Dienstag, 06. Dezember 2016, 18:30 - 19:30 iCal

"The Triumph of Epideictic Eloquence"?

Towards a Reassessment of Byzantine Rhetoric

Univ. Ass. Dr. Alexander Riehle (Universität Wien)

Institut für Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik
Postgasse 7/1/3, 1010 Wien

Vortrag

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According to the almost unanimously accepted scholarly narrative about the fate of Greek rhetoric in post-classical times, the “art of persuasion” gradually lost its primary function to influence decision-making in the public sphere. This development is commonly associated with the rise of autocratic forms of government and the professionalization of law in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. As a consequence, forensic and deliberative oratory virtually vanished and only epideictic rhetoric survived, usually in the form of the “ceremonial eulogy” that flattered the mighty. However, late antique and Byzantine rhetorical theory and education were still to a large extent concerned with aspects of rhetoric that were relevant in judicial and deliberative settings (particularly, stasis theory).

This lecture addresses this seeming imbalance between rhetorical theory and practice, arguing that traditional means of persuasion assumed new functions within changing socio-political contexts. For this purpose a wide array of texts, both secular and religious, will be surveyed.

Zur Webseite der Veranstaltung

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Veranstalter

Institut für Byzantinstik und Neogräzistik, Österreichische Byzantinische Gesellschaft

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Kontakt

Petra Greger
Institut für Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik
Historisch-Kulturwissenschaftliche Fakultät
4277 41001
petra.greger@univie.ac.at

Erstellt am Montag, 28. November 2016, 10:07
Letzte Änderung am Montag, 28. November 2016, 15:40