Corax
Korax (also: Corax ) is one of the founders of rhetoric , along with his pupil Teisias . He lived in the 5th century BC. Chr. On Sicily .
Life
At the time of the tyrant rule in Sicily, Korax is said to have held an influential office at the court in Syracuse . After the overthrow of the tyrant Thrasybulus , Korax tried to retain power and influence by making a name for himself as a speaker on political issues. From his speech practice, he developed his first teaching of rhetoric, which he also taught from then on. In the occidental culture he was therefore probably the first to be paid for his rhetoric lessons. He wrote manuals, but they have not survived. In it he divided the speech into at least three or five parts:
- proemium / prooimion (introduction)
- narratio / diegesis (presentation of the facts / explanation of the situation)
- argumentatio (positive evidence or refutation of arguments)
- disgressio (excursus)
- peroratio / epilogos (epilogue).
The main features of this scheme are still valid today. For example, Plato , Aristotle and Cicero give testimony to the ideas of Korax .
In terms of the history of rhetoric, it is interesting that Korax's work in court means that forensic eloquence seems to be at the beginning of rhetorical techne . Because the end of the tyrant rule had resulted in countless open land issues that were now being dealt with in court. Korax advised the parties. Aristotle's remark, "according to which the invention of rhetoric is connected with the establishment of democracy and the beginning of forensic speech in Sicily can be seen in the property processes carried out after the end of tyranny" ( Klaus Schöpsdau , Ancient Presentation of the History of Rhetoric), seems correspond to historical facts.
Influences on science
Through his pioneering work in the field of rhetoric , Korax also became the godfather of the common raven , taxonomically Corvus corax , who not only knows how to imitate human language, but is also able to use it meaningfully.
See also
literature
- Karl Aulitzky : Korax 3 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XI, 2, Stuttgart 1922, Sp. 1379-1381.
- Gert Ueding : Classic Rhetoric , Munich 2000
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Corax |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Rhetorician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 6th century BC BC or 5th century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5th century BC Chr. |