Abstract

This article describes the conceptualizations of the term _kairos_, generally taken to mean "the opportune moment," by Isocrates. Though Isocrates was instrumental in developing _kairos_ as a "quasi-technical" concept within the rhetorical art, his use of the word was highly nuanced and could be applied in one of three poles of meaning: (1) "circumstances"; (2) notions of the "appropriate"; and (3) "opportunity," an orientation of elements within a particular moment that either supplies or shuts off a path toward a strategic outcome. Furthermore, over half of Isocrates's eighty-five uses of the term and its variants have little to do with rhetorical theory per se but are simply incidental modifiers of matters under discussion. Accordingly, though _kairos_ is an important term of art for Isocrates, only nuanced reading of the context can reveal his meaning for any given use of the word.