History of Rhetoric

In the initial post, this caught my eye:
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes in the section on Protagoras that “the term ‘sophist’ gradually acquired the negative connotation of cleverness not restrained by ethics.”

This seems to be the overall impression of rhetoric in most of what we have read. The ancient/classical personalities we have been looking at are quite willing to admit to there being such a thing as "rhetoric" but they mostly seem to be looking down at the field. Indeed, Plato has Socrates questioning the validity of calling rhetoric a Techne, in Gorgias. It seems that this idea of a "lack of ethics" is the major distinction of rhetoric being valid. And, since the Sophists major tool was rhetoric, they have become intertwined. I find it amusing, however, that Plato's Socrates is using rhetoric to discredit rhetoric.

As for Helen, and the arguments made for and against her, I don't know as we can truly discuss her role in what happened. The story itself has been so intertwined with Greek mythology, that the idea of Helen has become greater than the woman herself. We can only, really, discuss what is said about her by others.

As jmz said "He [Gorgias] is very subtle in how he first exalts her [Helen's] parentage--her mother being Leda, her father being Zeus--in order to instill a sense of reverence within an audience (at least in my view this seems the case)." What better way to draw in people (literally, to the discussion, or into the story itself,) than to set up the character as a half goddess? Who wants to hear the story of "Helen the Mortal" instead of "Helen of Troy, half Goddess, daughter of Zeus, whose beauty launched a thousand ships." This is Rhetoric in action. Now was this Cleverness without ethics? Or was this truly the belief of the times, that Helen was indeed daughter of Zeus? That the entire Trojan War was wrapped up in a golden apple that read "To The Fairest"? Can we make that call?