Pericles Speech Themes

Subject/Themes The article presents many themes through out its entirety. First, it is understood that this is a speech that is being made at a funeral in honor of the first Athenian soldiers to fall during the Peloponnesian war. Also, the greatness of Athens is referenced through out the entire passage. By instilling pride and ownership for Athens to the people listening there is a sense of recruitment for the country 's military. Getting the audience to turn from the despair of war at their front door and focus on how they themselves can fight to keep the freedoms of Athens. Pericles was able to create the first and most influential forms of Democracy. Athenian imperialism consisted of a radical democracy, where men, over the age the …show more content…
Pericles as we know was a statesmen and a military commander in 461 to 431 BC in fact one of the longest reigning. He did not always have a winning outcome and yet the people of Athens still choose him. He developed the system of democracy, which allowed the officials of Athens to obtain a salary, let males over the age of 18 vote and have the freedom to obtain knowledge. He brought the Delian League to the height of its efficiency and destroyed Euboea when they tried to revolt. During a time of a peace treaty, Pericles explored his interests in arts, drama and music. Also with help he organized the building of the Parthenon. He was as stated earlier, driven out of office after the first year of the Peloponnesian War, to be re elected a short time later. Pericles eventually died from the plague that ravished Athens in 429 BC. Thucydides was the recorder of this speech. He also was a general in the Peloponnesian War, who, due to his defeat by Sparta was exiled. During this time he took the opportunity to be the first person to record an account from both sides, Athens and Sparta without the influence of religion and social conditions. Thucydides shared a common trait with Pericles in that they both failed at their military attempts during the Peloponnesian War. However, Thucydides was exiled for his failures and although Pericles was removed from his, he was later re-elected. Being a sophist in history, Thucydides took the opportunity to re-count Pericles’ speech to show that Athens’ states man was one sided and failed to address any faults that Athens experienced. Pericles failed to mention that the reason Athens was starving was because he left Amphipolis abandoned and Sparta burned the food sources. He dictated in his incomplete writings, the war’s history including Pericles’ Funeral Oration. He is known as one of the greatest ancient historians and is