Sophist

The Sophists were the skilled practicioners of rhetoric in Ancient Greece. After the transition from Aristocracy to Democracy, the ability to speak eloquently was becoming more important than social status in the Greek city-states. The Sophists offered citizens citizens the arts of persuasion. For a price, they provided training for creating arguments and presenting them in a persuasive manner. "Soon training in rhetoric became the very foundation of Greek education, and eventually came to be viewed as the principal sign of an educated and influential person."