The Diversity and Significance of Ancient Rhetoric

In a world full of political communication yet anxious about its quality, a return to the ancient rhetorical principles for producing passionate and persuasive speeches provides a plausible solution. But is our understanding of ancient rhetoric correct? This article challenges the standard picture of the ancient Roman orator, provides a wider range of what ancient rhetoric means – from China to Egypt – and new ways to think about and engage with public speech and persuasive argument.