Encomium


Encomium is a Latin word deriving from the Ancient Greek enkomion, meaning "the praise of a person or thing." Another Latin equivalent is laudatio, a speech in praise of someone or something.
Originally it was the song sung by the chorus at the κῶμος, or festal procession, held at the Panhellenic Games in honour of the victor, either on the day of his victory or on its anniversary. The word came afterwards to denote any song written in celebration of distinguished persons, and in later times any spoken or written panegyric whatever.
Encomium also refers to several distinct aspects of rhetoric:
The classical model of the encomium typically followed the form:
  1. Exordium: Call the audience to virtue and rouse them to imitation of the thing praised.
  2. Praise the subject's "stock," including their people, country, ancestors, and parents.
  3. Praise the subject's education, artistic talent, and training in laws.
  4. Praise the subject's deeds, such as their excellencies of mind, body, and fortune.
  5. Favorably compare the subject to another figure commonly understood to be virtuous or praiseworthy.
  6. Conclude with an exhortation or final emulation.

Examples