Pericles, Funeral Oration

The “Funeral Oration of Pericles” is frequently cited in ceremonies that commemorate those who died in battle. In this way, it parallels US President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address, delivered at the dedication of a cemetery on the site of the deadliest battle of the Civil War. Edward Everett, who spoke before Lincoln at the memorial for the Battle of Gettysburg, quoted Pericles extensively (Hall, Edith. “The Athenian Cemetery in the Age of Pericles.” Gresham College Lecture in Classics. 7 March 2019). The British also used the “Funeral Oration of Pericles” during World War I to encourage the war effort and, later, in memorials of those who died in battle (“Context and Meaning: Introduction to the Funeral Oration.” Thinking Through Thucydides. The University of Bristol).

The “Funeral Oration of Pericles” is an exercise in persuasion by the general who led Athens’s efforts in the Peloponnesian War. This speech, as recorded by Thucydides, is rhetorically different from other classical Greek speeches. Thucydides had no way to record orations word-for-word and even tells his readers he does not attempt to do so. But with the “Funeral Oration,” it is probable that he attempted to remain close to at least the core of the speech.