Hypsos is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

concept comparable to the modern concept of the sublime, or a moment that brings oral

speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...

to an astonishing and monumental pause. Its

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

''hypso-'' literally means "aloft", "height", or "on high". However, a distinguishing feature of hypsos in

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

al studies is that it “combines conflicting

emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

s: fear and

awe Awe is an emotion comparable to wonder but less joyous. On Robert Plutchik's wheel of emotions awe is modeled as a combination of surprise and fear. One dictionary definition is "an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., ...

, horror and fascinations.” It is a climactic moment in speech that generates uncertainty for the audience.

Origin

The ancient Greek rhetoric teacher

Longinus Longinus () is the name given to the unnamed Roman soldier who pierced the side of Jesus with a lance and who in medieval and some modern Christian traditions is described as a convert to Christianity. His name first appeared in the apocryphal G ...

introduced the concept of hypsos in the only significant piece of literature that he is known for having written during his lifetime, ''

On the Sublime ''On the Sublime'' (Greek: Περì Ὕψους Perì Hýpsous; Latin: ''De sublimitate'') is a Roman-era Greek work of literary criticism dated to the 1st century- C.E.. Its author is unknown, but is conventionally referred to as Longinus (; g ...

''. In his work, Longinus prompted the possibilities and freedom that

could possess by presenting hypsos. Longinus’ theories and concepts differed greatly from other Greek rhetoricians and

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

s, and challenged the traditional rigid structure of rhetorical practices.

Long-term effects

Hypsos is studied by present-day

rhetorician Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

s, and is often referred to through the publication of ''Translations of the Sublime: The Early Modern Reception and Dissemination of Longinus: Peri Hupsous in Rhetoric, the

Visual Arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

, Architecture, and the Theatre'', a collection of volumes of Longinus’

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

s. It stands as one of few pieces that explore the ways in which hypsos (which Longinus refers to as “the sublime in one single thought”) is used not only in rhetoric and literature, but also in the visual arts, architecture, and theater.

Notes

Concepts in ancient Greek aesthetics Rhetoric {{rhetoric-stub