Etruscan contributions to establishing the kairos for the emergence and reception of political rhetoric at Rome

Abstract

Understanding the history of Roman rhetoric, particularly its political development, requires an understanding of the forces that shaped Roman culture. Just as the physical and social environment of ancient Athens contributed to the acceptance and growth of rhetoric, so too did the physical and social environment of ancient Rome facilitate the acceptance of (Greek) rhetoric and the eventual emergence of Roman rhetoric. However, long before rhetoric was introduced into Roman culture, the Etruscans had contributed in several, albeit indirect, ways to rhetoric’s eventual reception in Rome. This article argues that analyzing archaeological, literary, and epigraphical artifacts reveals that the Etruscans contributed to the kairos , that is, the physical and cultural environment, for political rhetoric to eventually be received into Roman society and culture.