Comparing Pericles Funeral Oration And The Peloponnesian War

Thucydides was a Greek historian who, throughout his life, documented the Peloponnesian war. Around 431 B.C. Thucydides documented a funeral oration delivered to the people of Athens by Pericles. In Pericles’ Funeral Oration, Pericles’ praises the dead, describes how great Athens is, explains why Athens must continue to support the war, and tells why Athens must live up to the fallen soldiers of the Peloponnesian war. Pericles’ Funeral Oration tells us multiple things, the Funeral Oration gives historians a glimpse into what Athenians might have been feeling at the time. In a time of war a country's moral, and spirits are down. In the text Pericles’ says “ What I want to do is, in the first place, to discuss the spirit in which we faced our trails and also our constitution and the way of life which has made us
great.” Pericles mainly speaks about how Athens is the greatest city out of all of Greece. He speaks more about why Athens is so great then he does of the fallen men in the peloponnesian war. Pericles makes multiple points throughout his speech about togetherness and national pride. “Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people”. Pericles goes on to say how much better Athens is compared to its neighbors. Some points he makes about Athens and their greatness range from governmental structure to foreign police.

When Pericles’ speaks he is addressing the Athenian people. He speaks for the fallen soldiers of the Peloponnesian war and the people of Athens. In the beginning of the speech Pericles praises the Athenian tradition of public funerals, but also says “ “I do not agree, These men have shown themselves valiant in action, as you have just seen it done at this funeral organized by the state…. However, the fact is that this institution was set up and approved by our forefathers, and it is my duty to follow the tradition”. The death of these men should not be mourned but celebrated. This is a call to action for Athens. Pericles wants to speak of the spirit and heart of the Athenian people ,and why they are better than the Spartans.

The purpose of this primary source is to reiterate why Athens is at war, rally moral, and honour fallen soldiers. As a call to action pericles says "So died these men as becomes Athenians. 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”. Pericles is saying that Athenians must live up to their deceased, that these men did not die in vain and for no reason. Pericles explains why Athens fought saying "..none of these men allowed either wealth with its prospect of future enjoyment to unnerve his spirit, or poverty with its hope of a day of freedom and riches to tempt him to shrink from danger. 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 Thus, choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonour.." This quote is saying that Athens must look over past achievements of what make them great and look onto the dead and what they died for. The dead did not fight for the glory and riches of war. According to Pericles they fought valiantly and “fled from dishonour”.

Pericles Funeral Oration was also to rally moral. This oration was meant to be enjoyed. The oration also serves as a call to duty for Athenians. Citizens are told to always keep in mind who fights for them and why they should continue to be good citizens. Pericles explains why Athens is so great by giving examples of differences between Athenians and their opponents. He says “ Then there is a great difference between us and our opponents, in our attitude towards military security. Here are some examples; Our city is open to the world, and we have no periodical deportations...this is because we rely, not on secret weapons, but on our own real courage and loyalty”. This last quote is to rally moral, Pericles claims Athenians are courageous and loyal, just like in an earlier quote he states the fallen soldiers “fled from dishonor”. He continues to give examples on why Athens is such a great state and why the war will not destroy them, but make them great near the end of the orations stating “I declare that our city is an education to Greece, and I declare that in my opinion each single one of our citizens, in all the manifold aspects of life, is able to show himself the rightful lord and owner of his person”.

Besides this primary source being a speech to rally moral and a defining moment for Athens the main purpose of a funeral oration is to honour the dead.
Although Pericles does spend most of his time explaining why Athens is such a great state he does honour the fallen men of the Peloponnesian war. Towards the end of the oration he also mentions the women of Athens who have lost their husbands and sons to the war stating “Perhaps I should say a word or two on the duties of women to those among you who are now widowed”. He then goes into advice for women stating how their greatest glory is to not be noticed or talked about, this is how he eds the oration.
When historians read Pericles’ Funeral Oration they need to be aware of possible biases when reading this source. This source was meant to be for the people of Athens. It should not be looked at or studied by historians as a speech that has connections to today. To better understand this source historians might want to look for other recordings of this speech, or an additional source about what was happening in Athens during the Peloponnesian war. This type of source might be useful to better
understand