The Second Sophsitic
This weeks focuses on major characters of the Second Sophist movement. The term of the era was coined by Philostratus, and it was after the death of Septimus Severus (led by his previous consort Julia) when sophists thrived. In the "Lives", Philostratus focuses mostly on the positive side of the sophist lifestyle, and glamorizes the sophists of the past. His discussions in this work focus on the rhetoric canon of style, a common topic of this time period, and he differentiates between the old (first sophist) and the new (second sophist). Philostratus theorizes that the reason the past movement ended was because, " he Athenians when they observed the too great cleverness of the sophists, shut them out of the lawcourts on the ground that they could defeat a just argument by an unjust, and that they used their power to warp men's judgement". The sophists were seen as TOO powerful for their time in his eyes, which is why they were put out. Philostratus goes on to explain some of his contemporaries' beliefs and roles and the importance of sophistry over philosophy, and thus, he displays the changed position of sophists in society. The second sophists hold a higher ranking in society compared to their predecessors.
Now, there is a list of some important sophists Philostratus refers to, so I am going to write all of their names in order as a list with short descriptions to differentiate them:
1. Dio Chrysostrom c. 40 – c. 115 AD: Great oral speaker-- many of his samples are a little goofy, like praising hair and a gnat. However, it is impressive how grand he makes these topics. EXILED FOR OFFEDNING EMPEROR
2. Seutonius (c. 69 - after 122 AD): His work "About Rhetoricians" shows the ambivalence of Greek rhetoric in Rome. He mentions great men like Cicero in this work, and how rhetoricians have risen above their rankings from the past. He also explains a bit on why sophists used to be so unpopular in Greece, as they would dissect and disprove their own myths (which is definitely not going to make one popular among the Greeks). He explained that these examples of "[s]uch discussions... [were] formerly called by their Greek name of 'syntheses,'? but afterwards 'debates'; but they might be either fictitious or legal". Lastly, he summarizes and has short descriptions of specific sophists.
3. Favorinus, (c. 80 – c. 160 AD): Similar to Dio with his Greek, artistic, Asiatic style. ALSO EXILED FOR OFFENDING EMPEROR. He didn't consider himself a sophist, but a "Skeptic Philosopher". Proud of his Greek language. One of his important orations focuses on the importance of erecting statues, which is interesting because he had his own bronze statue taken down because of his scandals involving possible adultery. Here is an example of some of his literary language, with abundant use of rhetorical questions and mention of Greek Gods and classic rhetoricians/philosophers as he does here, "For whom have these men failed to slander who slander any one at all? Have they not slandered Socrates, Pythagoras,? Plato?? Have they not slandered Zeus himself, Poseidon, Apollo, and all the other gods??" (Oration 37).
4. Polemo, (88 - 144 AD): Had direct lineage from Marc Anthony and King Polemo II, and thus had much affluence and wealth in society. Men like him affected the position of sophists.
5. Hermogenes of Tarsus (late 2nd century AD): Wrote declamations and many major textbooks, with focus on style, stasis, progymanstra, and (possibly) delivery. He recognizes the importance of fictional exercises like writing fables at practicing rhetoric, and states "but in all cases to be useful for some aspect of life. In addition, they want it to be plausible. How would it become plausible? If we attribute appropriate things to the char-acters". I think this note plays into the importance of understanding archetypes to make ones' case against or for somebody (epideictic rhetoric or judicial).
6. Lucian (c. 125 – after 180 AD): Attic style writer (although he wrote in Ancient Greek...) and satirist. Humor similar to Dio. He shows a prioritization of presentation and delivery in particular with lines where he notes a speaker must "add confidence, audacity, and effrontery; as for diffidence, equity, moderation, and shame, you will please leave them at home; they are not merely needless, they are encumbrances". His work, "The Rhetoric Teacher's Way of Life", is addressed to a young man who aspires to be a rhetorician and professor. He gives an example of advice an orator would give, with some dramatic examples like, "When you go to a recitation, arrive late, which makes you conspicuous; and when all are listening intently, interject some inappropriate commendation that will distract and annoy the audience; they will be so sickened with your offensive words that they cannot listen. And then do not wave your hand too much--warm approval is rather low; and as to jumping up, never do it more than once or twice. A slight smile is your best expression; make it clear that you do not think much of the thing". It feels a little silly at times, but some of these notes can be helpful because you do have to strike a balance to keep professionalism while still connecting with one's audience.
7. Aelius Aristides of Smyrna (117–181 AD): POPULAR WITH EMPEROR- EARNED FUNDING FOR PROJECT FROM EMPEROR. Hellenistic orator, traveled a lot to spread this style. Major work- "To Plato: In Defense of Oratory" which defends oratory against Plato's classic arguments. He justifies the importance of oratory by stating, "From those causes then oratory was discovered and entered on the scene as an amulet for justice and as the bond of maintaining life for mankind, so that matters should not be decided for anyone by force, weapons, anticipation, numbers, size, or any other inequality; but that reason should calmly determine justice". This reiterates the importance of judicial rhetoric as being the prime example of good, useful rhetoric.
8. Libanius of Antioch (c. 314 – 392 or 393): One of his major works is an autobiography on himself which displays the lifestyle of a rhetorician in the 3rd century. His style emulates those prior, current, and ahead in rhetoric. He starts his autobiography in the same way Isocrates does in "Antidosis", because they both must defend their sheer existence. To understanding what rhetoricians considered important in performance, I liked your note that they preferred "originality of treatment over originality of thought". That is likely why all of these works seem very similar to me, because they use some of the same techniques to convey arguments on the same topics. WROTE FUNERAL ORATION FOR EMPEROR.
*I made notes about emperors in all capital letters, because I wanted to highlight the shifting position of rhetoricians in society during the Second Sophist movement. They started off as pretty unpopular, with many of them being banned and exiled, but by the end of this period, you will notice that many rhetoricians received support, funding, and were even related to previous rulers.