Gorgias was notable philosopher and sophist from Sicily, the possible birth place of rhetoric. In 427, he traveled to Greece where he became popular and did most of his teaching. His teachings of rhetoric seem to be focused on the power of persuasion and language. We can see this in his “Encomium of Helen” where he attempts to argue in defense of Helen’s actions that led to the Trojan War, in particular when he asserts that Paris’ persuasion was to blame and that Helen couldn’t have resisted.

Essentially, Gorgias thought of rhetoric as a tool used to manipulate and influence people to reach a desired outcome. This lines up well with the views of other sophists during the time who sought to teach rhetoric so that their pupils could better argue in court or gain influence and power in the democratic system. Gorgias draws parallels between language and drugs, stating that just as different drugs are used to experience different types of highs, different types and techniques of language and persuasion can be used to reach different outcomes, such as fear, anger, pride, and so on.

Although my view of rhetoric has been rather neutral since the beginning of the semester, I have been leaning toward the view that rhetoric is primarily a tool of influence to gain a desired outcome. After reading excerpts of “Encomium of Helen” and various analyses of Gorgias and his theories, my views have shifted more toward the idea that rhetoric has more power than most people realize. When used effectively, rhetoric can be used to change people’s thoughts, thus resulting in a change in their actions. This can be either extremely beneficial to society or detrimental if used maliciously.

In “Encomium of Helen”, Gorgias attempts to argue that Helen was not to blame for the outbreak of the Trojan War. He analyzes 4 ways Helen couldn’t have been responsible: the gods’ intervention, physical intimidation by Paris, persuasion by Paris, and the influence of love. Essentially, it’s not important whether or not she was responsible or not, the purpose behind this work was to show that you can argue the worst case, a teaching that other sophists of the time used. It was also an advertisement for Gorgias’ skill in rhetoric that he could’ve used to attract more students. Overall, “Encomium of Helen” was a way Gorgias could show just how powerful rhetoric and the power of language can be.

Help Received: Gorgias Readings