Abstract

This paper examines the concept of isēgoria. It looks especially at Herodotus, comparing his use of the term to that of other authors. The term does not primarily refer to ‘the equal right to speak in the assembly’. Rather, it is a ‘language ideology’ that characterizes the bearing of the free, full citizen. Isēgoria was a negative concept, defined by what it was not more than what it was: not flattery; not fearful; not indirect. Isēgoria could only exist in a community of complete equality, and was threatened when someone became too powerful or too important. It can best be translated as ‘the speech of equals before equals’.