Athenians had a very rich culture and values and they were the first people to get a sustainable democracy. This paper will discuss typical Athenian values basing on Pericles’ Funeral Oration including the relevance of democracy, the view of Athens, and the role of women to Athenians. The paper will then draw an overall conclusion of how the society’s democracy differs from ours basing on the speech.
Pericles’ Funeral Oration states that “The constitution by which we live does not emulate the enactments of our neighbors.” Pericles’ Funeral Oration further added that their constitution acts is an example to many others across the globe rather than becoming an imitation of such. It is known as democracy since power is found within the public, stating that all people are equal. On the other hand, we have devised and provided many forms of recreation from labor, and we make a customs of competitions from festivals throughout the year, and we have our own building of beauty, enjoyment of which drives away despondency. In the pursuit of warfare, we also differ from our adversaries. We lay our city open to all, and at no time evict or keep the stranger away from the knowledge or sight of anything.” “As for you, the children and brothers of those who are dead, I see that since all give praise to the dead, great will be your struggle to match them, and even if you merit to match them, it will not be judged equally, scarcely even with a little of theirs. It is high credit in a woman to fall below her natural character, and to have least said of her among men either in praise or blame.”
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
From the quotes, Pericles portrays several Athenian values like annual festivals, various forms of recreation, and accustomed competitions. Pericles also honors the dead in the gathering and in the process, he presents a challenge to those still alive to honor and try to match the achievements of those who had died at war. This clearly portrays the Athenian culture from celebrations to grieving ceremonies. Democracy was a big part of the Athenians and due to it, most Athenians lived a free life with equal opportunities. According to Pericles, the Athenian democracy was unique and it could not be compared to any other, instead, it acted as an example for other territories to emulate. Athens is seen to be amazing in most aspects and different from other territories when it comes to war. Pericles states that they lay their city open to all but still maintain their presence. From the speech, we also learn that the role women played in the Athenian society was to remain respectful and have least said of them either in blame or in praise.
From the speech, I can conclude that Athens was governed by a strong democracy that made most of Athenians equal. The society was also characterized by frequent ceremonies and competitions. They gave a decent send off to the dead in organized ceremonies and would challenge the living to live past the achievements of the dead. In comparison, their democracy differed from ours since people were given equal rights and participation and they could arrest or defend themselves when it was necessary without any above authority.
Conclusion
Athenians were unique in many ways and their democracy was an important aspect of their community. They also made decent send offs to the dead, appreciating their contributions and challenging their relatives to live up to more achievements than the dead.
