Paradeigma


Paradeigma is a Greek term for a pattern, example or sample; the plural reads Paradeigmata. Its closest translation is 'an isolated example by which a general rule illustrated'.
Limited to rhetoric, a paradeigma is used to compare the situation of the audience to a similar past event, like a parable. It offers counsel on how the audience should act. In the Greek tradition many paradeigmata are mythological examples, often in reference to a popular legend or well-known character in a similar position to the audience.

Paradeigmata in literature

There are no prominent or ancient rhetoricians who explicitly discussed the use of paradeigmata, but it can be seen clearly in various examples of literature.
Homer's The Iliad – Achilles is trying to encourage Priam to eat rather than continue to weep for his dead son Hector. He brings up Niobe, a woman that had lost twelve children but still found the strength to eat. He is trying to counsel Priam to do what he should by using Niobe as a paradeigma, an example to guide behaviour.
Jesus' parables in the New Testament of the Bible – In Luke 7:41-47 Jesus uses the following paradeigmata to explain how much a man loves in response to how much he is forgiven.