debate, showing that every question has two sides, and that truth was a matter for each individual to decide. 3Now came Gorgias, gifted with the ability to weave words into artistic form, to create a style in prose.Charmed by his reception at Athens, he began to make the round of the cities, teaching young men and giving exhibitions of his skill in the arts of speech. 4His efforts were successful, for they gained 1 Diodorus Siculus, XII, 53.Plato, Hipp.Maj., 282. 2 Q.J. S. Ed., January, 1921."Corax and Probability." 3 Q

Aesthetics · Art · Literature · Style (visual arts) · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Psychology · Social Psychology

• The styles of Gorgias

  SCOTT CONSIGNY•Rhetoric Society Quarterly•1992

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• The epistemology of Gorgias’ rhetoric

  Richard Leo Enos•Southern Speech Communication…•1976

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• Gorgias on arrangement

  Mark A Smeltzer•Southern Speech Journal•1996

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• Communicating in classical contexts

  Christopher Lyle Johnstone•Quarterly Journal of Speech•2001

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• Corax and probability

  Bromley Smith•Quarterly Journal of Speech•1921

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