A look into the life of an Athenian

History
Athens is known today for having a strong emphasis on war and showing their dominance through fighting.and conquer their foe repeatedly. Adam explained how bringing up the Spartans as their enemies they had just fought in war raised their morale, which is clearly evident when Pericles explained that Spartans come with allies to try and invade Athens, while Athenians go onto foreign lands with a portion of their entire army, and conquer their foe repeatedly, but I think there is more to this than boosting their morale. Their culture brought out a deep hatred and opposition between the Athenians and the Spartans. Their hatred for the Spartans united their community at a time of mourning because they honored and respected the men who fought and lost their lives defending their city-states.

Rhetoric
While I was reading this epideictic oratory, I kept thinking about how it would either include "blame or praise." Pericles repeatedly praised the men who they were honoring at the ceremony. One example of this is when he states "happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous." He attributes the happiness of the city and their citizens to the courage that the warriors exemplified in the Peloponnesian War. Because he brings attention the those who they are honoring, and gives praise to them, it adds to his ethos. The citizens are more apt to listening to him, and agree with what he is saying because they connect with his perception of the warriors.

Philosophy
I think that Thucydides' history is categorized under the pre-Socrates era of philosophy because he transfers the oral rhetoric of Pericles into a written rhetoric. This exemplifies the philosophers during this era's desire to take abstractions and make logos and sense out of them. He also writes this epideictic oratory to show what Pericles would have said based on his speaking style and the occasion. In this instance he is trying to quantify and pin point how he spoke, thus characterizing Pericles, which is another thing that the philosophers emphasized.