Gestures and Acclamations in Ancient Rome

by Gregory S. Aldrete and Professor Gregory S. Aldrete

Book Overview

Life in Rome was relentlessly public, and oratory was at its heart. Orations were dramatic spectacles in which the speaker deployed an arsenal of rhetorical tricks and strategies aimed at arousing the emotions of the audience, and spectators responded vigorously and vocally with massed chants of praise or condemnation. Unfortunately, many aspects of these performances have been lost. In the first in-depth study of oratorical gestures and crowd...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801877318
• ISBN13: 9780801877315
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

In the ancient world, gesture and oral skill counted

In the Roman world you didn't persuade by the written word but by rhetoric and gesture. Education taught the elite to read, yes, but it also emphasized oral skills. And because sometimes the voice of a speaker couldn't carry well through the audience, it was also vital to learn the proper gestures that could reveal the meaning of a poorly heard word. There were many tricks to help the orator. "Many orations were deliberately composed to be rhythmic in nature and sometimes even to rhyme or resemble verse" (p 39). The audience responded in a variety of ways. "The custom of augmenting applause with brief shouted comments offered an occasion for spontaneous expressions of the crowd's opinion and an opportunity for praise of a popular emperor" (p 111). Above all, a member of the elite needed to avoid looking like an actor or by borrowing gestures from the mime shows. Mime shows were the favorite entertainment of the poor, and famous for bawdy jokes. This book should be of interest to anyone who wants a deeper knowledge of Roman society, and also to anyone curious about the difference between oral and written cultures.

Expanding Our Knowledge Of Roman Elocution

Gregory S. Aldrete's work on Roman rhetoric is an important addition to the study of Roman history and the practice of elocution during the Republic and Principate. Although primarily focusing on non-verbal communication, this book is an important companion to Corbeil's 'Controlling Laughter' which deals specifically with invective in Republican speeches. As with Corbeil, Aldrete explains that public speeches in Rome were spectacles involving both the speaker and his audience. A Roman speaker would use specific gestures and signs in the course of his speech to emphasize a point and/or to elicit a specific response from his audience. Aldrete's book provides an outline of Roman political speeches and what expectations its participants and principals had in such a context. The book then discusses various aspects of Roman elocution and explains their significance, their effects, and their application in certain contexts. This is very important book contributing further to our understanding of Roman civilization and culture. It is an important in terms of expanding our historical, rhetorical, sociological and anthropological understanding of the Roman Republic and the Principate: I strongly recommend it to anyone who a serious student of any of these disciplines.

Vale Aldrete: A Gesticulatory Tour de Force

Aldrete's insight and clarity illuminate this subject far beyond the pale beam of traditional historical scholarship. The author writes so well, and has such a clear understanding and enjoyment of his subject that a potentially banal subject springs to life. The illustrations by Alicia Nowicki are crisp and also show a deep knowledge of the subject. This book is a true gesticulatory Tour de Force. I look forward to further books by the same author.