Abstract
While the development of Roman rhetoric is usually examined from the perspective of the Roman adoption and adaptation of Greek rhetoric, an equally useful approach to the study of Roman rhetoric is to view it as a reflection of the natural process of cultural and political change. A positive account of the development of Roman rhetoric may seem difficult to extract from the sources because of the theme of secondariness and decline that runs through the narrative of its evolution. This chapter attempts to suggest not only the ways Roman rhetoric evolved from Greek rhetoric but also how it made its mark upon the discipline so that it became an academic exercise and cultural phenomenon distinctive in its own right.