The origin of the word panegyric is in the Greek, as it comes from pan, which means everything, and from gyrikos, which comes from the word agyris, which means all the people. Thus, for the Greeks a eulogy was a type of speech intended for all the people. It was not just any kind of speech but had a specific purpose: to praise or extol a person, a god or a popular hero.
Usually the words of praise or commendation were pronounced in the context of situations of certain social importance, such as festivals, weddings or posthumous tributes. The eulogy in the Greek tradition was assumed by the Roman culture. Today we continue to use the eulogy in those contexts in which words of praise or thanks are spoken.
Today the term panegyric is used to refer to a spoken text or speech in which a person is publicly praised. There is no single format in which you present the eulogy, as it can be delivered in the form of a farewell letter, in a newspaper article, or with a short speech at a funeral.
Different ways of honoring someone in Greco-Latin culture
The eulogy in Greek culture was more than a few words of praise, as it must be understood as a rhetorical exercise in which the speaker shows others his skill with words. It is worth emphasizing that in Greek culture there were different rhetorical exercises, also known by the term progymnasmata (such as narration, fable, accusation and other types of speech).
In the Greek tradition there were several ways of paying homage: in the form of an epitaph or epigram, in verse through an elegy, an ode or a dithyramb, erecting a statue to honor someone's memory or with a commendable funeral speech. On the opposite side to words of praise were disqualifying speeches or critical proposals, such as satire or vituperation.
The importance of the word in classical Greece
A panegyric is an illustrative example of the importance that the Greeks attached to oratory and rhetorical exercises. We could say that the Greeks placed great value on words. We can appreciate this aspect through various manifestations: theater, philosophical dialogues, dialectical disputes in the agora or the teachings of the masters of oratory, the sophists. Somehow the Greeks realized the power of words, because with them it is possible to tell stories with beauty or to convince the people.
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