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Athenian democracy and today's democracy
Athenian democracy and today's democracy
Funeral oration of pericles sparknotes
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Pericles, born in 495 BC in Athens, to an affluent right-winged family, was an orator, a statesman and an Athenian General during the Peloponnesian Wars whose views shaped Athens' democracy for the better. Honoring the dead publicly was a yearly event. In the winter of 431-430 B.C.E, Pericles was asked to deliver this oration. He wrote and delivered the famous funeral speech, "The Document" as a way to honor his homeland, its' military, and his fallen brethren.
First to glorify Athens, Pericles states in his speech, that it is a head for other city states to follow by saying, "Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a model for others than imitators ourselves. Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy." Pericles would continue on to say that Athenians are law abiding people. He said in his speech in the Document, "We obey the magistrates and the laws, particularly those for the protection of the injured, whether they are actually on the statute book, or belong to that code which, although unwritten, yet cannot be broken without acknowledged disgrace.
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Pericles promoted imperialism. The document states, "We throw open our city to the world, and never pass laws to exclude foreigners from any opportunity of learning or observing, although the eyes of the enemy may occasionally profit from our liberality." Pericles believes that if citizens fall in love with their city, they will willingly sacrifice themselves. The document states, "...happiness comes from freedom and freedom comes from courage; never decline the dangers of war. To be happy, one must be free, and to be free one must
Although Socrates and Pericles are in different situations while giving their speeches, they both talk about things that let you, as the reader, see their views on certain points. One of the key points they agree upon is death.
One important contribution of Ancient Greek to the Western Culture is Democracy. The very term itself is of Greek derivation, meaning "People’s Rule". Unlike modern states which call themselves "Democratic". For example, Pericles Funeral Oration gave the greatest contribution to our today’s society. In .(Doc. 2) Pericles stated "Our plan of government favors the many instead of the few". Because of this quote it has contributed the society tremendously due to the fact that the democratic society is a direct democracy. Yet in a way, people have the power to overthrow other powerful representatives; Pericles Funeral Oration, gave us the idea of keeping the civilization as a democracy rather than Oligarchy, Monarchy, and many more. Moreover, Solon an Athenian tyrant discussed his thought about democracy. In .(doc. 4) Solon stated, "I drew up laws for bad and good alike, and set straight justice over each". Solon reveals that he has created laws for the good of others. He wanted every individual having the ...
Pericles did not wish to simply reiterate what Athens had achieved, but rather he wanted to address how and why Athens achieved. He believed that Athenian politics, culture, and character were more relevant to the deceased soldiers than their ancestor’s military successes. Accordingly, he praised these elements of Athenian society and in the process justified the soldiers’ sacrifice. He spoke “but what was the road by which we reached our position, what the form of government under which our greatness grew, what the national habits out of which it sprang; these are the questions which I may try to solve before I proceed to my eulogy upon these men; since I think this to be a subject upon which on the present occasion a speaker may properly dwell, and to which the whole assemblage, whether citizens or foreigners, may listen with advantage.” (2.36.4).
One of the biggest critics of Pericles’ vision of democracy was Pseudo-Xenophon or (The Old Oligarch). The Old Oligarch first critics the common assessment of the Athenian Democracy that states that democracy does not work very well and that it is foolish and mistaken. The Old Oligarch responds to this common assessment believing that Athens is doing everything right with democracy in terms of what they wanted to achieve with all citizens getting a say in government as Pericles had visioned. However, the Old Oligarch criticizes the common people of Athens as ignorant and disorderly. The Old Oligarch does not agree that all Athenian citizens have merit over class like Pericles. Not being a supporter of the poor, the Old Oligarch finds the Aristocrats as the better sort of people. In passage 1.9, The Old Oligarch states, “But if you seek for good legislation, in the first place you will see the cleverest members of the community laying down the laws for the rest.” The Old Oligarch’s statement shows that he believed the aristocrats were designed to rule. They had money and time, the two biggest components to get an education at the time, and as a result the Old Oligarch believed the aristocrats since educated, could make the best legislation for Athens. The Old Oligarch belief is supported through history to when democracy fell in Athens after the consequences of the Sicilian Expedition. After the fall of democracy, Aristocrats were put in charge because they were seemed as the most educated. In addition, the Old Oligarch states in passage 2.17, “But in the case of engagements entered into by a democracy it is
It is widely known that the Athenians highly valued their warrior class, and they saw the warriors as a ring of the higher circle of the society. The Athenians were very proud of Athena and its traditions, as well. Athenian’s thought that Athena was the best, none could be better. The funeral oration was aimed to respect the fallen as well as to keep up the national pride and its passion to protect their nation. The speech was a eulogy which focused on the eminence of Athens and its predecessors. Usually a son was chosen to give the eulogy. The law required the speech to have several essential components. The speech had to concerning the lives of the deceased. At his eulogy’s end, Pericles spoke in regard to the soldiers. The speech talked about the life that the departed lived and the achievements which they gained. Pericles wanted the citizens to recall the soldiers but to forget about the tragedy that had occurred. He wanted the departed’s lives to be remembered, but not their demise. The speech helped the Athenians appreciate what their ancestors had died for and how they shou...
The Peloponnesian War was fought from 431-409 BC. It was a civil war between the Greek city-states and was lead by Sparta and it’s allies against the dominating Athenian government. The Athenian leader, Pericles, was a learned scholar and an ingenious military general. His speeches were known for their ability to motivate and give courage to a crowd whether it was to his soldiers in the final moments right before a battle or to a gathering in the streets of Athens. After the first few battles of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles was asked to give the funeral oration for those that were slain in defense of Athens. He did not offer his condolences to the families of those that died, but he offered them comfort. He did this because the men that died in those battles did not do so in vain, for dying in defense of one’s city-state had nothing to do with vanity in the eyes of the ...
Parmele, M. (2010). Pericles’ Funeral Oration: because every self aware citizen should have it available. American Bull Moose .
Pericles was famous for the establishment of the first democracy, as well as having the Parthenon built. In ancient times, Pericles was well known for his knowledge of the arts and sciences, his, diminishing the power of the rich, and for raising illegitimate children with his foreign wife, Aspasia. In spite of the public’s disapproval of his domestic life, Pericles still did well in politics, due to his public speaking skills and support the desires and rights of the commoner, and is now considered to be one of the most famous rulers of ancient Greece.
For Pericles, Athenian values are realized through culture and “daily devotion.” He claims that Athenian citizens obey both “the laws themselves” and “agreed-on social values (which need no specific legislation),” not requiring legislation to uphold their values. Accordingly, Pericles views exceptionalism as intrinsic to Athenians. Boasting about the city, Pericles questions “how else did she become great but by this genius in her citizens?” A recommitment to civic values, therefore, is simple to Pericles: Athenians are exceptional at the moment of his speech, and must simply continue their past conduct in order to achieve future
On which they would scratch the name of the person that represented a threat.”(Doc E)This demonstrates why Athens was a democratic society since not only did civilians get to decide on who is in office and who is not. Furthermore, because democracy means rule by the people, and male citizens of ancient Athens voted laws and officials into place.(doc c) This exemplifies how salient the majority's opinion was instead of opinions of just a few rich men .In addition, Athens “....constitution favors many instead of few.”(doc a) Also Athenians had the freedom to do whatever they desire a long as they did not disrupt any other citizen or violate a law. “The freedom which we enjoy in our governments also to our ordinary life…...we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbor for doing what he likes. But all this ease in our private life does not make us lawless as citizens.”(doc A) Therefore, this exhibits that this is a democratic government because this is a characteristic that can be seen in democratic governments today. To summarize why Athens was a democracy.Citizens were free to do what makes them jubilant as long as it did not interfere with the laws or fellow citizens. Male citizens could vote and elect the rulers and vote laws into place. These aspects all demonstrate why Athens
In the first of the two texts, Pericles is making a very bold statement on the state of the Athens. “Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighbouring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves.” In his speech, Pericles is trying to rally the Athenians to support the new democracy and to make them feel important by being associated with
First, I will explain Pericles view on a perfect community and how it is later affected by unjust speech. A successful society requires the commitment of the whole community
The death of Pericles was a significant event in the course of the Peloponnesian War; however, even without Pericles' leadership the Athenian Assembly had countless opportunities to prevent their loss and chose not to take them. The fickleness and inefficiency of democracy ('the mob') allowed the Athenians to be easily influenced and therefore electing populists such as Cleon, Lysicles and Hyperbolus into dominant leadership roles. Election, via democratic means, of such populists, meant that the Athenians would take a much more aggressive approach to the war and therefore abandon the policies that Pericles had previously established. So in turn, democracy the institution for which the Athenians fought tirelessly to protect, rather than the death of Pericles, ironically became the dominant factor influencing the final outcome of this Ancient Greek civil war.
Thucydides’ version of Pericles’ “Funeral Oration” can be read as more of an ironic rendering of Pericles’ original speech since The History of the Peloponnesian War is not just considered to be a historical account but also a “highly imaginative piece of work” in which Thucydides made characters involved in the war say what he believed they actually meant instead of what they might have originally said (Thucydides Introduction pg. x). In the “Funeral Oration”, Pericles praises certain
No one would deny that Pericles was the most prominent Greek statesman and spokesperson during the Golden Age. His contribution was largely felt during the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars having obtained power from his family link to the Alcmaeonid family. He commanded a lot of respect to from the Athenian citizens with Thucydides describing him as "the first citizen of Athens” . He was born at around 495 BC north of Athens in the ...