Pericles' Funeral Oration

Rhetorical Analysis

Greece has seen many great orators, leaders and reformers. All of them have contributed to the affairs of the civilization either in one way or the other. One of those great people includes Pericles who was a high profile statesman, a prominent orator, and general of Athens in the times between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars.

Shortly after the breaking out of Peloponnesian War in 431, it was time that the famous Funeral Oration of Pericles was delivered to memorialize the troops who had been dead in the battle. The historian Thucydides had recorded, and probably rewritten the oration as a source providing us primary guidance for the understanding of ancient Athens. It facilitates us with a distinctive approach regarding the way the democracy in Athens understood itself.

The central theme of the speech contains the idea that the people of Athens have the ability to put their insignificant wants aside and struggle for the betterment of city as a whole. They are closely bound together in ties of shared desire for gaining freedom and mutual trust. Then, the Athenians submit to the laws and abide by the public officials not for the reason that they are told to, but because they feel like and want to maintain peace and harmony.

Thus, Athenians had always attempted to accomplish something exclusive and exceptional, i.e being rulers and ruled simultaneously. A unique type of citizens was forged by this. Athenians were very broad minded, tolerant, and cunning and were thus, adaptive to all the circumstances and capable to rise to any confrontations and challenge. The Greek world had got a new ideal in their form.

The views of Pericles were definitely a very idealized overlooked any actualities and truths of the factionalism of party, arrogance and selfishness which were to soon become apparent after his death.

The “Funeral Oration of Pericles“ proves the two significant issues. They included the way the Athenians were exceptionally pompous of their customs and city and secondly, it observes and mentions the tremendous respect that Athenians contain for their combatant class. This paper will highlight the Athenians' ways of life and explore to study and analyze the Funeral Oration of Pericles. The Athenians' great deal of respect for the warrior class has been an eminent fact and those warriors were thought of being the high profile and prominent members of their society. They were considered the high profile members of their class and were categorized and taken as the idols.

Athens was the topmost nation in the world and no other country that could be superior to the people of Athens. The objective of the oration of funeral was to reward the national pride and passion of citizen in order to defend Athens along with offering respect to the departed of war. The oration was a tribute which had focused on the distinction and eminence of Athens and her ancestors. If possible, the acclamation was given by the member of a family, preferably a son. The oration presented ...