The Rhetoric of Conspiracy in Ancient Athens PDF
Preview The Rhetoric of Conspiracy in Ancient Athens
THE RHETORIC OF CONS RACY PI ANCIENT ATHENm'. S JOSEPH ROISMAN ^^ The Attic orators, whose works are an invaluable source on the social and political history ofclassi- cal Athens, often filled their speecheswith charges ofconspiracy involvingalmost every facetofAthen- ian life. There are allegations ofplots against men's lives, property, careers, and reputations, as well as charges ofconspiracy against the public interest, the government, the management offoreign affairs, and more. Until now, this obsession with conspir- acy has received little scholarly attention. To de- velop the first full picture ofthis important feature ofAthenian discourse, Joseph Roisman examines the range and nature ofthe conspiracy charges. He asks why theywere so popular and considers their rhetorical, cultural, and psychological significance. He also investigates the historical likelihood ofthe scenarios advanced in these plots and asks what their prevalence suggests about the Athenians and theirworldview. He concludes bycomparingancient and modern conspiracytheories. In addition to shed- ding new light on Athenian history and culture, his study provides an invaluable perspective on the use ofconspiracy as a rhetorical ploy. Ah,- Digitized by the Internet Archive 2012 in http://archive.org/details/rhetoricofconspiOOrois Tlic J();in Pale\sk\ Imprint in Classical Literature In lionor ofbcloxed Virgil *0 degli altri poeti onore e lume Dante, Inferno The publishergratefully acknowledges the generous contribution to this book provided bythe Classical Literature Endowment Fund ofthe University ofCalifornia Press Foundation, which is supported by a majorgift fromJoan Palevsky. The Rhetoric of Conspiracy in Ancient Athens The Rhetoric of Conspiracy in Ancient Athens Joseph Roisman [? UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley • LosAngeles • London —— UniversityofCaliforniaPress,oneofthemostdistin- guisheduniversitypressesintheUnitedStates,enriches Hvesaroundtheworldbyadvancingscholarshipinthe humanities,socialsciences,andnaturalsciences.Itsac- tivitiesaresupportedbytheUCPressFoundationand byphilanthropiccontributionsfromindividualsandin- stitutions. Formoreinformation,visit www.ucpress.edu. UniversityofCaliforniaPress BerkeleyandLosAngeles,California UniversityofCaliforniaPress,Ltd. London,England ©2006byTheRegentsoftheUniversityofCalifornia LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Roisman,Joseph, 1946-. TherhetoricofconspiracyinancientAthens/Joseph Roisman. p. cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN-13,978-0-520-24787-1 (cloth,alk.paper); ISBN-10,0-520-24787-6(cloth,alk.—paper) I. Speeches,addresses—,etc.,Gr—eek His—toryandcrit- icism. 2. Conspiracies— Greece Athens— History To 1500. 3.Rhetoric Politicala—spects —Greece Athens. 4. Politic—sandliterature Greece Athens. 5.Athens(Greece) Politicsandgovernment. 6. Con- spiraciesinliterature. 7. Rhetoric,Ancient. 8.Ora- tory,Ancient. I.Title. PA3264.R65 2006 — 885'.0109358 dc22 2005029593 Manufactured intheUnitedStatesofAmerica 113 01298II7160 509408 3027 106 05 ThisbookisprintedonNaturesBook,containing 50% post-consumerwasteandmeetstheminimumrequire- mentsofansi/nisoZ39.48-1992(r 1997) (Permanence ofPaper).
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