Pericles Funeral Oration : Plato, Augustine, More, And Machiavelli

In the Aftermath of the Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta, Pericles, Athens’ general and statesmen, delivered a powerfully comforting eulogy to the polis of Athens, assuring the people that their city state is in good hands, and easing the pain of all the families and relatives of the deceased. He uses several rhetorical devices throughout his speech to gain a positive emotional appeal by his audience and makes assertions in the attempt to enhance and transform the perception of him by the audience.

Machiavelli writes the ‘Prince’ while away in exile which by most people, is interpreted as his manual or guide on how to rule. It is quite clear that he demonstrates political interest and advocacy in his work through the many stories of past rulers he shares as examples of what to do and what not to do. An example of a ruler who came from a lower position, meaning no riches or status, was Agathocles (son of a potter, who became the King of Syracuse) (Machiavelli [1532] 2006) which is similar to the status of the man Plato speaks of, Socrates. However, Machiavelli speaks for power politics and the importance of the ruler being in total control since “a wise prince should establish himself on that which is in his own control and not in that of others” ([1532]

Pericles’ profound rhetorical skills were displayed within his Funeral Oration honoring Athenian soldiers who demonstrated extraordinary valor. Although the subject of his speech was in honor of the fallen soldiers who died gloriously defending Athens, he primarily praised Athens and everything it stood for. Within his speech, Pericles focuses on acting for the greater good of the city, which included sacrificing oneself much like the modeled sacrifice the dead had displayed through their valor. Through praising Athens and the fallen soldiers Pericles idealized the dead, showing their modeled behavior as honorable and glorious, which further appealed the sacrifice of dying for Athens. Pericles idealized motives continuously praised Athens: the dead, ancestors, and the city. Theses motives were intended to explain why Athenians should love their city and willingly sacrifice to ensure continued happiness and freedom.

Pericles’ Funeral Oration is a speech given to the Athens community at a funeral during the Peloponnesian Wars. Pericles tells the people to celebrate the reasons for the men’s deaths because they are dying for the great city of Athens. Pericles does not dwell on the loss of ancestors because they died to make Athens stronger and better for the

In Thomas More’s book, he describes the ideal place to live. In the society he describes there is no greed, war nor corruption. More’s book implies that greed is the source of all evil and without it, we would live in Utopia. If I were to write a Part 2 of Utopia, I would include three new ideas. In addition to More’s descriptions, I would add a few of my own. It would be a place where there was no one suffered from mental illness, no hate, and crime did not exist.

Pericles’s Epitaph was written roughly 2,000 years ago during the beginning of the Peloponnesian Wars. It comes to us through Thucydides in his history The Peloponnesian War. Pericles spoke after the first year of battle in the winter, and his speech was delivered at a public funeral for all those that were slain during the war. This is why his speech is often called the “Funeral Oration of Pericles.” He had been a general at the time and a natural choice to deliver a speech on those who died in battle. In addition to his status though, Pericles had a reputation for speaking only when it was truly important. Thus, the people would know how important this speech was and more importantly they would get the message Pericles was trying to get

Worlds apart in terms of length and many other characteristics both Pericles's Funeral Oration, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address share their similarities. Both nations are Democratic, and both speakers are very proud of that fact, mentioning it in both speeches. Something I noticed was the mentioning of religion. Lincoln mentioned God in his speech, yet Pericles did not mention anything about religion, he kept it purely political. While Pericles had a lengthier speech, Lincoln's speech was short, sweet and right to the point. The entire reason for holding both speeches was to honor the dead. Both speakers pretty much claimed they have no power on the deceased's honor as they have already honored themselves way more than anybody could.

Pericles’ was a powerful general, orator, patron of arts and democratic politician for the state of Athens between 495-429 B.C.E. (History.com). Pericles’ was born into power for his father was Xanthippus one hero from the Persian war and his mother was part of the Alcmaeonidae family who were very culturally powerful in Athens (History.com). When Pericles’ came into power he developed strategies and polices that set the stage for the Peloponnesian War (History.com). Following the first battles of the war Pericles’ gave a speech to honor those fallen and for those who will continue to fight the war. He spoke many words about the state of Athens and why it is such a great place to be.

Pericles’s funeral oration was given to honor the soldiers lost in war by commemorating the military accomplishments of the Athens government and to distinguish the roles of men and women in Athens society. Pericles’s speech was given in 430 B.C.E at the end of the first year of war. He then died a year late in 429 B.C.E. Pericles’ Funeral Oration is included in Thucydides’ writing titled History of the Peloponnesian War.

Pericles is accurate when he states that he does not concur with the customs of people who have praised in the institution of his speech delivered in the ceremony of the dead men who fought in war. According to him other people who have spoken upon the lives of these individuals believed that, “it seemed to them a mark of honour to our soldiers who have fallen in war that a speech should be made over them” (Thucydides 144). Pericles is effective when believing that ‘these men have shown themselves valiant in action and it is enough for their glories to be proclaimed in action.’ Furthermore, this validates the idea that these men have been praised to a different degree, beyond an ordinary man. Instead of being honored to speak for the dead Pericles

When dealing with the extent to which Socrates is a good example for following the ideals of democratic citizenship, a good source to use as a point of comparison to his life is the principles laid out about that citizenship by Pericles in his Funeral Oration. In the Oration, Pericles brought forth certain ideas about Athenian democracy and how its citizens should live their lives in accordance with it. He held these views to be paramount and used them in association with the principles of Athenian Law to prove a persuasive point that Athenian democracy had to be one with the people to survive. Above all other ideals he held first the thought that politics was the highest

In his book Utopia, Thomas More examines a society that seems to be the ideal living situation for human beings. The main thesis of Utopia is his solution to many of the problems that are being faced in English society in the early 16th century.

The first known recordings of eulogistic discourse emerged from the ancient Greek tradition, where the “funeral speech developed out of the formal laudation or commemoration of those who had fallen in battle for their country.” Some of the best examples of this type of eulogistic rhetoric include Cicero’s de Orator and Pericles Funeral oration. Stylistically the structure of these orations typically concentrated heavily on the mourning of the deceased and then transitioned into the celebration of their life. (Kent, 2007).

Per the writing of Thucydides, Pericles' funeral oration implied that democracy makes it so people can better themselves through merit rather than class or money. He further states that democracy guarantees privacy and equal justice for all. Pericles was a leading figure of the Peloponnesian War. He was chosen by the city because of his intellectual gifts and for his general reputation. This is not just a speech appropriate to the occasion but also one that matched the formulaic prescriptions of the epitaphios; which consisted of several mandatory topics: praise of the dead, praise of the ancestors, praise of the city, consolation of the families of the dead. This speech was undeniable significant.

    Thomas More wrote Utopia in 1516 as a window to the perfect world for those who couldn’t imagine his thoughts. Utopia was a perfect world, isolated from the other countries to avoid corruption of the th external worlds ways. When writing the book, Thomas More realized people could never be pure themselves as humans, so instead when he envisioned his new world instead of trying to fix the people he wanted them to be trained by their society to be as perfect as they could and if they couldn’t succeed they could live as a slave or be punished. From a western viewpoint of the story it seems very odd to us, it seems very much like a communistic world and in truth, it is. There are so many examples that show us that Utopia is so much like Russia, China, Cuba,