1. Study of the Liberal Arts began with the ancient Greeks.  The original liberal arts included Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic as well as arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy. 
2. The study of rhetoric by the Greeks represents the beginning of the field of Communication.  Rhetoric for the Greeks meant "persuasion" but in more modern terms means "effective communication."
3. The most well developed ideas about rhetoric originated in Athens between 500 and 300 BCE.  This is not surprising because the city of Athens was one of the earliest democracies in the world.  The ability to speak and persuade became very important there.
   1. In Athens, citizens elected their leaders and made political decisions by direct vote in assemblies.  All citizens were able to participate (but only free males were considered citizens. Those who were able to influence others through effective speaking were able to exert power and influence the policies of the city.
   2. While Athens had courts, there were no lawyers.  Both accusers and defendants had to speak for themselves in order to attempt to sway a jury (of 500 citizens).

  Speech and Education in Greece and Rome:
       The Sophists - itinerant teachers of speech in ancient Greece

1. Gorgias - believed that the relationship between speaker and audience is linear and one way. Adiences are passive and speakers "fill them up" with knowledge and moves them to action.  Gorgias focused his teaching on use of powerful words and emotions, effective phrases.
2. Protagoras - believed that anything can be argued.  He taught that it is important to know both (all) sides of any issue and to prepare to argue any side as a way to discover which view is most accurate or in our best interest.

          The Formal Schools

1. Isocrates - operated a rigorous school that emphasized speech and rhetoric.  He taught that it is impossible for anyone to know what is good and right in every situation. Therefore, he argued that we must use our judgment to find what is probably best.  Thus, speakers must be ethical and broadly knowledgeable. He emphasized both style and content in speaking but did not teach specific rules or procedures.  Rather, he thought extensive practice and constant involvement in the affairs of the community produced the best results.  He is remembered for focusingon kairos, meeting the needs of the occasion.
2. Plato - a student of Socrates, is one of the great philosophers of the western world.  He did not, however, agree with the sophists and feared that rhetoric could be used to deceive and distort the truth.  Plato believed that the way to the "good life" was through the study of philosophy and a dialectic search for the truth.  Only when the truth was discovered should leaders engage in rhetoric.  Thus, Plato favored a government of philosopher-kings over democracy.
3. Aristotle -  a student of Plato (and teacher of Alexander the Great).  He wrote a book called Rhetoric, as well as a number of other works on such topics as ethics, logic and science.  Aristotle thought that rhetoric and the "marketplace of ideas" allowed for truth and justice to (eventually) prevail.  He also saw rehtoric as functioning in teaching, in analyzing an issue (decision-making), and in defending oneself.   Aristotle concluded that there are three primary forms of "artistic proof" used by persuaders:  ethos (character and credibility), pathos (emotion) and logos (logic).  Inartistic proofs involved the qualities of evidence used to prove assertions.  

Cicero (Roman) and the Five Canons of Rhetoric

1. Invention - discovering the best arguments for your position.
2. Arrangement - determining the most effective organizational pattern for the points you will make.
3. Style - choosing the best words and phrasing, level of formality.
4. Delivery - the manner of physically and vocally presenting the speech.
5. Memory - the ability to speak without notes recalling important facts and arguments.

Quintilian (Roman) saw a strong relationship between rhetoric and civic engagement.  For him the purposes of rhetoric included:  defending the truth, protecting the innocent, preventing criminal behavior, inspiring the military, and inspiring the public.