Abstract

EDWARDS, Michael J.. Oratorical Performance in Classical Athens. Acta poét [online]. 2012, vol.33, n.1, pp.87-115. ISSN 2448-735X.

The ancient Greek for "delivery", one of the five parts of rhetoric in developed rhetorical theory, was hypokrisis, which was also the word for 'acting', and there is no doubt that Athenian citizens, whether sitting as jurors in the Athenian dikasteries or deciding policy in meetings of the Assembly, expected those who were addressing them to put on an entertaining oral performance. Much has been written on the subject in recent times, and I try to take a different approach here, considering eleven possible indicators of how lawcourt speeches were performed. I base the discussion on the acronym "performance" and draw inferences from the texts themselves. The topics covered are the importance of the speech's opening (proem) for making the right impression on the jurors; how speakers in particularly difficult circumstances might use an alternative form of proem called an ephodos; the common use by speakers of rhetorical questions to align themselves with the hearers; the importance of a strong voice (phone) and what the implications were if the speaker did not possess one; the interconnected subjects of orality, stylistic rhythm and memory (mneme, another of the five parts of rhetoric); the trick of turning to address one's opponent in the second person (apostrophe) as a means of alienating him from the jurors; some aspects of narrative, which was a key element of forensic speeches; references to the water-clock (klepsydra) which timed speeches; and inally the importance of leaving a good impression on the jurors at the end of the speech (epilogos).

Keywords : performance; Attic Oratory; lawcourt speeches; classical rhetoric.

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