In ancient Greece and Rome, oratory was studied as a component of rhetoric (that is, composition and delivery of speeches), and was an important skill in public and private life. Aristotle and Quintilian discussed oratory, and the subject, with definitive rules and models, was emphasised as a part of a "complete education" during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, although this was generally confined to the church. Area under Roman control  Roman Republic  Roman Empire  Western Empire  Eastern Empire Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a city-state founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Rhetoric (from Greek , rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of oral or written language; however, this definition of rhetoric has been contested since rhetoric emerged as a field of study in Universities. ... Aristotle (Greek: AristotélÄ“s) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (c. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Raphael was famous for depicting illustrious figures of the Classical past with the features of his Renaissance contemporaries. ...

The development of parliaments in the 18th century saw the rise of great political orators; the ability to wield words effectively became one of the chief tools of politicians, and often made the greatest difference in their positions. By the mid 20th century, oratory became less grandiloquent and more conversational; for instance, the "fireside chats" of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. States currently utilizing parliamentary systems are denoted in red and orange—the former being constitutional monarchies where authority is vested in a parliament, and the latter being parliamentary republics whose parliaments are effectively supreme over a separate head of state. ... FDR shortly after giving one of his famous fireside chats The fireside chats was a series of 30 evening radio talks given by United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ...

The term oratory has generally fallen into disuse and is used mostly as a historical or subject term. See public speaking and orator. Public speaking is speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners. ... Orator is a Latin word for speaker (from the Latin verb oro, meaning I speak or I pray). In ancient Rome, the art of speaking in public (Ars Oratoria) was a professional competence especially cultivated by politicians and lawyers. ...

Development of oration since ancient Greece

The history of oratory can be confused with the one of rhetoric in certain sense. In fact, the art of public speaking was firstly developed by the ancient Greeks and, after the ascension of Rome, copied and modified by the Latins. An example would be Cicero. Rhetoric (from Greek , rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of oral or written language; however, this definition of rhetoric has been contested since rhetoric emerged as a field of study in Universities. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... Cicero at about age 60, from an ancient marble bust Marcus Tullius Cicero (IPA: ; Latin pronunciation:  ; January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was an orator, statesman, political theorist, lawyer and philosopher of Ancient Rome. ...

In the opinion of Dr. Iran P. Moreira Necho, the "...oratory suffered severely after the Latin power ascension, for the public speech can only be developed in ambients where the debate is allowed. Hence, inside a Roman regime, where the very essence of man was to live as a State appendices (and not debate it), the oratory fastly became a mere compendium on "how to speak fluently" (focus on the beauty of the exposition), even though without any content (preferably without content, since it requires critical thinking)..."[1]

That is why Latin oratory (formalist, with little to no focus on content) ended to find a reception in the world until the beginnings of the 20th century, since the majority of the states in the indicated period was ruled by some kind of monarchy or dictatorship.

In spite of this, with World War II , a historical moment where the democratic ideals began to take body in the world and there began a gradual deprecation of the old Latin style of communication which focused on the formalism. Combatants Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000,000 Total...

Nowadays, there is a vigorous tendency to return to the "Greek School of Oratory" (Aristotelian), since the modern world does not accept - as it did in the past - "fluent speeches" without any content. On the other hand, despite the high demand, the creation of new centers of Greek oratory have some counterpoints:

Teachers:

1. The Latin Oratory, because it is merely formal, is easy to teach.
2. The Greek Oratory, for it demands much more in terms of content, requires (from the masters) an extraordinarily superior formation (philosophy, logic, ethics, stylistics, grammar, etc...), since it is not acceptable that a Master could be defeated by his/her disciples. Therefore, while teachers of Latin Oratory are just any person who delivers speeches with fluency, to train a teacher of Greek oratory could take years of study and deep meditation.

Students: For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... Logic, from Classical Greek λόγος logos (the word), is the study of patterns found in reasoning. ... Ethics (from the Ancient Greek ēthikos, the adjective of ēthos custom, habit), a major branch of philosophy, is the study of values and customs of a person or group and covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as right and wrong, good and evil, and responsibility. ... Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language. ...

1. Latin Oratory can be taught through relatively fast courses.
2. Greek Oratory demands much more time and effort.

Distinctions between the Latin Oratory School and the Greek Oratory in terms of speech

• Latin: Strong valorization of form. Remarkable use of stylistics. Constant appeal to the listener emotions. Communication is deemed as a way to demonstrate "intellectual superiority" or eloquence.

• Greek: Strong valorization of message content. Utilization of argumentation strategies. Appeal to the common sense. Communication is deemed as skill to persuade and obtain influence.

External links

• American Rhetoric
• Figures of Speech
• Abraham Lincoln's Lost Speech