The Rhetoric of Persuasion among the Sophists “Metaphor as a Model”

Abstract

The purpose of rhetoric science is to appreciate the meaning of literary work as an art and to apprehend its characteristics and to appraise the secrets of its beauty, it makes the receiver more enlightened through enjoying literary arts and influencing him and persuading him with clear methods. However, this purpose changed in Greek rhetoric during the fifth century BC, where a philosophical movement known as the “Sophist movement” emerged, aiming to persuade the receiver through methods of deception, dissimulation, and the use of tricks and verbal games in order to achieve their personal interests. Thus, metaphor became a means of persuasion and proof of false arguments, contrary to what it was known for. This is what we will try to clarify in this article, highlighting the concept of metaphor among the Sophists and the position of the receiver in the rhetoric of deception and falsehood.