The Great Sophists in Periclean Athens

by Jacqueline de Romilly

Book Overview

The arrival of the Sophists in Athens in the middle of the fifth century B.C. was a major intellectual event, for they brought with them a new method of teaching founded on rhetoric and bold doctrines which broke away from tradition. In this book de Romilly investigates the reasons for the initial success of the Sophists and the reaction against them, in the context of the culture and civilization of classical Athens.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019823807X
• ISBN13: 9780198238072
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Clarendon Press
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Staggering, beautiful contribution to intellectual history

This is the kind of book that makes studying history fascinating and rewarding. By investigating one of the gaps in our knowledge- the question of who the Sophists were and what they represented- Madame de Romilly is able to put a crucially important missing piece back into our picture of Ancient Greece and Athens. The entire world of 5th century Athens looks different in light of this "revelation". She was able to hit upon what was a crucial, missing factor, namely the role of the Sophists and their doctrines. Through her own reconstructions of this important role, she is able to develop a picture of the Sophists that makes sense, is consistent with what was being said about them, and shines a new light on the Ancient Greek intellectual landscape. This is "the other side of the story"- i.e. intellectual history of 5th century Athens as NOT told by Plato. For someone who has "felt" the absence of this missing element, it fills in alot of gaps and answers a lot of questions one had. Finally, things make sense. One sees the intellectual ties that bind Aristophanes, Thucydides, Euripides, as well as Plato and Socrates. Finally, Ancient Greek intellectualism isnt just about Plato and Socrates. We get a view to the progenitors of the revolution in thought that sparked the flowering of the 5th century. Be warned, this book will be most interesting to those with an ardent interest in and prior knowledge of 1) philosophy, 2) the history of philosophy, 3) 5th century Athenian/Hellenic thought. Its discussions can be dry and involved towards the middle. Yet the style is very appealing and readable. In my eyes, the interest and importance of this book can hardly be overstated.

Very Comprehensive and Well Written

It seems this book has left nothing out when dealing with the Sophists; her thesis is well thought out, defended, and explained with meticulous detail. I give it five stars because it serves its purpose, but if you open this book with little background on the subject (like me) then it can become a bit grueling.

A Revolution in Thought in Classical Greece

In the "Golden Age of Pericles" Athens was a Mecca for the world's great thinkers and artists. Democracy was flourishing and demand rose for the kind of education to take advantage of it. Enter the Sophists! Sophist means master of intelligence. The Sophists, such as Protagoras, Gorgias, Prodicus, Hippias, and Thrasymachus introduced intellectual education for a fee. They taught the would-be Athenian aristocrat how to speak well and out-think their opponents. Rhetoric and politics were closely connected since rhetoric prepared the Athenian with a way to enter public office. In an emerging democracy the Sophists offered a means to power.Jacqueline de Romilly, a former Professor of Greek Language and Literature at the College de France, has written a compelling book on these interesting yet controversial thinkers in Fifth Century Greece. It is a difficult subject to write on since most of the writings of the Sophists has been lost. We largely rely on Plato and others who wrote of the Sophists to get an idea of their methods and ideology. We know that they were rationalists as opposed to metaphysical thinkers. Philosophy shifted from the cosmos to man. Protagoras wrote "Man is the measure of all things." It was a revolutionary departure from anything up to that time. To the Sophists, there was no objective truth, justice or virtue. It was whatever man determined they were. Truth could change depending on time and circumstances. Every argument had two sides and a Sophist could take either side and be effective.To the students of the Sophists this new thinking offered an education that was superior to what others had and it was fast and paid immediate dividends. It became a powerful movement that effected Pericles, the historian and general, Thucydides, and Xenophon. Playwrights such as Euripides was also greatly influenced by the Sophists, but they had their critics as well. Aristophanes lampooned them and Socrates criticized them for taking virtues that bind a society together and reducing it to a utilitarian means of seeking power.Probably no single idea had a greater impact on the classical period of ancient Greece than did the Sophists. De Romilly has done an excellent job in presenting their views. The casual reader may have difficulty with concepts presented here and may require a couple of readings but for those who want to truly understand one of the most focused periods in ancient studies this book should be a requirement.

There's More to the Great Sophists Than Plato Would Allow

"The Great Sophists" by Jacqueline de Romilly is a thorough and first class book on an important but rarely studied aspect of ancient Greek thought: the Sophists. Ms. de Romilly is a great French classicist with numerous thoughtful publications to her credit of which "The Great Sophists" is the most recent. The Sophists have historically had an evil reputation as the first cultural and moral relativists; as corruptors of virtue; and for degrading philosophy. Ms. de Romilly attempts to demonstrate that this view is due to a variety of factors (primarily Plato's laregly negative characterization of them and the dearth of Sophistic texts)which can and should be re-examined.She attempts to lay out, to the best of the knowledge available to us, exactly what the Sophists teachings actually were; their similarities with many of Socrates views; and why Plato viewed them with hostile but at times ambivalent feelings. In all of this Ms. de Romilly does a superb job of rooting out every reference to the Sophists in ancient literature as well as their own statements (often from hostile witnesses like Plato). With this awkward mass of material Ms. de Romilly has fashioned a very interesting and useful work that diserves a prominent place in the history of Greek thought. With the notable exception of Kerford's "The Sophistic Movement" it is difficult to recall any modern work other than Ms. de Romilly's that attempts to so thoroughly arrive at what the Sophists actually believed and what their effect was on Greek thought and civilization.The most important question though is does she finally redeem the Sophists from the charges of amorality and corruption that were assigned to them? Ultimately I do not think believe she can regardless of how neutral a face she puts on her analysis and how much she endeavors to redeem their thought. As with so much ancient literature it is deeply sad that we do not pocess more texts by the sophists themselves. Given that we do not and given what remains, it seems that Plato was entirely in the right to cast them in the evil light that he did. But that is certainly no reason not to buy and learn from this terrific work of scholarship.

Someone review this book!

I haven't read this book but the Sophists fascinate me. How good is this book?