Rhetoric And Justice:a Study Of Euripides’ Hecuba

Euripides,whose plays are often considered particularly associated with sophistic thought in dramatic settings,was in his lifetime more of a controversial writer than any other contemporaries in Greek literature.The poet has a wide interest in language and rhetoric and his use of rhetoric has been a noteworthy topic in Euripidean research.the Sophists shared with Euripides a desire to investigate moral values and to explore social and political issues.The Hecuba is one of a few plays by Euripides which treat the immediate aftermath of the Trojan War.In this play,we see Euripides presenting various disputes about justice as well as the conflicts between different values,and instead of resolving the questions raised by the Sophists,he recasts them in an instinctively destructive and provocative way.This thesis provides an analysis of the art of rhetoric in Euripides’ Hecuba and the crisis of justice brought about by it so as to reveal the connection between rhetoric and justice.It is divided into three major chapters as follows.First,it presents an introduction of the background of the tragedian and the play,as well as the a concise literature review of the work.In Chapter One,the art of rhetoric in this play is explained at length.It is composed of three different rhetoric skills including “duo logoi” and “antilogic”,the court speech form,and the irrational factors in the debates where the heroine Hecuba argues with Odysseus,Agamemnon and Polymestor,dissecting their divergent views on virtue and justice from the conflicts between them.In Chapter Two,the crisis of justice is dwelt upon in three aspects.With the fragmentation and dissolution of justice views,the divine justice turns gradually to its downfall for the will of gods no longer serves as an absolute guideline in human life.In a world of violence controlled by those in power,rhetoric plays a very limited role.Those worshiping power have in fact enslaved themselves when enslaving others.Chapter Three focuses on the relationship between rhetoric and justice in order to analyze the feasibility of rhetoric in reaching justice.Rhetoric can reverse the situation and change people’s beliefs,but it cannot ensure ultimate justice due to its instability.For Hecuba,rhetoric is not a mere strategy to compensate the absence of nomos but also reflects the aspirations of those yearning for freedom and justice.In this play,Euripides displays both a sense of rhetoric and philosophical sensitivity and reminds us of the meaning of rhetoric and its limits through the skillful use of rhetoric.