Analysis Of Pericles Virtue In The Military

In 2.36 Pericles speaks of Athenian ancestors since "a tribute should be paid to their memory." But in 2.52 Athenians have lapsed morally to such an extent that they do not bury their dead, the ultimate dishonor to ancestors. In 2.37.2-3: "The law secures equal justice to all alike in their private disputes," says Pericles, “the claim of excellence is also recognised; and when a citizen is in any way distinguished, he is preferred to the public service, not as a matter of privilege, but as the reward of merit." But in 2.53.1-4: "There were other and worse forms of lawlessness which the plague introduced at Athens," and, finally, "no fear of God or the law of man or law of man deterred a criminal" for no man expected to live long enough to be tried and punished. …show more content…
We see a marked contrast in the descriptions in 2.52.2-4 of men who were shameless in their deeds and reckless in openly seeking self-indulgent pleasure. In 2.44 Pericles praises those who met brave, honorable death on the battlefield while in 2.52-53 Thucydides speaks of temples filled with the dead left unburied or burned shamelessly on stolen funeral pyres. From this it is clear that Thucydides meant for the oration, the epidemic and the degradation of Athens were meant to be read together. He used the juxtaposition to contrast the lofty ideals of the funeral oration with the pestilence that hit Athens and the degradation of the city that followed. In doing so he created images that resonated with legends in Greek literature to make a point: He showed the immense effect war and its concomitant pestilence had on the Athenians and their