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Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen”

Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen”. Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen”. Written in approximately 414 B.C. “Encomium” as a a genre of oratory that praises the virtues of someone and their actions—in this case, the somewhat notorious Helen, whose virtue is generally considered questionable at best.

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Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen”

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  1. Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen”

  2. Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen” • Written in approximately 414 B.C. • “Encomium” as a a genre of oratory that praises the virtues of someone and their actions—in this case, the somewhat notorious Helen, whose virtue is generally considered questionable at best

  3. Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen” The beautiful Helen, wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta, was abducted by Paris, a prince of the city of Troy. To get her back, the Greeks united in a war against Troy that destroyed the city. Helen returned to Greece with Menelaus. These events supposedly took place 1000 B.C.

  4. Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen” “…I wish to free the accused of blame and, having reproved her detractors as prevaricators and proved the truth, to free her from their ignorance.”

  5. Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen” • There are four arguments condemning Helen in this treatise: what are they and how does Gorgias refute them?

  6. Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen” Now, let’s apply the Big Four: #1 How does Gorgiasdefine rhetoric?

  7. Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen” Now, let’s apply the Big Four: #2: What are the consequences of this definition for: • a) Creators of Texts (rhetors) • b) “Readers” of Texts (audiences) • c) Locations of Texts (situations)

  8. Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen” Now, let’s apply the Big Four: #3: What is the relationship between language and knowledge (epistemology) in this definition?

  9. Gorgia’s “Encomium of Helen” Now, let’s apply the Big Four: #4: How might this definition be applied (or not) to contemporary texts?

  10. Plato’s Gorgias January 19, 2012

  11. Plato’s Gorgias • Written in 380 B.C. • The central question in this dialogue is the value of rhetoric and underlying this central discussion is the question of the relation between rhetoric and knowledge

  12. Plato’s Gorgias Characters: Socrates Gorgias Polus Callicles Chaerephon

  13. Plato’s Gorgias • The “Appoaching Plato” guide I’ve shared with you provides us with a nice breakdown of this dialogue. Let’s go through that together, focusing on Socrates’ discussions with Gorgias, Polus and Callicles.

  14. Plato’s Gorgias Now, let’s apply the Big Four: #1 How does Plato define rhetoric?

  15. Plato’s Gorgias Now, let’s apply the Big Four: #2: What are the consequences of this definition for: • a) Creators of Texts (rhetors) • b) “Readers” of Texts (audiences) • c) Locations of Texts (situations)

  16. Plato’s Gorgias Now, let’s apply the Big Four: #3: What is the relationship between language and knowledge (epistemology) in this definition?

  17. Plato’s Gorgias Now, let’s apply the Big Four: #4: How might this definition be applied (or not) to contemporary texts?

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