A History of Oratory: From Ancient Greece to the Imperial Age
Oratory: A Historical Overview
Ancient Greece
Oratory, the art of public speaking, emerged in the democratic city-states of ancient Greece. Sophists like Protagoras and Gorgias developed theories about persuasive speaking techniques, and schools of rhetoric flourished, spreading throughout Greece.
Ancient Rome
Roman nobility embraced Greek rhetoric with enthusiasm, while some conservatives viewed it as a tool for the common people. A decree even expelled rhetoricians from Rome for a time, but they later returned, and rhetoric became integrated into the education of young nobles.
Three important types of Greek rhetoric influenced Roman oratory: judicial (courtroom speeches), deliberative (political speeches), and demonstrative (speeches of praise).
Oratory was divided into five parts: inventio (finding valid ideas to support a cause), ordo (organizing ideas effectively), elocutio (using appropriate language and phrasing), memoria (memorizing the speech), and pronuntiatio (delivering the speech).
Roman discourse typically consisted of four parts: exordium (introduction to gain the audience’s attention), narratio (explanation of the facts), argumentatio (presentation of evidence), and epilogus (conclusion to influence the audience’s feelings).
Roman Oratory Before Cicero
The Roman forum was the center of public speaking. Important locations included the comitium (where legislative assemblies were held) and the rostra (the speaker’s platform). Funeral orations (laudationes) for prominent citizens were common. Notable orators included Appius Claudius Caecus.
Cicero and the Golden Age of Roman Oratory
Marcus Tullius Cicero, educated in both Rome and Greece, lived during a turbulent period in Roman history, marked by the Spartacus rebellion and the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. Cicero sided with Pompey and later retreated to philosophical pursuits. After Caesar’s assassination, Cicero delivered his famous Philippics against Mark Antony, which ultimately led to his own assassination.
Cicero’s oratory is preserved in his speeches and rhetorical works. His judicial speeches include Pro Caelio (defending a friend accused of poisoning) and Pro Milone (defending a man who had killed Clodius). His political speeches include the Catiline Orations (against the conspirator Catiline) and the Philippics.
Cicero’s major rhetorical works are De Oratore (On the Orator), Brutus (a history of Roman eloquence), and Orator. He believed the ideal orator should possess a deep cultural understanding, natural talent, and knowledge of rhetorical techniques.
Cicero’s style evolved through three phases: Asianism (ornate language), a mature style (balanced and moderate), and Atticism (simple and clear).
Oratory in the Imperial Age
With the decline of political freedom, public oratory shifted from the political arena to rhetorical schools. Panegyrics, speeches praising emperors, became common. Seneca the Elder and Quintilian are notable figures from this period.
Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria focuses on the education of the orator. Tacitus’s Dialogus de Oratoribus discusses the decline of oratory.
Later Developments
In later centuries, Christian writers like Augustine, Ambrose, and Tertullian contributed to the evolution of oratory. The legacy of Roman oratory continued to influence public speaking throughout the Middle Ages and beyond.