Gorgias

Although there are various definitions of the word "rhetoric," we can say that it is the art of persuasion. This includes written as well as spoken persuasion, and would include propaganda, advertising, etc. Originally, however, it referred to spoken persuasion. By "classical" it is meant the time from the fifth century B.C. in the Mediterranean area, particularly Greece and Italy. Classical rhetoric is important because it established the basic theories of persuasion that were …

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