ipl-logo

Pericles Funeral Oration Essay

749 Words3 Pages

Sierra Rettenmund
The documents Thucydides and Aristotle reveal quite a few things about the responsibilities and benefits of being a citizen of a polis. Greek civilization had a strong understanding of the relationship between the people and community. Greeks believed that if they did what they were supposed to do for their country that their leaders would reward them.
Thucydides was an Athenian general who lost a battle in the early years of the war, after he was exiled from Athens he spent the rest of the war tracking the progress of the conflict and wrote its history. His work gave an in-depth look at how the war affected Greek civilization. The document Pericles’ Funeral Oration was given by Pericles, the leading Athenian statesman in …show more content…

He was well known for his ideas about science, politics, and ethics. Aristotle considered which kind of political state was the best. He told people that they must inquire what was the best constitution for most states, and the best life for most men. Stating that neither should assume a standard of virtue above ordinary people, or that an education is exceptionally favored by nature and circumstances. The best state should have regard to the life in which the majority are able to share. In every state, there are three elements, one being very rich, another is poor and the third is a mean (average). Aristotle claims that it is admitted that moderation or the mean is the very best, therefore it will clearly be best to possess the gifts of fortune in moderation. He then goes on to say that whoever greatly excels in beauty, strength, birth or wealth or on the other hand, who is very poor, weak, and disgraced find it very hard to rationalize like those of the mean. Aristotle believed that the middle class was least likely to shrink from rule. Those who have too much good fortune, strength, wealth and friends are neither willing nor able to submit to authority. If they experience luxury when they are brought up they never learn the habit of obedience. The poor on the other hand who are too degraded. So that the one class can’t obey and the other may only rule to

Show More
Related

Aristotle's Nicomachean Argument Analysis

313 Words | 2 Pages

To do this I must first explain several concepts of Aristotle which are: (1) how he concludes that the human function is reason, (2) what he means by happiness and how it is the human good, and (3) why he believes that the activity of the soul must be virtuous to become

Read More

A Primary Text Analysis: The Funeral Oration Of Pericles

664 Words | 3 Pages

The Funeral Oration of Pericles: A Primary Text Analysis In Pericles’ Funeral Oration, the famous and influential text in 430 B.C was given by Pericles to traditionally honor the death of the soldiers that fought in war and serviced in the Athenian military. This interpretation of the oration is written by Thucydides, as it is a manuscript of what Pericles said to the Athenian public. Through this text, Pericles focuses on honoring the fallen soldiers, but he also emphases the values of Athenian society and the social structure of the invention of democracy, as it is introduced for the first time ever in history. The Funeral Oration of Pericles expresses the distinct values of strong moral standards for social structure and introduces democracy, as it reinforces laws and the need for equal justice.

Read More

How Did The Peloponnesian War Be Unbiased

577 Words | 3 Pages

Thucydides is the author of Peloponnesian War. The Peloponnesian War was a direct and indirect conflict between Sparta and Athens that lasted from 460-404 BCE. Thucydides fought for Athens during the Peloponnesian War and was later exiled by Athens. Thucydides was writing about something that he participated in and the Peloponnesian War became the first contemporary history. Thucydides also made use of eyewitness reports from people who were participants in the war.

Read More

Athens Vs Rome Dbq Essay

734 Words | 3 Pages

Camille Sicat #26 3/16/16 Writing/Social Studies Power of the People: Athens vs. Rome Essential Question: Citizenship in Athens and Rome: Which Was the Better System? Prior to the idea of people being “citizens” of a nation, people were subjects, with no rights and forced to serve under the iron fist of their ruler. The idea of people having rights and responsibilities to their country originated in Athens, Greece circa 500 B.C. (Background Essay). Rome, however, far surpassed the Greeks in their social contract theory of citizenship (Background Essay) for the following reasons: 1) More people were considered citizens i.e. females and sons of freed slaves; 2)

Read More

How Did Rome Influence America

1112 Words | 5 Pages

First, Pericles strongly promoted the benefits of an organized democracy at a funeral orientation for fallen Roman soldiers. He cried, “While every citizen has an equal opportunity to serve the public, we rewarded our most distinguished citizens by asking them to make our political decisions” (2). This encouraged citizens to work hard. They elected people to office similarly to how Americans elect people for office today. The Greek democracy heavily impacted the modern day American democracy because every citizen has an equal opportunity to serve the public and make important political decisions.

Read More

King Pericles Research Paper

1735 Words | 7 Pages

Pericles Pericles, name meaning "surrounded by glory" , was a statesman, orator, politician, and general of Athens during the Golden Age who lived between 495 and 429 BCE. He made Athens the political and cultural focus of Greece with the development of the Athenian democracy and empire in the late 5th Century BCE and is well known for the rebuild of the Acropolis which begun in 447BCE. Pericles successfully led a military campaign in Corinth and sponsored the formation of the Athenian province in Thrace and Black Sea coast in 454BCE before being elected one of Athens’ leading generals in 443BCE which he held for the remainder of his life. Pericles was born into one of the leading families in Athens; his father being a military commander for Athens in the battle of Mycale in 479BCE and his mother belonging to the culturally powerful Alcmaeonidae family. His father was Xanthippus who married into the controversial family of the Alcmaeonids before leaving their

Read More

Compare And Contrast Athens Vs Rome Dbq

791 Words | 4 Pages

In Doc. A there is a chart that shows a list of who was allowed to become a citizen and it had a lot more yes’s that no’s unlike Athens who only allowed natural born, Adult males. This is only one example of how they included more people another was how they had more classes of citizenship so more people could be included which was discussed in Doc. C. One last example of how they showed that they included more people, not only to be a citizen but in government, is that the people were allowed to make serious votes such as choosing someone who is gaining to much power and exiling them as said in Doc.

Read More

The Constitution: An Elitist Document Analysis

538 Words | 3 Pages

“....fearful the poor would plunder the rich… (they) admitted that the rich, unrestrained, would also plunder the poor (Hofstadter 57).” One class can not have too much power because it would lead to an anarchy. This document meant to hold up a democracy, not anarchy. The reason why the rich benefitted from the system was because if they had not, the social classes would have been

Read More

Pericles Funeral Oration

759 Words | 4 Pages

Both “Pericles’ Funeral Oration” transcribed by Thucydides and “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel demonstrate desire for a redefined culture: a culture geared towards a better societal attitude. Though both speeches address the need to honor peoples who have died (Pericles to those who have died in the Peloponnesian War; Wiesel to those who have died in the Holocaust) and invoke various feelings ranging from sorrow to pride, the manner in which both speeches present so differs slightly. The speeches use variations of tones that appeal to the audience in such a way that emphasizes their main idea. In “Pericles’ Funeral Oration”, Pericles praises Athens, especially its democracy, in contrast to Sparta’s.

Read More

Greek Civilization Dbq Essay

634 Words | 3 Pages

Ancient Greece has impacted many civilizations through philosophy, government, art and architecture. Their ideas and concepts are still widely used today and have benefited many people's lives. The Ancient Greek civilization made many contributions to the Western World. Ancient Greek philosophers have influenced areas of modern thought. Philosophy is the study of ideas, nature and the meaning of life.

Read More

Why Was Pericles Essential For The Athenian Golden Age?

432 Words | 2 Pages

Pericles One thing that led to the Athenian Golden Age is Pericle's rise to power. Pericles was an Athenian leader, statesmen, and general(History.com Staff., 2009). I will attempt to explain how Pericles was essential for Athens Golden Age. Pericles lived from 495-429 BCE(Lewis, D. M., 2018,). He became the leader of the democratic party after the death of Ephialtes in 461.

Read More

Examples Of Privilege In The Great Gatsby

1093 Words | 5 Pages

With his statement, Nick evokes an infuriated tone that could only come with uncovering people of his class who abuse their power, in order to yield more benefits for themselves. Unlike the bourgeoisie class, the aristocrats are still provided a chance in the world where they can work less but still be given more opportunities without facing any judgement; ultimately proving that equal opportunity is either limited or unrestricted by one’s overall status in society. Fortunately, an element of human life that is not always restricted by class are

Read More

Yellow Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

507 Words | 3 Pages

Wealth, no matter how important an appearance it has, cannot fulfill a life and make a demeaning impact on lives until their

Read More

The Importance Of Citizenship: Why Athens Was The Better System

504 Words | 3 Pages

Unlike the Romans, Athenians had a strict but fair schedule that allowed them to enjoy citizenship equally. Equally, hard workers have brought Athens power just as much as hereditary leaders. According to Document B all citizens should be allowed to speak their opinion and have a share in election because of the hard work they do to make the city powerful. Athenians allowed poor and common men to win a position in government which was a transition from the wealthy having power to everyone having power.

Read More

Pericles Funeral Speech

850 Words | 4 Pages

Pericles gives the funeral Oration after the first year of the Peloponnesian of the war. It was written to motivate Athenians to fight for their city because the city is one of the grates cities in the Greece and he said that Greece learns from us and we do not learn from anyone

Read More

More about Pericles Funeral Oration Essay

Related Topics

Open Document