Taming Democracy: Models of Political Rhetoric in Classical Athens

Description

How does one speak to a large, diverse mass of ordinary, sovereign citizens and persuade them to render wise decisions? For Thucydides, Plato, and Demosthenes, who observed classical Athenian democracy in action, this was an urgent question. Harvey Yunis looks at how these three—historian, philosopher, politician respectively—explored the instructive potential of political rhetoric as a means of "taming democracy," Plato's metaphor for controlling the fractious demos through language. Yunis offers new insights into the ideas of the three thinkers: Thucydides' bipolar model of Periclean versus demagogic rhetoric; Plato's engagement with political rhetoric in the Gorgias, the Phaedrus, and the Laws; and Demosthenes' attempt both to instruct and to persuade his political audience. Yunis illuminates both the concrete historical problem of political deliberation in Athens and the intellectual and literary responses that the problem evoked. Few, if any, other books on classical Athens afford such a combination of perspectives from history, drama, philosophy, and politics. Writing with unusual clarity and cogency, Yunis translates all texts and explains the relevant issues. His book can profitably be read by anyone concerned with the issues at the heart of classical and contemporary democracy. Cover Title Page, Copyright Page Contents Foreword Preface Abbreviations of Ancient Authors and Texts I: Athenian Intellectuals Examine Rhetoric and Democracy II: The Earliest Criticism of Democratic Deliberation III: Thucydides on Periclean Rhetoric and Political Instruction IV: Thucydides on the Rhetoric of the Successors V: The Premises of Plato's Argument on Political Rhetoric VI: Gorgias: The Collapse of Political Discourse VII: Phaedrus: Rhetoric Reinvented VIII: Laws: Rhetoric, Preambles, and Mass Political Instruction IX: Demosthenes: Discourse and Deliberation in Theory and Practice Postscript: Further Questions Appendix I: More of Plato's Preaching Preambles Appendix II: The Authenticity of Demosthenes' Collection of Demegoric Preambles Appendix III: Demosthenes, Preambles 28 (29), 33 (34), 34(35) Bibliography General Index Index of Important Passages