Byzantine rhetoric

Byzantine rhetoric — of the Byzantine Empire — followed largely the precepts of ancient Greek rhetoricians, especially those belonging to the Second Sophistic that extended from the time of Augustus through the fifth century CE.^[1]

Rhetoric was the most important and difficult topic studied in the Byzantine education system, beginning at the Pandidakterion in early fifth century Constantinople, where the school emphasized the study of rhetoric with eight teaching chairs, five in Greek and three in Latin.^[2]

The hard training of Byzantine rhetoric provided skills and credentials for citizens to attain public office in the imperial service, or posts of authority within the Church.^[2]

References

1. Nagy, Gregory (2001). Greek Literature. Routledge. p. 179. ISBN 0-415-93771-X.
2. Jeffreys, Elizabeth (2003). Rhetoric in Byzantium: Papers from the Thirty-Fifth Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 39–43. ISBN 0-7546-3453-1.