English Faculty Publications

Title

Rhetorical Discourse and the Constitution of the Subject: Prodicus' 'The Choice of Heracles'

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-1991

Publication Source

Argumentation

Abstract

The author begins with a critical dilemma: as a major figure in the sophistic movement, Prodicus is generally considered one of the proponents of a rhetoric that challenged the traditional morality of his time; however, the lengthiest composition attributed to him, The Choice of Heracles, has mostly been read as an affirmation of mainstream ethics. The author argues that Prodicus' text challenges traditional morality by reshaping the narrative form characterizing the epic tradition and by articulating a notion of human subjectivity appreciably different from the one specified by the epic tradition. The author concludes that despite its similarities to myths preceding it The Choice of Heracles registers a resistance to pre-sophistic morality.

Inclusive pages

159-169

ISBN/ISSN

0920-427X

Comments

Permission documentation is on file.

Publisher

Kluwer Academic Publishers

Volume

5

Issue

2

Peer Reviewed

yes

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