Pericles Funeral

Comparative Literature 201

13 September 2010

Pericles’ Funeral Oration

In every generation or civilization of people, there is always one man that stands out as being extremely advanced for his time period. When scholars look back at these men it is amazing to see how futuristic their ideals and views on society were. In the ancient Athenian world, it is obvious that Pericles was one of these few brilliant men.

Throughout Pericles’ funeral oration concluding the Athenian’s public funeral, it is easily seen that Pericles has a manner of thinking far beyond his time. Right from the beginning Pericles uses the technique of coming down to the level of the audience and speaking almost as one of them. Practically this same procedure was used thousands of years later by Abraham Lincoln, in a speech that most modern Americans will always remember, the Gettysburg Address.

Not only was Pericles’ manner of speaking amazing, but also the content of his speech. In a time where democracy was first developing, Pericles had an extremely advanced knowledge of how truly remarkable democracy can be. “Out constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people.” As an Athenian of high power and nobility, it was often the view that democracy was described as the rule of the poor. Pericles, however, by using the phrase “whole people” shows how evident his understanding of democracy really is. Also Pericles’ understands the importance of education comparing Athens education to the one of Sparta. “Spartans from their earliest boyhood, are submitted to the most laborious training in courage; we pass our lives without all these restrictions, and yet are just as ready to face the same dangers as they are.” Pericles realizes that education involves intelligence outside the battlefield. Pericles also mentions the phrase, “future ages will wonder at us, as the present age wonders at us now.” In modern America, people are always wondering...