The process that led to the formation of the Syriac rhetorical theory has not received enough academic attention and much is yet to be discovered. On the one hand, there are many Syriac texts that employ rhetorical strategies from as early as the fourth century, such as the Liber Graduum, the Letter of Mara bar Serapion to his Son, or, in the fifth century, Narsai’s oration On the Three Nestorian Doctors. Moreover, translations of Greek rhetorical pieces and popular philosophy, such as Themistius’, Isocrates’ and Plutarch’s, circulated in Syriac. On the other hand, we must wait until the ninth century to find a proper handbook on Syriac rhetoric, written in five books by the West Syrian monk and schoolteacher Antony of Tagrit. Antony is the first scholar to write down a collection of teachings meant for his students in the form of a school handbook. Thanks to his work, we get a glimpse into the foundations on which the Syriac rhetorical tradition was built. This tradition seems to have developed over the course of many centuries and certainly bears Greco-Roman influences. However, Syriac rhetoric appears quite original in themes and organisation of contents. This paper focuses on the birth of the Syriac rhetorical techne, now úmānútā d-rhiṭrúta, and the existing connections between classical rhetoric and the Syriac rhetorical tradition. To do so, it analyses the themes of Books One and Five of Antony’s Rhetoric, which bear most of the meaningful rhetorical contents, to gauge the level of innovation shown by the Syriac tradition (which is already manifest in the fact that Antony does not seem to openly take Aristotle into account). This research contributes to the efforts made to understand the Syriac teaching curriculum and, particularly, the rhetorical teaching, the ‘classics’ on which this was based and its models.
Da techne rhetoriké a úmānútā d-rhiṭrúta: la Retorica di Antonio di Tagrit
mara nicosia
2026
Abstract
The process that led to the formation of the Syriac rhetorical theory has not received enough academic attention and much is yet to be discovered. On the one hand, there are many Syriac texts that employ rhetorical strategies from as early as the fourth century, such as the Liber Graduum, the Letter of Mara bar Serapion to his Son, or, in the fifth century, Narsai’s oration On the Three Nestorian Doctors. Moreover, translations of Greek rhetorical pieces and popular philosophy, such as Themistius’, Isocrates’ and Plutarch’s, circulated in Syriac. On the other hand, we must wait until the ninth century to find a proper handbook on Syriac rhetoric, written in five books by the West Syrian monk and schoolteacher Antony of Tagrit. Antony is the first scholar to write down a collection of teachings meant for his students in the form of a school handbook. Thanks to his work, we get a glimpse into the foundations on which the Syriac rhetorical tradition was built. This tradition seems to have developed over the course of many centuries and certainly bears Greco-Roman influences. However, Syriac rhetoric appears quite original in themes and organisation of contents. This paper focuses on the birth of the Syriac rhetorical techne, now úmānútā d-rhiṭrúta, and the existing connections between classical rhetoric and the Syriac rhetorical tradition. To do so, it analyses the themes of Books One and Five of Antony’s Rhetoric, which bear most of the meaningful rhetorical contents, to gauge the level of innovation shown by the Syriac tradition (which is already manifest in the fact that Antony does not seem to openly take Aristotle into account). This research contributes to the efforts made to understand the Syriac teaching curriculum and, particularly, the rhetorical teaching, the ‘classics’ on which this was based and its models.
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