Pericles Funeral Oration Essay

In the Pericles’ Funeral Oration, he first explains the people before them. How they paved a path for the road that they are on now. “But what was the road by which we reached our position, what the form of government under which our greatness grew, what the national habits out of which it sprang...”. He is portraying the value of honor during this point of the speech. Pericles wants his people to believe they are fighting for the best city in the world. He does this by transitioning from talking about their ancestors to modern day Athens. He begins to highlight why the Athenians make such a great society. During the climax of the speech he states that the citizens make Athens the place it is because the care the greater good. They all have a shared desire for freedom of which they are fighting for. He explains how they obey the laws not because they have to but because they want to. What he wanted to accomplish when delivering this to the Athenians was to build a sense of community. Before battle, this speech would have made the …show more content…
One main idea from both of their speeches was to remember who was before them. Abe touched on the founding father’s vision of what they wanted America to be. Pericles used a similar strategy as brought up their ancestors and what they fought for. I believe both of these speeches wanted to change the fear of the soldiers to motivation. Both came at a time where men of their own were dying off. The writing styles of both men differ in various ways. Pericles speech was much lengthier and detailed compared to Lincoln’s speech. The simplicity of Lincoln’s made it more intense and powerful. I think Pericles speech was too in depth for what he was trying to accomplish. All in all, both Lincoln and Pericles wanted to provide their followers with hope, motivation, and