Analysis of Famous Speeches: THE BLAG: Analysis of Pericles' Funeral oration
They became eager to make peace with Sparta, and actually sent ambassadors there, though they failed to achieve anything. However we can still be reasonably sure that the text by Thucydides is a faithful representation of the actual funeral oration. For this offering of their lives made in common by them all they each of them individually received that renown which never grows old, and for a sepulcher, not so much that in which their bones have been deposited, but that noblest of shrines wherein their glory is laid up to be eternally remembered upon every occasion on which deed or story shall call for its commemoration. It was an important point in the history of. By including the speeches of Pericles in his text, Thucydides sets an example of what is a just form of government and what makes a good leader in a democracy. Numberless are the chances to which, as they know, the life of man is subject; but fortunate indeed are they who draw for their lot a death so glorious as that which has caused your mourning, and to whom life has been so exactly measured as to terminate in the happiness in which it has been passed.
Military Expeditions Pericles now became a general, called the strategos, of the Athenian army. Artists and sculptors, playwrights and poets, architects and philosophers all found Athens an exciting and enlivening atmosphere for their work. No, holding that vengeance upon their enemies was more to be desired than any personal blessings, and reckoning this to be the most glorious of hazards, they joyfully determined to accept the risk, to make sure of their vengeance, and to let their wishes wait; and while committing to hope the uncertainty of final success, in the business before them they thought fit to act boldly and trust in themselves. The most famous of these speeches is his Funeral Oration, given at the conclusion of the First Peloponnesian War. Thucydides and the Tradition of Funeral Speeches at Athens. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if no social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition. I have performed it to the best of my ability, and in word, at least, the requirements of the law are now satisfied.
The New York Review of Books. His final word on the topic was not, as he pointed out, a simple boast. Our form of does not imitate the laws of neighboring states. For a man's counsel cannot have equal weight or worth, when he alone has no children to risk in the general danger. He then goes into describing their democracy and why it is the best for all to follow. Funeral Oration of Pericles In the reading of the Funeral Oration of Pericles, I do not believe what Pericles says about Athens.
Lindeman And so he did. However, since our ancestors have stamped this custom with their approval, it becomes my duty to obey the law and to try to satisfy your several wishes and opinions as best I may. Our form of government is called a democracy because its administration is in the hands, not of a few, but of the whole people. No, holding that vengeance upon their enemies was more to be desired than any personal blessings, and reckoning this to be the most glorious of hazards, they joyfully determined to accept the risk, to make sure of their vengeance, and to let their wishes wait; and while committing to hope the uncertainty of final success, in the business before them they thought fit to act boldly and trust in themselves. Their loftiest praise has been already spoken. Golden Age of Athens The leadership of Pericles ushered in a time which is called the Golden Age of Athens. All of this contributes to the sense of community Pericles boasts about.
Tying the honor of the dead — the stated purpose of the oration — with a call to arms, and doing so with such intricacy, makes the two almost inseparable for the audience as well. In the speech Pericles described the Athenian ideals and democracy. And they are surely to be esteemed the bravest spirits who, having the clearest sense both of the pains and pleasures of life, do not on that account shrink from danger. Politics and Law Pericles also worked on reforming the Athenian democracy. Perhaps he meant to reference the development of the Athenian government and the role the ancestors served in creating it. He further talked about how the citizens of Athens worked for the greater good not because they were forced to as slaves or poor people like in other cities, but because they wanted to out of their own desire and will.
Perhaps no other city or culture has enjoyed such a fertile period of genius and brilliance in so many different disciplines. And that this is no mere boast thrown out for the occasion, but plain matter of fact, the power of the state acquired by these habits proves. Such is the city for whose sake these men nobly fought and died; they could not bear the thought that she might be taken from them; and every one of us who survive should gladly toil on her behalf. He used it to boost morale for the soldiers, to get them excited and to give them a reason to keep fighting, he also used it to give a reason behind the war to the citizens. Corinth, however, had a fleet and so did another ally, , which the Spartan coalition made use of. They resigned to hope their unknown chance of happiness; but in the face of death they resolved to rely upon themselves alone.
He asks her about her birth, and she says her name is Marina. Great will be your glory in not falling short of your natural character; and greatest will be hers who is least talked of among the men, whether for good or for bad. When she realizes Pericles is her lost husband, she faints, and Cerimon explains that she is Thaisa. Thus, choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonour. Exhortation to the living 2. In proof of this it may be noticed that the Lacedaemonians do not invade our country alone, but bring with them all their confederates; while we Athenians advance unsupported into the territory of a neighbor, and fighting upon a foreign soil usually vanquish with ease men who are defending their homes. Previous orations had focused on celebrating the Athenian military by recounting their trials and accomplishments.
