A Civic Style: The Use of μετέχειν Metaphors in Athenian Oratory

Abstract

Abstract This paper examines the language of ‘sharing in the polis’ common in Greek legal and political discourse, with a particular emphasis on its use in Athenian oratory. It explores the conceptual metaphors related to various forms of engagement in the socio-political framework of the city-state, such as μετέχειν τῆς πόλεως and μετεῖναι τῆς πόλεως (“having a share in the polis”), μετέχειν τῶν τῆς πόλεως (“having a share in the affairs of the polis”), μετέχειν τῶν κοινῶν (“having a share in public affairs”), and more context-specific variants of this phrasing used by orators in attempts to influence the audiences gathered in the political institutions of democratic Athens. Finally, it argues that crucial distinctions should be made in the understanding of these different expressions and in interpreting their meaning in different rhetorical, legal, and socio-political contexts.