Pericles, Funeral Oration

“Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves. Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy. If we look at the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if to social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man can serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition.”

This is the first mention of how being Athenian sets the listeners apart from other Greeks. Pericles presents Athens as superior to other Hellenic city-states. He presents the government and constitution of Athens as a unique democracy and attempts to persuade that crowd that only in Athens can a poor or lower-class man hope to become part of the political power elite. This is possible because power there is of the people, not of the state.

“If we turn to our military policy, there also we differ from antagonists. We throw open our city to the world, and never by alien acts exclude foreigners from any opportunity of learning or observing, although the eyes of an enemy may occasionally profit by our liberality; trusting less in system and policy than to the native spirit of our citizens; while in education, where our rivals from their very cradles by a painful discipline seek after manliness, at Athens we live exactly as we please, and yet are just as ready to encounter every legitimate danger.”

These lines present another idealized view of the greatness of identifying as an Athenian. Athens is presented as a welcoming, open city-state that offers both freedom and opportunity, even at the risk of being occasionally taken advantage of by outsiders. Pericles extols the virtues of Athens to intensify his listeners’ patriotic sentiments.

“We cultivate refinement without extravagance and knowledge without effeminacy; wealth we employ more for use than for show, and place the real disgrace of poverty not in owning to the fact but in declining the struggle against it.”

Pericles makes a point that the Athenian ideals do not make its citizens less masculine than men in less developed Hellenic city-states. Also, in Athens, wealth does not confer status, nor does poverty guarantee powerlessness; this supports his developing argument that Athens is a merit-based society.

“Our public men have, besides politics, their private affairs to attend to, and our ordinary citizens, though occupied with the pursuits of industry, are still fair judges of public matters; for, unlike any other nation, regarding him who takes no part in these duties not as unambitious but as useless, we Athenians can judge at all events if we cannot originate, and instead of looking on discussion as a stumbling-block in the way of action, we think it an indispensable preliminary to any wise action at all.”

Democracy not only sets Athens apart from other city-states. It also makes every man a part of the decision-making process. Pericles refrains from mentioning that only a very small percentage of Athenians are male citizens with the right to fully participate in the democratic process. Discussion and debate are hallmarks of thoughtful democracy, rather than obstacles or delays.

“In short, I say that as a city we are the school of Hellas; while I doubt if the world can produce a man, who where he has only himself to depend upon, is equal to so many emergencies, and graced by so happy a versatility as the Athenian.”

Pericles claims that Athenians have much to teach their fellow Hellenes. In contrast to other Greeks, the men of Athens are uniquely prepared for any complexities life presents. They are not only prepared for battle, but they are also educated, flexible, and equipped to respond to the vagaries of life.

“Far from needing a Homer for our panegyrist, or other of his craft whose verses might charm for the moment only for the impression which they gave to melt at the touch of fact, we have forced every sea and land to be the highway of our daring, and everywhere, whether for evil or for good, have left imperishable monuments behind us.”

These lines are intended to shift the mood of the crowd from a memorial tone to fervent patriotism. Homer’s lines are engaging, but Pericles presents them as ephemeral, in contrast to the objective evidence of the Athenians’ historical achievements and dominion over other city-states.

“The Athens that I have celebrated is only what the heroism of these and their like have made her, men whose fame, unlike [that] of most Hellenes, will be found to be only commensurate with their deserts.”

Pericles is commemorating the dead, as this speech requires. He links those who perished in the war to his themes of patriotism and identity. The fallen soldiers are heroes, and their legacies will be proportional to their valor and courage. He notes that this is not the case for most of the Greek city-states.

“For there is justice in the claim that steadfastness in his country’s battles should be as a cloak to cover a man’s other imperfections; since the good action has blotted out the bad, and his merit as a citizen more than outweighed his demerits as an individual.”

Pericles highlights the redemptive power of dying for one’s nation as he continues to attempt persuading the crowd to feel the intense patriotism that is necessary to sustain the war effort. Regardless of the actions a man committed earlier in his life, his death for the glory of Athens erases his shortcomings and failings.

“Thus choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonor, but met danger face to face, and after one brief moment, while at the summit of their fortune, escaped, not from their fear, but from their glory.”

This is another image of the glory that awaits a fallen patriot; to die resisting is to escape courage and moral failing. Having overcome their fear, the soldiers being commemorated were liberated.

“For heroes have the whole earth for their tomb; and in lands far from their own, where the column with its epitaph declares it, there is enshrined in every breast a record unwritten with no tablet to preserve it, except that of the heart.”

This image presents a hero’s death as a victory. Even in lands where the soldier’s reputation or identity is unknown, he has dominion. Pericles hopes this image will make those who have lost loved ones continue to feel dedicated to their city-state.

“And surely, to a man of spirit, the degradation of cowardice must be immeasurably more grievous than the unfelt death which strikes him in the midst of his strength and patriotism!”

This is the only exclamatory statement included in this speech. Pericles exalts the hero’s death, in contrast to the pain felt by the coward who lives in shame. He also presents the soldier’s death as one without suffering.

“Numberless are the chances to which, as they know, the life of man is subject; but fortunate indeed are they who draw for their lot a death so glorious as that which has caused your mourning, and to whom life has been so exactly measured as to terminate in the happiness in which it has been passed.”

This reinforces the idea of a glorious death and exhorts the listeners to maintain an attitude of joy as they mourn the fallen, taking pride in the idea of death for a worthy cause. Fortune is fickle, and death may strike at any time; thus, dying in battle ensures a death in “happiness” and is a mark of good fortune.

“Turning to the sons or brothers of the dead, I see an arduous struggle before you. When a man is gone, all are wont to praise him, and should your merit be ever so transcendent, you will still find it difficult not merely to overtake, but even to approach their renown. The living have envy to contend with, while those who are no longer in our path are honored with a goodwill into which rivalry does not enter.”

Survivors must be ready to equal the merit of those who have gone before them. Rather than simply envying the reputations of the fallen soldiers or feeling a sense of competition with their legacies, those who are alive should seek to live in a manner worthy of the heroes they loved.