Skip to main content
Article
Rhetorical Discourse and the Constitution of the Subject: Prodicus' 'The Choice of Heracles'
Argumentation
  • Susan L. Trollinger, University of Dayton
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-1991
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
Peer Reviewed
Yes
Disciplines
Citation Information
Susan L. Trollinger. "Rhetorical Discourse and the Constitution of the Subject: Prodicus' 'The Choice of Heracles'" Argumentation Vol. 5 Iss. 2 (1991)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/susan-trollinger/15/