Gorgias of Leontini (5th cent. BCE) was among the earliest of Greek orators and was widely influential for theorizing oratory and for perfecting certain stylistic traits in his efforts to adapt the artistry of poetry to prose. His speeches, including the famous Encomium of Helen, feature figures that share the common traits of employing both repetition and contrast in artful ways. Consequently, the following figures are sometimes known as "Gorgianic" figures:

• antithesis
• paronomasia
• anadiplosis
• parechesis (including alliteration)
• homoeoteleuton
• parisosis and isocolon