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Progymnasmata Exercise

The document discusses progymnasmata, a set of preliminary rhetorical exercises used in ancient Greek and Roman education. These exercises were practiced by students to build basic skills in rhetoric before advancing to more complex speechwriting. While they had been used informally for years, the first textbooks on progymnasmata did not appear until the 1st century CE. The most famous was by Aphthonius in the 4th century CE. The homework assignment asks students to analyze a quotation using the eight categories of progymnasmata described by Aphthonius.

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524 views7 pages

Progymnasmata Exercise

The document discusses progymnasmata, a set of preliminary rhetorical exercises used in ancient Greek and Roman education. These exercises were practiced by students to build basic skills in rhetoric before advancing to more complex speechwriting. While they had been used informally for years, the first textbooks on progymnasmata did not appear until the 1st century CE. The most famous was by Aphthonius in the 4th century CE. The homework assignment asks students to analyze a quotation using the eight categories of progymnasmata described by Aphthonius.

Uploaded by

Ester Letícia
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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COM 331 Homework #2: Progymnasmata

Many of these progymnasmata (preliminary exercises) had been around for years but
really began to gel into the discernable exercises during the Hellenistic period. These
exercises were for younger boys who were getting ready to study more advanced forms
of rhetoric (the writing of full speeches). This meant that students would have to master
basic rhetorical tasks before moving on to more complex rhetorical tasks.

Despite the fact that these exercises had been used by rhetoricians for years, we don’t
have any full textbooks until the first century CE. Once in place, though, these exercises
were used by teachers well into the Renaissance. The most famous of the Greek
textbooks is by Aphthonius (4th century CE). What you are looking at in this text is a
copy of the exercises that teachers would have the students perform. Since Aphthonius is
a bit difficult, you might want to reference the silva rhetoricae website on
progymnasmata:
http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/Pedagogy/Progymnasmata/Progymnasmata.htm

Assignment: Please read the work by Aphthonius (below) and work up a chreia. You
need to write in response to all of Aphthonius’ eight categories. Use the following
quotation: Isocrates said, “Speaking well is the clearest sign of a good mind.” You are
free to interpret this based on your background with Isocrates. (If you don’t like that
quotation, you can use: “Songs are more powerful than books”). In writing your chreia:

1. Praise Isocrates or what he said


2. Give a paraphrase of the quotation in your own words
3. Explain why this quotation was said
4. Contrast Isocrates or the quotation with something that is its opposite
5. Compare Isocrates or the quotation with something that is its similar
6. Give an example of what is meant by the quotation
7. Support the quotation with testimony of others (from memory)
8. Conclude with a brief epilog or conclusion

So, your homework is to work up the line “Speaking well is the clearest sign of a good
mind” or “Songs are more powerful than books” in the eight different ways listed above
(and described by Apthonius below). This is not an academic essay; this is a practice
speech that you are writing. You should have some fun with this, but follow Aphthonius’
advice and example closely. In doing so, you join the millions throughout history who
have worked up a chreia in rhetoric class. The purpose of this assignment is to give you a
sense of what was going in rhetoric classrooms.

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