By DESTANEE ROCHA-GARCIA
Staff Writer
The concept of Kairos refers to the opportune time and/or place that is the right or appropriate time to say or do the right appropriate thing. In Greek mythology, Kairos is the youngest child of Zeus, which was the god of opportunity. According to Diogenes, the philosopher Protagoras was the first to expound the importance of the “right moment” in classical rhetoric. In Act III of Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar,” the character Mark Antony employs Kairos in his first appearance before the crowd (bearing the corpse of Julius Caesar) and in his hesitation to read Caesar’s will aloud. In bringing Caesar’s corpse, Antony draws attention away from the character Brutus (who is declaiming about the “justice” that has been carried out) and toward himself and the assassinated emperor; as a result, Anthony gains an extremely attentive audience. Likewise, his calculated hesitation to read the will aloud allows him to reveal its contents without seeming to do so, and his dramatic pause serves to heighten the crowd’s interest. This is a classic example of Kairos.