Panegyric
A formal work of praise that celebrates a patron, ruler, or public figure. Panegyric can appear in poetry, prose, or public speech.
Isocrates: An Athenian rhetorician whose prose speeches shaped Greek education and political thought. His Panegyricus, delivered in 380 BCE, urged Greek unity against Persia.
Epideictic rhetoric: The branch of rhetoric concerned with praise and blame, commonly delivered at ceremonies or public occasions. Panegyric is a major form of epideictic rhetoric.
Imperial panegyric: Praise discourse that celebrates an emperor and presents his rule as legitimate or beneficial. Roman and later imperial courts used panegyric to articulate ideals of rulership.
Invective: A form of speech or writing that attacks a person or institution with insulting language. Invective reverses panegyric's purpose by exposing faults rather than celebrating virtues.
Imperial cult: Religious practices that honored Roman emperors and members of their families, especially after death. Panegyric could echo the honors and divine language surrounding emperors.
Panegyricus: A prose oration by Isocrates, written in 380 BCE, advocating Greek unity and leadership by Athens. Its title gave panegyric a lasting name and model.
Rhetorical topoi: Conventional lines of argument and themes used to develop a speech or composition. Shared themes let a panegyrist expand a subject's ancestry, deeds, virtues, and legacy.
Laus urbis: A literary form that praises a city through its setting, history, institutions, and inhabitants. City panegyrics adapt personal praise conventions to civic identity.
Satire: A literary mode that uses humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize human folly or social institutions. Satire can puncture the inflated claims that panegyric makes.
Patronage: A relationship in which a powerful person supports artists, writers, or institutions in exchange for services or loyalty. Patronage explains the material and social conditions behind much commissioned praise.