Speeches and Speechmaking in Herodotus’ Histories

Abstract

The overall purpose of this study is to position Herodotus firmly in the rhetorical life of the late fifth and early fourth centuries BC. Speeches and speechmaking are key features of the world Herodotus describes, as well as the world he inhabits: indirect speech in the Histories may be the historian’s favoured method of communication, nonetheless his use of oratio recta is widespread. Indeed, speechmaking proves an essential element of his work, but it consistently fails to receive the scholarly attention it deserves. As a consequence, this thesis provides the first comprehensive inquiry into the role of direct speech in Herodotus’ Histories. It is undertaken in two parts. Firstly, all occasions of direct speech within the text are identified and retained in an appendix affixed at the conclusion of the study. The appendix shows that Herodotean direct speech can fall into four categories. The classifications reveal that the historian uses each to convey the same message, but in different ways: Herodotean monologue obviously secures a solo performance; a short exchange between two people necessarily lacks the depth of prolonged speech between two characters; and an animated third party clearly varies the forces at work in any contrived and dramatized scene they (or he) participates. The second and more important part of the study examines separate instances of Herodotean direct speech as they correspond with one of the four groups. Each selected example demonstrates that oratio recta is reserved for important moments, occasions upon which decisions are made that require reflection. It becomes clear that Herodotean direct speech, for the most part, is delivered in circumstances producing significant consequence. The study demonstrates that Herodotus deploys spare, but vivid direct speech to dramatize and emphasise salient points, a rhetorical method ensuring easy recall of a message - a resolve the historian makes apparent in the proem. This thesis outlines Herodotus’ use of direct speech and demonstrates how his speakers uphold dominant motifs of the mutability of life, and the responsibilities attaching to human choice, motifs that reside in the properties of Attic tragedy. Interpreted in Herodotean oratio recta, these themes establish the historian’s familiarity with the theatre of his day and, I argue, the animation of chosen characters affords us an uninterrupted view of Herodotus’ position in his world, and his opinion of it. In this manner, close scrutiny of Herodotus’ direct speech progresses our knowledge of his time, his location in it, and his beliefs.