The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Rhetoric

Rhetoric thoroughly infused the world and literature ofGraeco-Roman antiquity. This Companion provides a comprehensiveoverview of rhetorical theory and practice in that world, fromHomer to early Christianity, accessible to students andnon-specialists, whether within classics or from other periods anddisciplines. Its basic premise is that rhetoric is less a discreteobject to be grasped and mastered than a hotly contested set ofpractices that include disputes over the very definition ofrhetoric itself. Standard treatments of ancient oratory tend totake it too much in its own terms and to isolate it unduly fromother social and cultural concerns. This volume provides anoverview of the shape and scope of the problems while alsoidentifying core themes and propositions: for example, persuasion,virtue, and public life are virtual constants. But they mix andmingle differently, and the contents designated by each of theseterms can also shift.