Plato’s Menexenus
A Paradigm of Rhetorical Flattery
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6108061 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thomas Michael Kerch (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 94-114 |
| Publication date | 2008-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Polis The Journal for Ancient Greek and Roman Political Thought (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0142-257X • E-ISSN: 2051-2996 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/20512996-90000127 |
| OpenAlex | W2019205888 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
The arguments advanced in this paper suggest that the Menexenus ought to be read as a pendent to the Gorgias and as an example of the way in which rhetoric that engages in flattery can harm the souls of its audience. The Menexenus was composed by Plato to illustrate precisely what sentiments ought to be avoided in public oratory, if the primary concern of speech-making is to benefit the lives of citizens. In addition to demonstrating the connections between the Menexenus and Gorgias, a portion of the paper examines the relation between Plato and Thucydides, arguing that there is perhaps more of an affinity between Plato and Thucydides than has previously been acknowledged. Pericles’ Funeral Oration and the speech in the Menexenus suggest that both Thucydides and Plato were deeply concerned with the negative effects of oratory on the political community
Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Flattery · Harm · Linguistics · Literature · Political science · Politics · Relation (database · Rhetoric · Rhetorical device · Rhetorical question · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Computer Science · Law · Philosophy · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.22 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2018 (2) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |