Gorgias' Encomium to Helen: Essay by John Poulakos

Gorgias’ World: Rhetoric in Ancient Greece

Gorgias lived in a world where city-states like Athens were becoming centers of debate and democracy, creating a high demand for skilled speakers who could persuade crowds. Born around 485 BCE in Leontini, Sicily, he was part of a class called “sophists”—teachers who traveled Greece offering lessons in argument and public speaking. As cities grew more democratic, the ability to shape public opinion through words became as valuable as military strength. Gorgias’ work, especially the Encomium of Helen, shows how important rhetoric was for winning arguments, gaining power, and even questioning traditional beliefs.

Defending Helen: The Power of Speech over Blame

In the Encomium of Helen, Gorgias takes on the ancient story of Helen of Troy, blamed by many for causing the Trojan War. He argues Helen could not be at fault, no matter why she left for Troy—whether by force, divine fate, or persuasion. His defense is not just about Helen, but about how powerful speech can be: words can seduce, persuade, or even deceive, just like drugs affect the body. Gorgias uses this as a lesson in rhetoric, showing students how to argue any side of a question by linking ideas and using logic to change minds. The essay is both a defense of a mythical woman and a display of how language can shape reality, influence judgment, and even make the impossible seem true.

Sophistic Tradition: Rhetoric as Art and Illusion

Gorgias was part of the Sophistic movement, which saw rhetoric as both an art and a tool for change—sometimes for good, sometimes for deception. Unlike philosophers who searched for truth, sophists like Gorgias focused on what was persuasive, not what was necessarily real or right. The Encomium of Helen is a showpiece, a speech designed to dazzle and convince, not to find the final answer. It mixes poetry, logic, and persuasion to make listeners question their beliefs and see the world in new ways. For Gorgias, reality is shaped by speech, and understanding this illusion—apaté—is key to both the power and danger of words.

Key themes

• The power of logos to move and persuade audiences through paradox and rhetorical skill.
• The use of paradoxical encomium as both comic and serious discourse.
• Speech as a form of psychagogia, guiding the soul like a drug to heal or harm.
• Rhetoric’s province as the realm of the possible and novel, beyond mere repetition of facts.
• The construction and contingency of knowledge through persuasive language.
• Defense of Helen as a vehicle to demonstrate rhetoric’s ability to redefine truth and blame.

Symbols & ambiguities

The paradoxical nature of Gorgias’s encomium to Helen itself serves as a core symbol, blending comic and serious elements to question how speech shapes reality. Helen, traditionally a figure of blame, becomes an emblem of how rhetoric can alter perception and agency. The image of logos as a powerful drug or pharmakon highlights rhetoric's ambiguous effect—both beneficial and harmful. This ambiguity invites readers to interpret Gorgias’s defense as simultaneously playful and profound, challenging certainty in truth and moral judgment.

Study questions

• How does Gorgias’s use of paradox enhance his defense of Helen?
• In what ways does the Encomium illustrate the power of rhetoric over truth?
• What role does the concept of kairos (timing) play in Gorgias’s argument?
• How does Gorgias redefine blame and responsibility through speech?
• Why might Gorgias describe logos as a pharmakon, both a medicine and poison?
• How does the Encomium engage with the tension between appearance and reality?
• What is the significance of focusing on "the possible" in rhetorical persuasion?
• How does Poulakos interpret the Sophistic dimension of this text in relation to rhetoric’s purpose?

Critical approaches & debates

Scholars debate whether Gorgias' Encomium to Helen is a serious defense or a parody, with interpretations ranging from viewing it as comic mock-eloquence to solemn argumentation revealing the paradoxical power of logos. Formalist readings emphasize Gorgias’ skillful use of rhetorical strategies and the novelty of speech’s possible effects. Feminist critics often highlight Helen’s role and the gender implications of blaming or excusing her, while Marxist and postcolonial perspectives sometimes interrogate the political and ideological uses of rhetoric in ancient contexts. Disagreements focus on the text’s tone (earnest vs. ironic) and its implications for rhetoric’s ethical boundaries.

Key passages

The opening argument (lines 1–20) exemplifies Gorgias’ use of paradox and reversal, where he reframes Helen’s actions as not blameworthy due to forces beyond her control—love, persuasion, or divine will. This passage leverages rhetorical appeals to shift responsibility and showcases sophistic kairos, emphasizing speech’s power to reshape known narratives and elicit audience assent by introducing novel possibilities.

Bibliography

Gorgias, Encomium of Helen, in classic editions and recent translations (e.g., Delivering Helen: Encomium and Defense, 2000). Related texts: Isocrates' Helen. Key scholarship includes John Poulakos' "Toward a Sophistic Definition of Rhetoric" (2008) for rhetoric theory and critical studies exploring comedic versus serious interpretations of the encomium.