Comparing Rhetoric in Antiquity: The Greek and Indian Cases in Perspective

Abstract The understanding of rhetoric has been heavily influenced by the Western tradition, particularly the Greco-Latin tradition. Rhetoric was traditionally considered a creation of the Greeks and a unique feature of the West. However, theoretical perspectives such as Axial Age, Comparative History, Global History, and Comparative World Rhetoric offer new insights into the relationship between communication and persuasion. This paper aims to compare certain characteristics of Greek rhetoric and Indian rhetoric using the perspective of Comparative World Rhetoric. To do this, I analysed the Vedic texts, Aristotle’s Rhetoric , and the Nyāya Sūtra . I concluded that the comparison was a fundamental aspect of the rhetorical exercise in antiquity, as it allowed the speaker to better connect with the audience.