Athens the Great

Athens the Great

Pericles was the perfect candidate to deliver the speech after the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War.  He was a prime citizen and being a general his visions led the Athenians in war.  This particular oration was held more as tradition then actually honoring the dead.  Athens was glorified and portrayed better than reality.   Pericles’ Oration of Funeral spoke not necessarily what was true of Athens but rather how he envisioned Athens.

Democracy was said to “favor the many instead of the few”. (Halsall)  However, it only served for the citizens.  This excluded the majority of the population: women, slaves, children, and foreigners.  Although women were granted some privileges and rights, they were hardly considered true citizens.  Pericles also stated that social class is not allowed to interfere with merit.  This was true to some degree that slaves could buy their freedom.  However women and foreigners would never be deemed worth in that respect.   Democracy also primarily served the aristocrats.  Pericles himself was from a great aristocratic family.

Pericles speaks of Athens as being superior to Sparta, although this is not necessarily true on some levels.  When Pericles spoke of equality, it certainly applied to free male citizens only.  Sparta was more advanced on giving women the right to be citizens.  Sparta women could own land and were viewed as equal to the men.  Education for all was important to Sparta as well as military training.  Pericles stated that Athens would “never exclude a foreigner from learning and observing”; (Halsall) however foreigners were not allowed to go to school.  Only boys born to free citizens were sent to school.  Sparta’s sense of equality was more genuine than Athens.

Pericles bragged that Athens used their money towards good use rather than for show.  However it was Sparta that was known for their simplicity of life.  Athens built the acropolis, bronze statues, and temples to convey superiority. (Kishlansky, Geary and O'Brien)  It was mentioned that the real disgrace in poverty was not fighting against it.  Not much is mentioned on how Athens fought poverty.  Slaves sometimes were paid more than an ordinary free man.  

Pericles was dedicated to promoting democracy for Athens.  Even though Pericles exaggerated the perfection of their democracy, it was a foundation to build on.  Athens had lots of things to be proud of; they were the best in poetry, drama, and literature.  Many of the great philosophers were Athenians.  Pericles was most definitely proud of Athens and rightfully so.  He gave his speech to help boost the morale amongst the people and give them pride in their country.  It was a way to honor the soldiers and also remind the people of Athens their strengths in democracy and opportunities.