What did Pericles say about Athens in his Funeral Oration?

What did Pericles say about Athens in his Funeral Oration?

In the climax of his praise of Athens, Pericles declares: “In short, I say that as a city we are the school of Hellas; while I doubt if the world can produce a man, who, where he has only himself to depend upon, is equal to so many emergencies, and graced by so happy a versatility as the Athenian.” Finally, Pericles …

When was Athenian democracy the Funeral Oration of Pericles written?

431
In 431, shortly after the Peloponnesian War had broken out, Pericles delivered his famous Funeral Oration to commemorate those troops who had already fallen in battle.

What was Pericles most famous speech?

In 431 BCE the Athenian statesman Pericles delivered one of the most influential speeches of all time, his Epitaphios or Funeral Oration. The occasion was at the funeral of the first Athenian soldiers to lose their lives in the Peloponnesian War.

Who ruled during the golden era of Athens?

Pericles
The so-called golden age of Athenian culture flourished under the leadership of Pericles (495-429 B.C.), a brilliant general, orator, patron of the arts and politician—”the first citizen” of democratic Athens, according to the historian Thucydides.

What Thucydides think of Pericles?

Thucydides fervently supported Pericles but was less enthusiastic about the institution of democracy. Under the hands of Pericles, Thucydides thought democracy could be controlled, but without him, it could be dangerous.

What is Pericles speech?

Pericles was a famous Greek general. He gave a speech in Athens, a public speech, honoring the many warriors who were killed in battle after the first year of the Peloponnesian War. He stated that the soldiers who died gave their lives to protect the city of Athens, its citizens, and its freedom. …

Is there a funeral oration in ancient Athens?

Several funeral orations from classical Athens are extant, which seem to corroborate Thucydides ‘ assertion that this was a regular feature of Athenian funerary custom in wartime. The Funeral Oration was recorded by Thucydides in book two of his famous History of the Peloponnesian War.

What was the language of thucydides’funeral speech?

Language and translations. Thucydides’ Greek is notoriously difficult, but the language of Pericles Funeral Oration is considered by many to be the most difficult and virtuosic passage in the History of the Peloponnesian War. [citation needed] The speech is full of rhetorical devices, such as antithesis, anacoluthon, asyndeton, anastrophe,…

What did Thucydides say in the Periclean speech?

Despite Thucydides’ attitude towards democracy, the speech he puts in Pericles’ mouth supports the democratic form of government. Thucydides, who wrote his Periclean speech for his History of the Peloponnesian War, readily admits his speeches are only loosely based on memory so shouldn’t be taken as a verbatim report.

Who was chosen to give the funeral oration?

That time to report the praises of the first who were killed in the war, Pericles, son of Xanthippus, was chosen; who, having finished the solemnities made in the tomb, climbed on a chair, from where all the people could see and hear him, and gave this discourse.