This book is a guide to the lives and works of these influential classical figures. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and provides a biography, a discussion of the rhetorician's works, and primary and secondary bibliographies.
The engaging political speeches and persuasive writing of today are carefully crafted instances of rhetoric. The governing theories behind contemporary speakers and writers are deeply rooted in the classical world, where such great thinkers as Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintillian formulated strategies for effective discourse. This book includes alphabetically arranged entries on some 60 leading rhetoricians of antiquity, with each entry providing biographical information, a discussion of the rhetorician's works and theories, and primary and secondary bibliographies. Because of the lasting influence of these thinkers, this book is an essential guide to the foundations of modern expression.