The historical context in which Aristotle wrote is crucial to fully understanding the Rhetoric. Although the principles outlined in this work are generally flexible and easily adapted to different circumstances—by design—they are understandably founded on the basis of Athenian democracy, which flourished roughly from 510 to 323 BCE. This was a time of major intellectual and political upheaval, and as Aristotle lived and wrote in the final decades of this period, this work (along with the rest of Aristotle’s writings) could be seen as a culmination of Greek Classical thought.

The advent of Athenian radical democracy necessitated the invention of rhetoric as a field of study. Under this system, adult male citizens had no representation in government; instead, every Athenian man had the right (and the obligation) to sit and vote in the public assembly (the seat of government, which made legislative decisions and decided other important matters concerning the city-state). During debates in the assembly, any citizen was allowed to speak, as well, and to contribute to the political discussion. Assembly meetings had a quorum of 6,000 (at least 10 percent of the eligible citizen population), meaning that matters of great importance depended on which speeches held the broadest appeal to the citizenry.