Greek and Roman traditions dominate classical rhetoric. Conventional historical accounts characterize Roman rhetoric as an appropriation and modification of Greek rhetoric, particularly the rhetoric that flourished in fifth and fourth centuries BCE Athens. However, the origins, nature and endurance of this Greco-Roman relationship have not been thoroughly explained. Roman Rhetoric: Revolution and the Greek Influence reveals that while Romans did benefit from Athenian rhetoric, their own rhetoric was also influenced by later Greek and non-Hellenic cultures, particularly the Etruscan civilization that held hegemony over all of Italy for hundreds of years before Rome came to power.

A Companion to Roman Rhetoric introduces the reader to the wide-ranging importance of rhetoric in Roman culture. A guide to Roman rhetoric from its origins to the Renaissance and beyond Comprises 32 original essays by leading international scholars Explores major figures Cicero and Quintilian in-depth Covers a broad range of topics such as rhetoric and politics, gender, status, self-identity, education, and literature Provides suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter Includes a glossary of technical terms and an index of proper names and rhetorical concepts

Rhetoric and Centers of Power in the Greco-Roman World: From Homer to the Fall of Rome traces Greco-Roman rhetoric as it evolved into a system that dramatically influences the development of Western culture. Christian and later European educational and philosophical writers drew from principles which were largely Greek in origin, although the Church encompassed many rituals that originated from early Roman pagan religions. The Greeks fashioned a theory of public expression out of the oral recitations of Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey that Romans later refined into a technical process with managerial implications. The rhetorical and historical scope of this work is roughly defined by the transformation of western rhetoric from its Homeric Greek origins to that point where the Emperor Theodosius, in A.D. 395, divided the Roman Empire between his two sons, with the "official" fall of the Roman Empire occurring in A.D. 476.

Includes a collection of extracts from Latin and English oratory.