Atticism literally means favouring the Athenians. It was also a rhetorical movement which began in the first quarter of the first century BC.

It was portrayed as a return to Classical methods after what was perceived at the pretentious style of the Hellenistic, Sophist rhetoric and called for a return to the approaches of the Attic orators.

Although the plainer language of Atticism eventually became as over-elaborate as the orations it sought to replace, its original simplicity meant that it remained universally comprehensible throughout the Greek world. This helped maintain vital cultural links across the Mediterranean and beyond. Writers such as Lucian also adopted Atticism meaning that the style survived until the Renaissance.