3 Mar. "Pericles's Funeral Oration" by Philipp Foltz in 1877 The word "eulogy" comes down to us from the Greek word eulogia meaning to offer praise, or even high praise. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. It was the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War (431404 BCE). Pericles' Funeral Oration - Peloponnesian War Primary Source Analysis Worksheet. Franais : Oraison funbre de Pricls . He asks her about her birth, and she says her name is Marina. Pericles' Funeral Oration Analysis: Athenian This piece is a funeral oratory, a speech written to honor fallen Athenian heroes at the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War. Some scholars argue that Thucydides likely edited Pericles's speech to some extent, noting that Thucydides described the speeches he recorded in his work as texts that communicated the main ideas that speakers sought to convey. John Gardener's Grendel: Summary & Analysis, Pericles Funeral Oration Analysis: Athenian. Born around 460 in Athens, he had caught the Plague that beset the city in 430, served as one of its generals in 424, and, despite Copyright 2016. Sold to a brothel run by Pander and Bawd, Marina refuses to give up her honor, despite the many men who come wanting to buy her virginity. It seemed to them a worthy thing that such an honor should be given at their burial to the dead who have fallen on the field of battle. for a group? Women and foreigners were excluded from public life. This speech became known as Pericles Funeral Oration, and it occurred in 431 B.C., just after the start of war. The freedom we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life. Pericles' Funeral Oration was a significant timestamp in 5th century Greece, Athens and to the Classical World. Athens was a proud democracy (ruled by its citizens), while Sparta was an oligarchy (ruled by a small number of people). Terms in this set (16) Context of Pericles' speech. [32], , ' . Pericles, Prince of Tyre, tries his hand at the riddle. Pericles celebrates the fact that Athenians have access to imported goods and are thus able to "enjoy the fruits of the whole world." Furthermore, Pericles says, Athens does not just exercise democratic principles in government, but also in everyday life. After you've learned about median download and upload speeds from Frankfurt over the last year, visit the list below to see mobile and fixed broadband . The goal that Pericles achieved through this speech was to make the people feel proud to be Athenians. creating and saving your own notes as you read. Soon she gets work in a reputable house, educating girls. Web. 508 BCE). They are reunited, but Pericles is exhausted, and in his sleep the goddess Diana tells him to go to her temple in Ephesus and tell of his experiences. Read the detailed scene-by-scene Summary & Analysis, the Full Book Summary, or the Full Book Analysis of Pericles. Upload them to earn free Course Hero access! Verified answer. [14] This amounts to a focus on present-day Athens; Thucydides' Pericles thus decides to praise the war dead by glorifying the city for which they died. By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy. $24.99 Pericles, a great supporter of democracy, was a Greek leader and statesman during the Peloponnesian War. Martha Taylor argues that Thucydides subtly critiques Pericles' vision of Athens as a city divorced from the territory of Attica and focused, instead, . In the following speech, Pericles made these points about democracy: Baird, Forrest E., editor. In a democracy, men can act how they wish without fear of judgment or retaliation from their neighbors, so long as they act within the confines of the law. The liberality of which Pericles spoke also extended to Athens' foreign policy: "We throw open our city to the world, and never by alien acts exclude foreigners from any opportunity of learning or observing, although the eyes of an enemy may occasionally profit by our liberality"[16] Yet Athens' values of equality and openness do not, according to Pericles, hinder Athens' greatness, indeed, they enhance it, "advancement in public life falls to reputations for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with meritour ordinary citizens, though occupied with the pursuits of industry, are still fair judges of public mattersat Athens we live exactly as we please, and yet are just as ready to encounter every legitimate danger."[17]. They relied upon themselves and did not give up during battle. Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan! 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. In this speech . He kept out of politics, but in 424, aged about 36, he was elected as one of the ten Athenian strategoi (generals) and despatched to the northern Aegean, doubtless because of his ties to the region. Pericles ends with a short epilogue, reminding the audience of the difficulty of the task of speaking over the dead. Tutor and Freelance Writer. According to Thucydides, Pericles' funeral oration said that democracy makes it so people can better themselves through merit rather than class or money. Pericles and his family have endured the vagaries of fortune, and through it all remained virtuous, so in the end they were rewarded with the joy of being reunited. Then underline and label the simple or compound subject and the simple or compound predicate. [21] He regards the soldiers who gave their lives as truly worth of merit. Pericles concludes his speech by encouraging his listeners to choose virtuous behavior in the days ahead. (2021, July 29). Pericles determines to enter the contest. Ancient Philosophy. Antiochus sends an assassin after him. January 2023. Sparta had a famously militaristic society, and the virtues of warlike behavior and harsh discipline were instilled in Spartans from early childhood. 3 Mar. The Thirty Tyrants After the Peloponnesian War. Contact us Under the hands of Pericles, Thucydides thought democracy could be controlled, but without him, it could be dangerous. Women in Athens were expected to be dutiful wives and mothers. According to the Public Broadcasting Service, the idea that Athenian citizens could be rulers but also rule themselves at the same time was a new idea, and it quickly became the ideal of the Greek world. Quote Analysis: The unexamined life is not worth living, Treaty of Versailles: How America, France & Britain Benefited, The Scarlet Letter: Analysis, Summary, Themes, The 1968 Tet Offensive: Summary & Analysis, The Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Refractive Indices of Water and Oil: Lab Explained, Hitlers Consolidation of Power: The Night of Long Knives. It is no accident that the Pericles' Funeral Oration inspires many similar type speeches today. Pericles first goes to Tarsus, where king Cleon and his wife Dionyza bemoan the famine that has beset their nation. Description: English: Pericles' Funeral Oration. 20% 13. With this disclaimer, Pericles states that he will nevertheless follow Athenian tradition and give the customary funeral oration, doing his best to satisfy the desires and opinions of his audience. In Tyre, Pericles worries that Antiochus will take some form of revenge, whether a military attack or an underhanded assassination attempt. [21] He praises the soldiers for not faltering in their execution during the war. Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Copy each sentence. It is likely also meant to encourage parents to engage in consideration of political issues, rather than simply think in terms of their own families. You can view our. He praises the double advantage of the Athenian system, which is that it prevents hardships in peacetime but produces a citizenry equally as capable of facing hardship in war as the Spartans. Pericles gave this speech to pay tribute to the people lost in battle. In doing so, he implicitly criticizes Sparta, Athens's great enemy in the war. Please wait while we process your payment. Pericles continues to discuss what makes Athens a great city-state. Thus, choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonour"[19] The conclusion seems inevitable: "Therefore, having judged that to be happy means to be free, and to be free means to be brave, do not shy away from the risks of war". Accessed March 3, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Funeral-Oration/. "Before I pass on to the praise of the dead, I should like to point out by what principles of action Athens rose to power, and under what institutions and through what manner of life we reached greatness. Pericles' funeral oration was a speech written by Thucydides and delivered by Pericles for his history of the Peloponnesian War. to start your free trial of SparkNotes Plus. Here, he refers to the Spartans as Lacedaemonians, as Sparta was located in the Laconia region of the Peloponnese, in southern Greece. The bibliography on this topic is enormous. He claims that "in magnifying the city I have magnified them." This had given Athens a great deal of control over the economies of its allies. Homer (c. 9th or 8th century BCE) was a celebrated Greek poet. Leading up to this oration, the people of Athens, including those from the countryside whose land was being pillaged by their enemies, were kept in crowded conditions within the walls of Athens. What the florid Isocrates would have taken several pages to explain, the brilliantly concise Thucydides is able to compress into a few carefully worded phrases. Pericles delivered this speech to the survivors of the fallen who lost their lives fighting in the Peloponnesian War. View all $18.74/subscription + tax, Save 25% Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more! Pericles had a firm believe in his people and in their capabiltites to fight with any adversity. Course Hero, Inc. As a reminder, you may only use Course Hero content for your own personal use and may not copy, distribute, or otherwise exploit it for any other purpose. He is successful, but discovers that its answer reveals the incestuous relationship between father and daughter. Pericles' Funeral Oration Primary Source Analysis by Stephanie's History Store $3.50 PDF Students will read excerpts from the Funeral Oration Pericles gave during the Peloponnesian War and answer 25 questions. Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more! Pericles lands in Tarsus and hands over his child, Marina, to Cleon and Dionyza, since he thinks it won't survive the journey to Tyre. B. Pericles fears that the dead have been sacrificed in vain. The war did indeed continue for many years. It is also a crucial moment in Thucydides' historical account of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, as it marks the transition from the first . Web. Accessed March 3, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Funeral-Oration/. You, their survivors, must determine to have as unfaltering a resolution in the field, though you may pray that it may have a happier outcome. It was more common for city-states to be ruled by a strong central authority or a tyrant (a strong individual leader). Here is a great resource for teaching about Ancient Greece. Athens's position was cemented when it moved the treasury of the Delian League to Athens in 454 BCE. tags: jealousy, praise. You'll also receive an email with the link. In Western culture, Pericles's oration is a model for speeches commemorating and honoring war dead. However, Pericles argues, this does not in any way make Athens weak. . Course Hero. PDF. Athenians rejected Sparta's values and practices, although it was clear that Sparta's culture did work to product a strong military. Upon first reading, the funeral oration is a stirring and strikingly resonant description of Western democracy's core values. The last part of the ceremony was a speech delivered by a prominent Athenian citizen chosen by the state. [20] He praised Athens for its attributes that stood out amongst their neighbours such as its democracy when he elaborates that trust is justly placed on the citizens rather than relying only on the system and the policy of the city. Pericles believed that democracy, because it is rule by citizens, required citizens to be informed and to have a direct interest in affairs of state. Pericles' Funeral Oration from The Peloponnesian War (Book 2.34-46) This famous speech was given by the Athenian leader Pericles after the first battles of the Peloponnesian war. Pericles begins his oration by setting out the difficulty of his task: to please those in the audience who were close to the dead with tales of glory and honor without dismissing the citizens . 8th-century bce), and conceptualized as "rhetoric" in the 5th and 4th centuries bce.At the moment of its emergence, rhetoric was bifurcated: the new discipline of philosophy denigrated it as a realm of mere opinion and . 2023. Antiochus has kept suitors from marrying her by requiring that they answer a riddle correctly or die. Sometimes it can end up there. The Athenians also make friends by giving favors, not by requesting favors from others. He also says that the Athenians open their borders to the world and do not exclude foreigners. This is another major purpose of his speech. According to Thucydides, Pericles funeral oration said that democracy makes it so people can better themselves through merit rather than class or money. As a funeral oration, Pericles's speech is a specific form of panegyric called an epitaphion. he spoke as follows: