Ἀνώνυμος ῥητορικὸς λόγος (Anonymous Rhetorical Treatise)

Life No biographical information exists for the anonymous author(s) of this rhetorical treatise. The work dates from the 1st to 4th century CE, a period during which rhetorical education in the Roman Empire was highly systematized. Such anonymity is typical for technical handbooks of the era, where focus rested on doctrine rather than authorial identity.

Works The work is a single rhetorical handbook. The notation of 22 works likely refers to the number of chapters or contained exercises (progymnasmata). While this specific treatise is not detailed in major sources, it belongs to a common genre exemplified by surviving anonymous texts like the Rhetorica ad Alexandrum and various imperial-era progymnasmata [1, 2].

Significance Anonymous rhetorical treatises were fundamental to Greco-Roman education (paideia). They preserved the technical vocabulary, models, and exercises needed to train orators and lawyers, ensuring the continuity of classical rhetorical theory into the Roman and Byzantine periods. Their practical nature makes them valuable sources for understanding ancient pedagogical methods.

Sources 1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Aristotle's Rhetoric): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-rhetoric/ 2. Perseus Digital Library (Rhetorica ad Alexandrum): http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0040