Aspasia

While I don’t think it was necessary for class, I read the fragments of men’s writing that refer to Aspasia. Even though Bizzell and Herzberg highlight the key points of these in the Aspasia introduction, the texts shed an interesting light on the position of women rhetoricians in ancient Greece. I was particularly struck by the selection from Plato’s Menexenus in which Socrates and Menexenus are discussing a funeral oration for a soldier. Socrates comments that he heard Aspasia give a sort of example speech for such an occasion, which Menexenus prods him to recite. Socrates, of course, acts reluctant to give it with the excuse that “my mistress may be angry with me if I publish her speech” (62). This may just be part of the typical banter that precedes speeches in Plato, but perhaps there is something to be said for Aspasia either not wanting her words spread about, or not feeling that such actions are acceptable in public. More interesting is the conversation between Socrates and Menexenus after the speech. Menexenus marvels “that Aspasia, who is only a woman, should be able to compose such a speech” and says he is grateful to Socrates and whoever told him the speech for passing it along (63). The selection ends with Socrates swearing Menexenus to secrecy with the reward for keeping the oath being able to hear “more excellent political speeches of hers.” Thus, female rhetoric is reduced to gossip with each speech being a juicy rumor everyone wants to hear, but no one wants to admit to hearing.

Works Cited
Plato. Menexenus. The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present. Ed. Patricia Bizzell and Bruce Herzberg. Boston: Bedford, 2001. 60-63.