Midterm Essays

6) Interpreting Greek Speeches

In an avant-garde, reformist kind of way, I think Pericles’ Funeral Speech should be considered as an epideictic oratory.  The occasion was certainly ceremonial, though even from the outset Pericles does say he does not subscribe to the idea of delivering a commiserating eulogy.  The audience (both ancient and present-day) should take note that in these prefatory remarks of the speech, there is a “breaking of the fourth wall”.  Pericles is essentially saying, “Hey everyone, this custom of a funeral ceremony is great, but I don’t love how we include a speech.  Anyway, since it’s my duty and our tradition, here I go--.”  The narrator took a step back and made it decently clear he was delivering an epideictic speech.

Aside from Pericles’ disapproval of the funeral speech tradition as a whole, there is no other real mention of vice, but there is vivid and constant description of virtue in Athens. (SilvaRhetoricæ – Virtue & Vice)  Pericles thoughtfully weaves in an encomium of Athens’ developed success and exceptional civilization. He refers to values of freedom, democracy, and courage.

For the sake of accuracy, it would be more fitting to say the oration was a hybrid of both epideictic and deliberative speech.  Being a military leader and a respected member of the society, Pericles naturally held an ideal of patriotism was likely self-aware of the nature of his praise.  Slightly shifting gears, Pericles moves on to invoke ideals to the citizens with considering how to usher on Athens’ legacy through an “ethical and philosophical line” (Silva Rhetoricæ – Good & Unworthy) 

1) The Irrational

Before the Age of Enlightenment and the now-ubiquitous Scientific Method, ancient civilizations needed answers to questions ranging anywhere from nature to societal standards.  For the Ancient Greeks, nearly everything knowable was enshrined within even more ancient written and oral accounts.  The Greeks mingled gods and other immortality with humans to design mythically rich dramas.  Bearing little resemblance to truth, human difficulties with no foreseeable solutions were often resolved by deus ex machina—an artificial twist with an immortal hero or heroine.

The takeaway of every drama was different.  Some were simple and settled and merely had useful rules of thumb entrenched as dogmas.  Others were intricate and left open to invite profound discussion.

Euripides, like many other ancient tragedians, likely wanted his audience to be presented with an ethical crisis and feel catharsis for the characters.  In the drama Electra, Euripides used complex devices and strong emotions like misery and triumph to illicitly ask the audience if vengeance can be considered the same as justice.  Are we arbiters of right and wrong?  Matters like this and a slew of others that carry paramount moral and ethical dimensions are difficult to reason though.  Ancient Greek drama was so popular because it offered a chance to feel and reflect and have an attempt at making sense of an irrational life.