ENCOMIUM

:''This article is about the word Encomium, for the musical album, see Encomium (album).''
'Encomium' is a Latin word deriving from the Classical Greek ενκωμιον (''encomion'') meaning the praise of a person or thing. Related to this general meaning, "encomium" also identifies several distinct aspects of rhetoric:

★ A general category of oratory

★ A method within rhetorical pedagogy

★ A figure of speech. As a figure, encomium means praising a person or thing, but occurring on a smaller scale than an entire speech.

★ The eighth exercise in the progymnasmata series

★ A genre of literature that included five elements: prologue, birth and upbringing, acts of the person's life, comparisons used to praise the subject, and an epilogue.

Contents

Famous encomia

Encomium in pop culture

Famous encomia

★ Gorgias' Encomium of Helen is one of the most famous historical encomia. In it, Gorgias offers several justifications for excusing Helen of Troy's adultery -- notably, that she was persuaded by speech, which is a "powerful lord" or "powerful drug" depending on the translation.

★ A kind of encomium is used by the Christian writer Paul in his praise of love in 1 Corinthians 13. The prologue is verses 1-3, acts are v. 4-7, comparison is v. 8-12, and epilogue is 13:13-14:1. (From David E. Garland, Baker Exegetical Commentary, 1 Corinthians, 606, based on the work of Sigountos.)

★ In Erasmus' Praise of Folly, Folly composes an encomium to herself. It is an ironic encomium because being praised by Folly is backwards praise; therefore, Folly praising herself is an ironic conundrum.

Encomium in pop culture

★ ''Encomium'' is also the name of a Led Zeppelin tribute album released in 1995.