Rhetoric was a major factor in the development and maintenance of the Athenian government and was used by many in order to gain power and ascend in politics. The ascendance of the great demagogues in Athens during the time of the Peloponnesian war was heavily influenced by their rhetoric and ability to effectively guide the Athenian democracy. The democratic government was composed of two groups: “public speakers […], those who made proposals and publicly argued for or against political projects, and demos, those who as a group decided on the proposals” (Yunis, 1991: 179). With this idea of democracy instilled in Athens, speakers were given an opportunity to present themselves and their proposals in a manner that they anticipated to be the most persuasive in support of their own argument. The goal of the public speakers was to persuade or instruct the demos to carry out the action that the speaker had just argued, but success relied heavily on the speaker’s ability to manipulate and guide the audience. Yunis (1991: 1) suggests that there were two types of political rhetoric, instructional rhetoric and rhetoric that disapproves of instruction, and that there is a distinct difference between the two. Pericles used instructional rhetoric to persuade the demos to respond logically, rendering the demos “capable of autonomous, conscientious decision-making” (Yunis 1991:2). Cleon’s rhetoric, however, was created to appeal to the majority of the demos who he assumed were already intelligent enough to see his reason, allowing them to make decisions that would not necessarily be responsible or in his favour. Thucydides’ account of the two different types of political rhetoric emphasizes the use of rhetoric as fundamental in the Athenian dem...
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...e most responsible decision and proves that the results of Cleon’s style of rhetoric does not always render the best results. It is essentially Cleon’s ability to clearly see the entirety of Athens’ power and the choices, guided by nomos or phusis, necessary to maintain their supremacy that allows him to ascend as a demagogue among The People and become one of the most influential voices in Athens.
Works Cited
Andrews, J.A. 2000. “Cleon’s Hidden Appeals (Thuc. 3.37-40)” Classical Quarterly
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Ober, J. 2012. “Thucydides and the Invention of Political Science” in Rengakos, A. and A. Tsamakis (edd.) Brill's Companion to Thucydides
The Landmark Thucydides, edited by R.B. Strassler. Pantheon Books: New York, 1996.
Yunis, H. 1991. “How do The People Decide? Thucydides on Periclean Rhetoric and Civic Instruction” American Journal of Philology 112” 179-200.
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declares that he will improve the city (she) by his rulings. Creon describes how his
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Evolution of Democracy and the Athenian Constitution. Democracy is defined in modern times as government by the people. To put that in perspective and better understand all that democracy. entails we must consider its origins.
In a society that was greatly renowned for democracy, Creon had effectively turned it into tyranny.... ... middle of paper ... ... Therefore, he should have room for more than one opinion.
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