The funeral oration of Pericles was a speech that Pericles gave about democracy. The speech was for those who had died during the first year of the war. Pericles tried to honor those who had fought for their city, those who had been brave enough to leave their souls and hearts in the battlefields and those who were proud of being Athenians. Pericles not only was the leader of Athens in that era (431/430 B.C.) but also a great supporter of democracy. He was very popular, many citizens followed him with loyalty and devotion. The period of governance of Pericles was one of the most envied moments in history and his speech is until now, one of the most influential and prominent discourse about democracy. The people of Athens submitted to the laws and obeyed the public officials not because they had to, as it was in other cities, but because they wanted to. Athenians had thus achieved something quite unique, being both ruled and rulers at one and the same time. The Athenians were the new ideal of the Greek world in that era. The funerals were public rituals in Athens and usually the ceremony lasted …show more content…
He talked about the dead as if they were heroes, who were willing to die for their nation. Idols that should be admired by all Greek population and by all the world, as role models and as winners even though they had fallen. He reaffirms freedom as the perfect ideal; freedom to speak, to think, to take decisions. He embraced the equality, the rights and the tolerance. He said that they did not break the law, not because their obedience to the men who hold public office, but the deep respect they had for them. Athenians had to feel safe due to they were together and protected. He also talked about all growth opportunities within the nation, all the hard work done by its citizens. Their festivals, the improvements of the city, its beauty and its good
There are two important matters that the "Funeral Oration of Pericles" proves, these two matters are, the great respect that Athenians have for their warrior class and how the Athenians were exceedingly proud of their city and its customs. The following paper discusses the way of life of Athenians and how the Funeral Oration of Pericles influenced it.
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...
We can learn several things from the “Funeral Oration of Pericles“. Two of these things are, the Athenians respect for their warrior class and how the Athenians were exceedingly proud of their city and its customs. The Athenians respected the warrior class and placed them among the top members of their society. They were seen as the top portion of their classes. They are classified as heroes or idols. The Athenians are extremely proud of their city and its traditions. To the people of Athens their country was at the top and there was no other country that could top them off. The purpose of the funeral oration is not only to respect the departed but, but also to instill the citizen’s national pride and a passion to fight for Athens.
...y from the war, as their main reason for not declaring peace. Pericles would also deny the fact that leaders of Athens are unfit for leadership, since he believes that “no subject can complain of being governed by people unfit for their responsibilities” (Pericles Funeral Oration, Perry pg. 64). Aristophanes plays The Acharnians and Lysistrata both expose leaders as corrupt and unable to do what is necessary for peace, such as the lack of negotiations by The Assembly and Lamachus in The Acharnians and the failures of men and political leaders to stop the war in Lysistrata. Overall Pericles Funeral Oration was meant to install morale, heighten spirits, and lift the Athenian people in a time of crisis. Aristophanes goal was to send a message of peace by exposing flaws in Athenian society, which I believe Pericles would not have taken kindly too during a time of war.
Spoken at the public funeral of the fallen Athenian soldiers, Pericles gave his words of remembrance in a largely indirect manner by referencing Athens. Through the assistance of Thucydides, we have a written record of the words that Pericles may have spoken over 2,400 years ago. Similar to the work from Herodotus, Pericles’ Funeral Oration is a commemoration speech by Pericles and historical documentation / journalism by Thucydides. Pericles’ indirect commemoration of the fallen is best demonstrated at 2.42: “I have dwelt upon the greatness of Athens … [it is] a higher prize … and to establish by manifest proof the merit of these men whom I am now commemorating”. Here Thucydides writes that Athens was the “higher prize” meaning that the democracy and their freedom was worth fighting for. Pericles spoke that “these men nobly fought and died; they could not bear the thought that [Athens] might be taken from them” (Thucydides, 2.41). Pericles after saying this then urges the living citizens of Athens to “toil” on the behalf of their democracy which their fallen valiantly paid for with their lives. Pericles then wraps back around to explain why speaking about Athens commemorates the fallen best – “Their loftiest praise has been already spoken. For in magnifying the city I have magnified them, and men like them whose virtues made her glorious” (Thucydides, 2.42). Therefore, by speaking of
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.
Pericles, one of the more influential political figures in Athens at that time, makes a speech that acts as a eulogy to mourn and honor fallen soldiers who were killed in the first year of the Peloponnesian War. Instead of comforting the families of the dead, he uses his speech to increase support for Athens and their ongoing war with Sparta which he convinced them to fight in the first place.
I am here to praise the man Pericles. He was an amazing leader, and he played a major role in shaping the constitution of ancient Athens. The historian Thucydides even calls him “the first Citizen” of democratic Athens, because of his role in forming its democracy. He was also a primary leader during Athens’ “Golden Age.” He was a respected general, and statesman. And he was an exceptional Orator, perhaps the best in his city. Whenever he talked, everyone listened.
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
While the culture of other city states was left barren and void as a result of their complete focus on the military, the Athenian culture was rich and diverse. Pericles makes note of this in his oration: “When our work is over, we are in a position to enjoy all kinds of recreation for our spirits. There are various kinds of contests and sacrifices regularly throughout the year; in our own homes we find a beauty and a good taste which delight us every day and which drive away our cares. Then the greatness of our city brings it about that all the good things from all over the world flow in to us” (Thucydides, page 146, Section 38, lines 1-7). Pericles was making note that Athens has infrastructure that allows its citizens to have recreation after their work was over, which drives away their cares. In addition to that, the sheer greatness of Athens naturally makes all good things from other parts of the world flow to it. Pericles also makes note of the Athenian’s obedience to laws and protection of the oppressed: “We give our obedience to those whom we put in positions of authority, and we obey the laws themselves, especially those which are for the protection of the oppressed, and those unwritten was which it is an acknowledged shame to break” (Thucydides, page 145, Section 37, lines 19-22). Pericles is stating that the Athenians are naturally obedient towards their elected officials, and
Pericles (495–429 BCE, whose name means "surrounded by glory") was a prominent statesman, famous orator [speaker], and general of Athens during the Golden Age of Athens. So profound was
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 ...
Many of the literary, artistic and architectural works of Greece’s Golden Age still exist today and are part of Pericles' legacy. The Acropolis, though in ruins, still stands and is a symbol of modern Athens. The form of democracy championed by Pericles was built upon by the Romans and serves as the basis of modern democracy. But what made him a great man in his time were his skills and instincts as a leader in military, political, and cultural