Demonstrates the central significance of rhetoric in ancient responses to and receptions of Roman art.

"Rhetoric was fundamental to education and to cultural aspiration in the Greek and Roman worlds. It was one of the key aspects of antiquity that slipped under the line between the ancient world and Christianity erected by the early Church in late antiquity. Ancient rhetorical theory is obsessed with examples and discussions drawn from visual material. This book mines this rich seam of theoretical analysis from within Roman culture to present an internalist model for some aspects of how the Romans understood, made and appreciated their art. The understanding of public monuments like the Arch of Titus or Trajan's Column or of imperial statuary, domestic wall painting, funerary altars and sarcophagi, as well as of intimate items like children's dolls, is greatly enriched by being placed in relevant rhetorical contexts created by the Roman world"--

Recipient of the Charles J. Goodwin Award of Merit from the American Philological Association in 1975. The Goodwin Award is the only honor for scholarly achievement given by the Association. It is presented at the Annual Meeting for an outstanding contribution to classical scholarship published by a member of the association within a period of three years before the ending of the preceding calendar year. ""A remarkable and valuable achievement, balanced in judgment and attractively presented."" Journal of Roman Studies, ""This book is a reissue of the important 1972 work on the development of Greek and Latin oratory and rhetorical theory... Many students of the classics, and people interested in later European literatures as well, will find themselves turning to it again and again."" The Times Literary Supplement George A. Kennedy is Paddison Professor of Classics, Emeritus, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an elected Member of the American Philosophical Society, and Fellow of the Rhetoric Society of America. Under Presidents Carter and Reagan Dr. Kennedy served as member of the National Humanities Council. He was earlier President of the American Philological Association and of the International Society for the History of Rhetoric. He is author of 15 books, including Classical Rhetoric and its Christian and Secular Tradition from Ancient to Modern Times, New Testament Interpretation through Rhetorical Criticism, Comparative Rhetoric: An Historical and Cross-Cultural Introduction, Aristotle On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse, and Progymnasmata: Greek Textbooks of Prose Composition, as well as numerous articles and translations into English from Greek, Latin, and French.

This is a collection of specially commissioned essays exploring the interface between words and images in the Roman world.

Greek and Roman traditions dominate classical rhetoric. Conventional historical accounts characterize Roman rhetoric as an appropriation and modification of Greek rhetoric, particularly the rhetoric that flourished in fifth and fourth centuries BCE Athens. However, the origins, nature and endurance of this Greco-Roman relationship have not been thoroughly explained. Roman Rhetoric: Revolution and the Greek Influence reveals that while Romans did benefit from Athenian rhetoric, their own rhetoric was also influenced by later Greek and non-Hellenic cultures, particularly the Etruscan civilization that held hegemony over all of Italy for hundreds of years before Rome came to power.

Political image-making—especially from the Age of Augustus, when the Roman Republic evolved into a system capable of governing a vast, culturally diverse empire—is the focus of this masterful study of Roman culture. Distinguished art historian and classical archaeologist John Pollini explores how various artistic and ideological symbols of religion and power, based on Roman Republican values and traditions, were taken over or refashioned to convey new ideological content in the constantly changing political world of imperial Rome. Religion, civic life, and politics went hand in hand and formed the very fabric of ancient Roman society. Visual rhetoric was a most effective way to communicate and commemorate the ideals, virtues, and political programs of the leaders of the Roman State in an empire where few people could read and many different languages were spoken. Public memorialization could keep Roman leaders and their achievements before the eyes of the populace, in Rome and in cities under Roman sway. A leader’s success demonstrated that he had the favor of the gods—a form of legitimation crucial for sustaining the Roman Principate, or government by a “First Citizen.” Pollini examines works and traditions ranging from coins to statues and reliefs. He considers the realistic tradition of sculptural portraiture and the ways Roman leaders from the late Republic through the Imperial period were represented in relation to the divine. In comparing visual and verbal expression, he likens sculptural imagery to the structure, syntax, and diction of the Latin language and to ancient rhetorical figures of speech. Throughout the book, Pollini’s vast knowledge of ancient history, religion, literature, and politics extends his analysis far beyond visual culture to every aspect of ancient Roman civilization, including the empire’s ultimate conversion to Christianity. Readers will gain a thorough understanding of the relationship between artistic developments and political change in ancient Rome.

The present volume is part of a general renaissance in the study of rhetoric and bears testimony to a discipline undergoing rapid and exciting change. It draws together established and newer scholars in the field to produce a probing and innovative analysis of the role played by rhetoric in Roman culture. Utilizing a variety of critical approaches and methodologies, these scholars examine not only the role of rhetoric in Roman society but also the relationship between rhetoric and Rome's major literary genres. In addition to demonstrating rhetoric's critical significance for Roman culture, the studies reveal the important role played by rhetoric in the formation of the various genres of literature.

Presents a coherent model for understanding historical examples in Ancient Rome and their rhetorical, moral and historiographical functions.

A Companion to Roman Rhetoric introduces the reader to the wide-ranging importance of rhetoric in Roman culture. A guide to Roman rhetoric from its origins to the Renaissance and beyond Comprises 32 original essays by leading international scholars Explores major figures Cicero and Quintilian in-depth Covers a broad range of topics such as rhetoric and politics, gender, status, self-identity, education, and literature Provides suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter Includes a glossary of technical terms and an index of proper names and rhetorical concepts