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5 - Rhetorical History

Speeches in Thucydides

from Part I - Context and Method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2023

Polly Low
Affiliation:
University of Durham
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Summary

This chapter investigates the function of speeches in Thucydides’ work. It shows how speeches are used to advance the action of the story (using the examples of Brasidas’ speeches in Book 4 to illustrate this) and how they play on the expectations and assumptions of Thucydides’ rhetorically aware audience. The function of messengers is also discussed, along with the ‘soundscape’ evoked by less formal speech. Finally, the long-standing debate about of the composition and selection of the speeches is addressed, along with the question of how the speeches (and what Thucydides claims for his speeches) bear on the wider problem of the purpose of the work.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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