Wikisource has original text related to this article: Pericles's Funeral Oration Pericles' Funeral Oration is a famous speech from Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War.[1] The speech was delivered by Pericles, an eminent Athenian politician, at the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War (431/0 BCE) as a part of the annual public funeral for the war dead. Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ...
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Tenth-century minuscule Manuscript of Thucydidess History The History of the Peloponnesian War is an account of the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece, fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Athenian league (Athens). ...
For the Shakespeare play, see Pericles, Prince of Tyre. ...
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Context of Funeral Orations
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It was established Athenian practice by the late fifth century to hold a public funeral in honour of all those who had died in war.[2] The remains of the dead[3] were left out for three days in a tent, where offerings could be made for the dead. Then a funeral procession was held, with ten cypress coffins carrying the remains, one for each of the Athenian tribes. The procession led to a public grave (the Kerameikos), where they were buried. The last part of the ceremony was a speech delivered by a prominent Athenian citizen. A funeral oration or epitaphios logos (Greek: ) is a formal speech delivered on the ceremonial occasion of a funeral. ...
There are things that have the name Phyle: A soliological analog of a biological phyla, mentioned in a novel The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson which includes three great tribes. ...
The Kerameikos is the name of the deme or part of Athens to the northwest of the Acropolis and includes an extensive area both within and outside of the city walls. ...
We have several funeral orations from classical Athens, which seem to corroborate Thucydides' evidence that this was a regular feature of Athenian funerary custom in wartime.[4] Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ...
Funeral Oration is recorded by Thucydides in book two of his History of the Peloponnesian War. Although Thucydides records the speech in the first person as if it were a word for word record of what Pericles said, there can be little doubt that Thucydides has edited the speech at the very least. Thucydides says early in his History that the speeches presented are not verbatim records, but are intended to represent the main ideas of what was said and what was, according to Thucydides, "called for in the situation".[5] We can be reasonably sure that Pericles delivered a speech at the end of the first year of the war, but there is no consensus as to what degree Thucydides' record resembles Pericles' actual speech.[6] Another confusing factor is that Pericles is known to have delivered another funeral oration in 439 BCE during the Samian War.[7] It is possible that elements of both speeches are represented in Thucydides' version. Nevertheless Thucydides was extremely meticulous in his documentation, and records the varied certainty of his sources each time. Significantly he begins recounting the speech by saying: "Perikles Xanthippou elege toiade", i.e. "Pericles, son of Xanthippos, spoke like this". Had he quoted the speech verbatim, he would have written "tade" ("this", or "these words") instead of "toiade" ("like this" or "words like these"). The most likely possibility therefore is the Thucydides writes from his own memory of the event, in which case verbatim quotation was obviously impossible, but it is likely that Pericles' emblematic points have been faithfully recorded. Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ...
Tenth-century minuscule Manuscript of Thucydidess History The History of the Peloponnesian War is an account of the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece, fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Athenian league (Athens). ...
For the Shakespeare play, see Pericles, Prince of Tyre. ...
For the Shakespeare play, see Pericles, Prince of Tyre. ...
Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC - 430s BC - 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC Years: 444 BC 443 BC 442 BC 441 BC 440 BC - 439 BC - 438 BC 437 BC...
The war in Samos was the most important military event in ancient Greece before the Peloponnesian War. ...
Content of the Speech Pericles Funeral Oration is significant because the speech departs from the typical formula of Athenian funeral speeches.[8] David Cartwright describes it as "a eulogy of Athens itself..."[9]. The speech is a glorification of Athens' achievements, designed to stir the spirits of a state still at war.
Prooemium (2.35) The speech begins by praising the custom of the public funeral for the war dead, but criticizes the inclusion of the speech, arguing that the "reputations of many brave men" should "not be imperiled in the mouth of a single individual".[10] Pericles argues that the speaker of the oration has the impossible task of satisfying the associates of the dead, who would wish that their deeds be magnified, while everyone else might feel jealous and suspect exaggeration.[11] For the Shakespeare play, see Pericles, Prince of Tyre. ...
Praise of the Dead (2.36-2.42) Pericles begins his praise of the war dead, as the other Athenian funeral orations do, by praising the ancestors of present day Athenians (2.36.1-2.36.3), touching briefly on the acquisition of the empire. For the Shakespeare play, see Pericles, Prince of Tyre. ...
The Delian League was an association of Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. As it was led by Athens, it is sometimes pejoratively referred to as the Athenian Empire. ...
At this point, however, Pericles departs most dramatically from the example of other Athenian funeral orations and skips over the great martial achievements of Athens' past: "That part of our history which tells of the military achievements which gave us our several possessions, or of the ready valor with which either we or our fathers stemmed the tide of Hellenic or foreign aggression, is a theme too familiar to my hearers for me to dwell upon, and I shall therefore pass it by."[12] Instead, Pericles proposes to focus on "the road by which we reached our position, the form of government under which our greatness grew, and the national habits out of which it sprang".[13] 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. Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ...
For the Shakespeare play, see Pericles, Prince of Tyre. ...
The Greatness of Athens If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences...if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition. The freedom we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life. There, far from exercising a jealous surveillance over each other, we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbor for doing what he likes..."[14] Here we see the roots of the famous phrase "Equal Justice Under 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..."[15] 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 merit...our ordinary citizens, though occupied with the pursuits of industry, are still fair judges of public matters...at Athens we live exactly as we please, and yet are just as ready to encounter every legitimate danger."[16] The front of the Supreme Court Building, including the West Pediment. ...
Pericles rises to crescendo in his praise of Athens, "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."[17] Finally, Pericles links his praise of the city to the dead Athenians for whom he is speaking, "...for the Athens that I have celebrated is only what the heroism of these and their like have made her...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 venegence upon their enemies was more to be desired than any personal blessings, and reckoning this to be the most glorious of hazards, they joyfuly determined to accept the risk... Thus, choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonor..."[18] 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". With the linkage of Athens' greatness complete, Pericles moves to addressing his audience.
Exhortation to the living Pericles then turns to the audience and exhorts them to live up to the standards set by the deceased, "So died these men as becomes Athenians. You, their survivors, must determine to have as unaltering a resolution in the field, though you may pray that it may have a happier outcome." [19]
Epilogue Pericles ends with a short epilogue, reminding the audience of the difficulty of the task of speaking over the dead.
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. The speech is full of rhetorical devices, such as antithesis, anacoluthon, asyndeton, anastrophe, hyperbaton, and others. The style is deliberately elaborate, in accord with the stylistical preference associated with the sophists. There are several different English translations of the speech available. Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ...
A rhetorical device is a technique, sometimes called a resource of language, used by an author or speaker to induce an emotional response. ...
Look up Antithesis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
An anacoluthon is a rhetorical device that can be loosely defined as a change of syntax within a sentence. ...
This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ...
Anastrophe is a figure of speech involving an inversion of the natural order of words; for example, saying echoed the hills to mean the hills echoed. In English, with its settled word order, departure from the expected word order emphasizes the displaced word or phrase: beautiful is emphasized in the...
Hyperbaton is a figure of speech that uses deliberate and dramatic departure from standard syntax (word order) for emphasis or poetic effect. ...
Sophism was originally a term for the techniques taught by a highly respected group of philosophy and rhetoric teachers in ancient Greece. ...
Tenth-century minuscule Manuscript of Thucydidess History The History of the Peloponnesian War is an account of the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece, fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Athenian league (Athens). ...
Modern Parallels of the Pericles' Funeral Oration American Civil War scholar Garry Wills addresses the parallels to Pericles' funeral oration to Abraham Lincoln's famous speech the Gettysburg Address.[20] Lincoln's speech, like Pericles', begins with an acknowledgment of revered predecessors: "Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent..."; Lincoln, like Pericles, then praises the uniqueness of the State's commitment to democracy: "..a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal...government of the people, by the people, and for the people..."; Lincoln, like Pericles, addresses the difficulties faced by a speaker on such an occasion, "...we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground...The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here"; Lincoln, like Pericles, exhorts the survivors to emulate the the deeds of the dead, "It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the great task remaining before us"; and finally, Lincoln, like Pericles, contrasts the efficacy of words and deeds, "The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract...The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."[21] Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total...
Garry Wills (born May 22, 1934 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an author and historian, and a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books. ...
For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln (disambiguation). ...
The only known photo of Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg (seated, center), taken about noon, just after Lincoln arrived and some three hours before he spoke. ...
It is uncertain to what degree Lincoln was directly influenced by Pericles' Funeral Oration. The parallels should perhaps be attributed rather to the ubiquity of the themes addressed in funeral speeches.
See also A funeral oration or epitaphios logos (Greek: ) is a formal speech delivered on the ceremonial occasion of a funeral. ...
Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ...
Tenth-century minuscule Manuscript of Thucydidess History The History of the Peloponnesian War is an account of the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece, fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Athenian league (Athens). ...
For the earlier war beginning in 460 BC, see First Peloponnesian War. ...
References - ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2.34-2.46.
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2.34.1-6. See also Plato, Menexenus.
- ^ The bodies of the dead were cremated soon after death. The bones were kept for the funeral at the end of the year.
- ^ The funeral orations of Lysias, Demosthenes, and Hyperides. Additionally Plato authored a possibly satirical version of a funeral oration, the Menexenus.
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 1.22.1.
- ^ The bibliography on this topic is enormous. See Ziolkowski, John (1981). Thucydides and the Tradition of Funeral Speeches at Athens. Arno Press. ISBN 0-405-14057-6. , Loraux, Nicole (1986). The Invention of Athens. Harvard University Press.
- ^ Plutarch, Pericles, 28.4.
- ^ On the degree of departure, see Ziolkowski, John (1981). Thucydides and the Tradition of Funeral Speeches at Athens. Arno Press. ISBN 0-405-14057-6.
- ^ Cartwright, David (1997). A Historical Commentary On Thucydides. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08419-4.
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2.35.1.
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2.35.2.
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2.36.4.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2.37.1-2.37.2.
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2.39.1.
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2.37.1, 2.40.2, 2.39.1.
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2.41.1.
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2.42.2, 2.42.4.
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2.43.1.
- ^ McPherson, James (July 16, 1992). "The Art of Abraham Lincoln". The New York Review of Books 39 (13).
- ^ The New York Review of Books: The Art of Abraham Lincoln. Retrieved on 2005-12-18.
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