As cultures have risen and fallen since ancient times, the significance, meaning, and practice of rhetoric has gone through a variety of transformations.
Rhetoric Emerges as a Discipline
The first formal discussions of the art of rhetoric in the Western tradition emerged in the fifth century B.C.E. in Greece, though more ancient texts of Chinese and Jewish origin as well the works of Homer indicate that there was an even earlier interest in speech making. The growing use of the courts to adjudicate disputes, such as those concerning property ownership, prompted by political changes in Sicily, led to the increasing use of oral public argument that was aimed to produce a decision that was favorable to an advocate. Some individuals began to observe that there were standard practices or lines of argument that were successful. Recognizing that people would pay to learn these strategies, these individuals began toteach the strategies that they had observed or used. News of these prescriptions for successful arguments was soon carried to Athens, where the emergence of increasingly democratic forms of government offered fertile ground for the development of the art of public oratory beyond the courtroom.
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