Rhetoric: a Long-developed Skill.

Intent and desire will always precede action. To start off, Thucydides had the intention of placing this oration in his account because he had hoped it would inspire those who read it to be aware of/prepare for what could happen in the future. I don't know much about who Thucydides was, but that desire seems pretty righteous to me. In the big picture the speech itself is only a small portion of the history written by Thucydides, but he knew that the oration's appeal to ethos would grab the attention of the audience more fully than his more favorable appeal to logos.

I can picture a few individuals at the scene of this funeral: the grieving wife, the grateful citizen and the sad but also understanding men who have also returned from battle. The son of Xanthippus starts off his speech with a more general appeal that would hopefully capture the attention of all groups within the audience by working his way through the history of the great city. I think this is a smart, but complicated move to make. Like Jared L. had mentioned how hard it is to capture the essence of a person (especially a lost loved one) in a speech, everyone wants the person they've lost to be praised fairly in their eyes- but this responsibility falls behind other priorities in this speech because of all those who are present; Not appealing to everyone the way they want is the complication of such a responsibility. The Son of Xanthippus attempts to keep things sacred however by intertwining poetic ethos appeals throughout the oration. 

My biggest takeaway from this elaborate oration is how difficult it must be for any logographer, warrior, or great philosopher to satisfy every member in the audience; Especially at a time like this. It seems that his goal to satisfy the audience was well balanced with inspiring them to remember the great civilization they are apart of, and how that is something that should not be forgotten in a time of grief.

My question now is this... what must one do in order to be qualified to address a civilization like the son of Xanthippus? could there have been someone among the grieving wives, citizens or soldiers who could've done it "better"? or must we always rely on the authority to be in charge of such things? I'd love to know your thoughts...