The Rhetoric Beyond the Canon: The theory
of Menander of Laodicea and the Byzantine
Epideictic Eloquence Cover Image
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Реториката отвъд канона: Епидейктичната теория на Менандър от Лаодикея и византийското тържествено красноречие
The Rhetoric Beyond the Canon: The theory of Menander of Laodicea and the Byzantine Epideictic Eloquence

Author(s): Gerasim Petrinski
Subject(s): History of Philosophy
Published by: Издателство »Изток-Запад«
Keywords: rhetoric; Late Antiquity; Byzantium; epideictic eloquence; Menander

Summary/Abstract: The Byzantine eloquence is based on a strong foundation.This foundation is usually called, in spite of the absence of such a term in medieval texts, „The Canon”. This corpus of 5basic treatises, written by or ascribed to Hermogenes of Tarsusand Aphthonius of Antiochia, is prepared in the late 5th centurymostly for educational purposes in the „trivium” (grammar, rhetoric and dialectics). Nevertheless, the Hermogenian corpus doesnot include any specific directions for composing real epideictic speeches and is constantly considered insufficient in the higher educational schools of Athens and Antiochia. For this purpose teachers of rhetoric make use of another handbook written by anonymous author in the early 4th century A.D. This text is entitled„Περὶἐπιδεικτικῶν” and is ascribed to the famous rhetorician Menander of Laodicea. The aim of this paper is to present the classification of laudatory eloquence given by Pseudo-Menander,the main topoi, and the philosophical ideals of vir bonus dicendiperitus behind them.

  • Issue Year: 2017
  • Issue No: 23
  • Page Range: 29-61
  • Page Count: 33
  • Language: Bulgarian