This paper examines role played in rhetoric and forensic oratory in classical
Athens by the creation of prejudice in the judges against the opponent (diabole). It notes
the under-representation of this process in the rhetorical tradition — as distinct from
practical legal oratory, whose exponents show a clear awareness of the methods needed
to create prejudice — and seeks to explain the deficiency. It also surveys briefly the
manner and content of negative characterization of the opponent in Athenian forensic
oratory
