Considered himself a philosopher, not an orator or rhetorician. Although
he was a poor speaker himself, he began his career as a logographer, writing
speeches for others. He ceased this practice in about 390 and turned to writing
and teaching. In several long essays he set forth
his political views, which favored accommodation with Philip and a panhellenic
unity, and his theory of education based on a broad concept of rhetoric. His
school attracted pupils from the entire Greek
world and became the main rival of Plato's celebrated Academy. Although Plato
is better known and more highly regarded today, Isocrates
had a much greater influence than his rival during the Hellenistic
and Roman
periods and down into modern times, for until the eighteenth century education
in most European schools was based on his principles.
Isocrates
came from a wealthy Athenian family. His interest in philosophical issues led
him to study with the sophistsProdicus
and Gorgias,
and also to associate with Socrates.
In Plato's Phaedrus
(Plat.
Phaedrus 279a) Socrates
prophecies (perhaps ironically) a bright future for him. During the Peloponnesian
War his father lost most of his property, and so after the democracy was
restored, Isocrates
turned to logography from financial need. Six speeches for a variety of private
cases survive from this period, and Isocrates
probably wrote many more. Later he scorned the profession of logographer and
sought to disavow this period of his past.
After a decade or so as a logographer, Isocrates
abandoned that career and founded a school, first in Chios
and then in Athens
(in c. 388 BC), to train young men in the true practice of rhetoric. The
earliest work proclaiming this new educational undertaking is probably the
fragmentary Against
the Sophists (c. 390), in which he attacks other teachers of rhetoric
and seeks to distance himself from them on the grounds that they teach only
rhetoric. His education, on the other hand, combines teaching of rhetoric with
ethics and politics, thereby preparing his pupils more fully for their future
lives. The school was very successful. Although only six students were enrolled
at any one time, they included young men from some of the best known families
all over the Greek
world, and they were willing to pay a high fee for tuition. Among the students
were political leaders, historians and other writers, foreign nobility, and
orators, including Isaeus,
Lycurgus
and Hyperides.
(Demosthenes,
it is said, could not afford the tuition fee.)
The fame of Isocrates
and of his school was spread especially by the publication of several long
essays expounding his views on political, philosophical and educational issues.
To mention just a few of these: Panegyricus
(c. 380), which he spent about ten years composing, is Isocrates'
earliest call for Hellenic unity under the spiritual and political leadership of
Athens;
in Areopagiticus
and On
the Peace (both c. 355 BC), he advocates a policy of peace abroad and
political reform at home; and in Panathenaicus
(339), completed as he lay ill and near death, and especially in his longest
essay Antidosis
(354), Isocrates
sets forth
his views on broad philosophical and educational issues, as well as on political
matter, all within the context of defending himself and his career and attacking
the views and practices of his opponents. In his ninety-eighth year (338) he
starved himself to death.
Isocrates
considered himself a teacher of philosophia but his concept of
"philosophy" differed considerably from Plato's and resembled rather
what we call "practical" or "applied philosophy" (as when
philosophy professors today teach courses in "business ethics" or
"contemporary moral issues"- usually abortion and the like).
Philosophy, for Isocrates,
helped people understand political and ethical issues more clearly, while
rhetoric helped them express their views clearly and persuasively to others. Isocrates
was not interested in the abstract metaphysics and his moral views were less
rigorously absolute than Plato's; moreover, a degree of relativism underlies his
belief that rhetoric should concern itself with what is appropriate (prepon) and
comes at the right time (kairos). But like PlatoIsocrates
attacks "sophists" (whom he sees as rivals) for having no moral
values, and he affirms his own belief in rather traditional moral values,
arguing that it is the job of rhetoric to express these. Novelty is important in
the expression of one's views but not in the views themselves.
Style
Isocrates
is also known for a characteristic style involving long complex periodic
sentences full of balanced, often antithetical subordinate clauses, reinforced
by Gorgianic types of assonance. The effect of individual sentences is striking,
and their underlying structures can profitably be analyzed, and indeed have been
analyzed by generations of students of Greek
prose style. The effect of this style over dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of
pages is considerably less pleasing. Unlike Demosthenes,
he does not have the ability to mix different styles and he is thus best read in
small doses.
Significance
As noted above, Isocrates'
significance lies primarily in his influence on later generations, who for
centuries were guided by his model of education grounded in rhetoric. Since this
model has little influence today, Isocrates
is little read, but for the historian of rhetoric or especially of education, he
cannot be ignored.
Isocrates
... of rhetoric. Isocrates' Life. Isocrates led ... inflicted
starvation (Isocrates, 1993). Isocrates' Ideas. ...
The
Internet Classics Archive | Works by Isocrates
... Works by Isocrates Aegineticus Translated by George Norlin From the Perseus
Project
Read discussion: No comments Antidosis Translated by George Norlin From the ...
The
Ecole Glossary
... Isocrates. Isocrates (436-338 BCE) founded a school in Athens sometime
around 393
BCE that differed greatly from the already established and respected Platonic
...
Isocrates
Texts
an About site, ... Do you like our sites? Wish to share them with
others - and earn money? Become an Affiliate. Isocrates. ...
Isocrates
Isocrates. 10/17/00. Click here to start. Table of Contents. Isocrates.
Isocrates.
Isocrates. Isocrates. Isocrates. Isocrates. Isocrates. Isocrates. Isocrates. ...
Encyclopedia.com
- Results for Isocrates
... Electric Library's Free Encyclopedia Isocrates 436-338 BC, Greek orator,
pupil of
SOCRATES. A great teacher, he taught every young orator of his time. His most
...
Description: (Encyclopedia.com)
Isocrates
ISOCRATES (436 - 338 BC). He was slightly older than
Plato and lived and wrote in the ...
The San
Antonio College LitWeb Isocrates Page
The Isocrates Page ( 436-338 BC ) Surviving Works George Norlin and La Rue Van
Hook have translated the surviving works in Isocrates, Volumes I-III. Harvard
...
ISOCRATES
Communication and Theatre Arts. At Cumberland College. Some Thoughts
on the Power of Communication. by Isocrates (436 - 338 BC). ...
JAC Online: 13.1
... JAC 13.1 (1993). Guest Editor: Thomas Kent Isocrates and the Epistemic
Return:
Individual and Community in Classical and Modern Rhetoric. Frank D. Walters. ...
Mirhady and Too:
Isocrates I
... Isocrates I. Translated by David C. Mirhady and Yun Lee Too. This is the
fourth
volume in the Oratory of Classical Greece series. Planned for publication over
...
Isocrates
- Britannica.com
ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA. Isocrates b. 436 BC, Athens
d. 338, Athens. ancient Athenian orator ...
Isocrates
... Isocrates was born in 436 in the deme Erchia. . .
. . WORK IN PROGRESS - PLEASE BE PATIENT . . . ...
Isocrates
Isocrates. Orationes. 1618. The rhetorician Isocrates
(436-388 BC) advocated an approach ...
Person
of the Day: 2000-04-06
... Isocrates [iy-SO-kruh-teez]. Among the great orators, teachers, and
philosophers
of Greece during the fourth century BC, Isocrates stood out as a primary figure
...
Isocrates
Isocrates Address to Philip (346 BCE) Excerpts from the Original Electronic
Text at the web site of the Perseus Project. ...
Untitled
ISOCRATES AND RHETORICAL EDUCATION IN GREECE. More
on Isocrates from Perseus Project. Born, 436 BC ...
Research Links
Virtualology is
not affiliated with the authors of these links nor responsible for each
Link's content.
Isocrates
... of rhetoric. Isocrates' Life. Isocrates led ... inflicted
starvation (Isocrates, 1993). Isocrates' Ideas. ...
The
Internet Classics Archive | Works by Isocrates
... Works by Isocrates Aegineticus Translated by George Norlin From the Perseus
Project
Read discussion: No comments Antidosis Translated by George Norlin From the ...
Encyclopedia.com
- Results for Isocrates
... Electric Library's Free Encyclopedia Isocrates 436-338 BC, Greek orator,
pupil of
SOCRATES. A great teacher, he taught every young orator of his time. His most
...
Isocrates
- Britannica.com
ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA. Isocrates b. 436 BC, Athens
d. 338, Athens. ancient Athenian orator ...
Isocrates
... Isocrates was born in 436 in the deme Erchia. . .
. . WORK IN PROGRESS - PLEASE BE PATIENT . . . ...
Isocrates
Isocrates. 10/17/00. Click here to start. Table of Contents. Isocrates.
Isocrates.
Isocrates. Isocrates. Isocrates. Isocrates. Isocrates. Isocrates. Isocrates. ...
Isocrates
Isocrates (436-338 BCE). To Demonicus; To Nicocles;
Nicocles or the Cyprians; Panegyricus; ...
Isocrates
Texts
an About site, ... Do you like our sites? Wish to share them with others - and
earn
money? Become an Affiliate. Got a question? Ask an Expert. Isocrates. ...
The San
Antonio College LitWeb Isocrates Page
The Isocrates Page ( 436-338 BC ) Surviving Works George Norlin and La Rue Van
Hook have translated the surviving works in Isocrates, Volumes I-III. Harvard
...
ISOCRATES
Communication and Theatre Arts. At Cumberland College. Some Thoughts
on the Power of Communication. by Isocrates (436 - 338 BC). ...
Isocrates
Isocrates - Bibliography Benoit, W. "Isocrates and Aristotle
on Rhetoric", RSQ 20 (1990) 251-60. ...
Isocrates
... Isocrates. 436-338 BCE ... Among Isocrates's texts, the ones that would
prove most interesting
for our study of the Phaedrus and its cultural contexts would be: ...
Exploring:
ISOCRATES
CIOS home page. Concepts related to: ISOCRATES in the scholarly
literature. Click on a related ...
isocrates
Cultural Rhetorics Figures. Isocrates. [436--338 bc]. RHETORICAL
PERIOD: classical. IMPORTANCE TO THE HISTORY OF RHETORIC: ...
Isocrates
Isocrates. Orationes. 1618. The rhetorician Isocrates
(436-388 BC) advocated an approach ...
Isocrates
... Topic: Isocrates We think you'll really dig what you find! Just click on
search
for information on: Isocrates Search the Net. LinkExchange Member.
