The Funeral Oration of Pericles is a document which contains a funeral speech made by Pericles, a prominent Athenian politician. This speech was dictated, edited and transcribed by Thucydides, an Athenian historian and soldier in his written work, History of the Peloponnesian War. The speech was given at the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) and Thucydides fought in the war and lived and therefore wrote his works during the time of Pericles. The speech was made to boost the morale of the Athenian people and its military who needed to continue to fight. It discusses the attributes of Athenian culture and society that are superior to their neighbor’s, including government, independence, and family, social and recreational
