panegyric

A panegyric is a public speech or written work that extensively praises a person, institution, or event. The term derives from the Greek panegyrikos, from panegyris meaning a public assembly, indicating that such rhetoric was originally delivered in a ceremonial or festive setting.

In classical rhetoric, panegyric referred to epideictic discourse—speech or writing intended to celebrate and laud. In ancient Greece, orators delivered panegyrics at public festivals to honor gods, heroes, or civic leaders; in Rome, imperial panegyrics extolled emperors and magistrates. The genre developed into a recognizable literary form, with many surviving examples in Latin, notably Pliny the Younger’s Panegyric of Trajan, a formal encomium of the emperor.

Characteristics of panegyric include elevated diction, ceremonial tone, and a focus on virtue, wisdom, public service, and exemplary conduct. The aim is to commend the subject by highlighting achievements and ideals, often with idealization and rhetorical flourish. Because of its public and celebratory function, panegyric can blend praise with political or moral exhortation.

Modern usage broadens the term beyond formal orations to any highly laudatory writing or speech about a contemporary figure, institution, or event. It remains a recognized literary and rhetorical category but can carry ironic or sarcastic overtones when the praise seems excessive or unearned. Panegyric thus occupies a place at the intersection of rhetoric, literature, and public ceremony, serving to honor while illustrating the social values of a given culture.