Comparatively Speaking...

I wish to analyze a few comparisons that Pericles makes in the Funeral Oration. Spencer explains well the differences made between Athens and Sparta. But I noticed additional comparisons which define differences and similarities between people in order to inflate Pericles' persuasive power.

To begin, Pericles makes a distinction between himself and "many of those who have spoken [at the public burial place] in the past" (72). He announces that his speech will be different than theirs--he will not "praise the institution of this speech", but instead he will speak about their ancestors; he will not "make a long speech on subjects familiar to [the Athenians]," but instead he will "discuss the spirit in which [they] faced [their] trials...[and] after that speak in the praise of the dead" (72-73). By declaring his speech to be more productive, relevant, and interesting than those speeches given in the past, Pericles automatically captures the curiosity of his audience (pathos) and makes himself appear more intelligent or skilled than those past speakers (ethos). 

Pericles paints himself as someone better than his predecessors, but he makes positive use of past peoples by expressing a similarity between the Athenians and their ancestors. He says that their fathers "added all the empire we have now" and that contemporary Athenians had also "added to the power of [the] empire" (73). Basically, he asserts that both groups contributed to the empire's success and increase. By drawing a resemblance between the audience and their mighty ancestors, reminding them of the commonality they share in the edification of Athens, Pericles reinforces the audience's devotion to the empire. 

There are even more comparisons between Athens' and the "neighbor's" system of government, recreation, love of beauty, decision-making process, and yes, the "general good feeling" of friendship and kindness. All to prove that Athens possesses a "greatness that surpasses what was imagined of her"--that she is better than all the rest. And I'm sure that, as Pericles says, "This is no empty boasting...but real tangible fact" (75). 

Parts Make the Whole

        I agree with what Hailee said in her post about Pericles’ funeral oration being deliberative in nature. I want to add to that by showing how his advisory speech flows with the use topics of invention.  Specifically, I want to show the use of division.

        Just as Aristotle breaks down happiness into its parts, Pericles’ oration emphasizes the parts that make up civilization.  He attributes their success and greatness to “the spirit in which [they] faced [their] trials and also [their] constitution and the way of life which has made [them] great.”  He emphasizes their courage in battle, freedom and equality due to democracy, and recreation as an escape valve for the pressures of life.   

        Amazingly, Pericles puts an interesting twist on his description of Athens.  He proudly declares that “each single one of our citizens… is able to show himself the rightful lord and owner of his own person.”  He goes on to accredit the power of their city to the individual.  This use of division of the whole into parts is very powerful and persuasive.

Things not as they appear

After reading Aristotle’s Book 1 on Rhetoric I found some new insight by rereading Pericles’ Funeral Oration. One might look at this ceremonial speech as a tribute to those who had fallen, but based on some historical background discussed our class and guided by Aristotle’s Rhetoric, we might see that things aren’t always as they seem. While it might have seemed to the Athenians that Pericles was honoring the fallen warriors, I believe that Pericles was using the ceremony as an opportunity to promote his own desires.

A typical epideictic speech focuses on displaying, singling out, and praising specific virtues of an individual such as courage, honor, charity, or strength as shown by Pericles as he discusses the sacrifice of the warriors.  What was interesting to me was the virtues that Pericles singled out and praised were the very virtues he hoped to see in the Athenians that would help promote his dream of establishing an empire.

I’m not stating that this is a wrong or evil thing for him to do, but I was surprised by how my opinion of his speech changed after reading Aristotle’s Rhetoric. What I once viewed as words of praise and honor, I began to see as words of persuasion; persuasion to become the type of people Pericles was describing. I have no doubt that the fallen Greek warriors had many attributes, some favorable, others not as favorable, it is also possible that those fallen didn’t die as heroic a death as he described, yet he chose to focus the minds of the audience on a grand idea, “Beautiful Athens, something worth dying for”. We have no idea if this was the cause that these warriors were fighting for or not. For all we know they could have been mindless fighting machines merely following Pericles command, yet the way it is portrayed is to paint the picture of a glorious cause surrounded by all the virtues we admire.  

Pride, arrangement, and sophistry

History:

Like others (including Katie), I found, through Pericles’ speech, a strong sense of Athenian pride. Unlike Katie, though, I don’t feel that it was any more excessive than any other nation. I don’t feel that pride and tradition specifically characterize the Athenians. Pericles talks about the strength and tradition of Athenians and compares it with Spartans. Almost every culture, even today, does that same sort of thing. Think about it: the United States builds itself up and prides itself in its strength and military. The U.S. compares itself with other ‘inferior’ countries all the time. Even within the U.S. there’s competition among states. Texans (and Oregonians) pride themselves in their patriotism, sports, and almost every other aspect of the state. To sum it up, although this speech does make a compelling argument about the pride and tradition, and could very well explain the history of those people, I don’t think it is out of the ordinary for these characteristics to be a part of a community.

Rhetoric: 

I was very interested with the arrangement of Pericles’ speech. To go back to the history that I talked about earlier, pride is a central theme in both the language and in the arrangement. I noticed that although there is some deviation in that theme in the beginning, the theme always goes back to that. Here is a brief overview of the main points (to show the arrangement):

-          Intro of how he got information- personal experience that is credible

-          Shows reverence by suggesting that a speech might not be enough to honor the soldiers (persuasive techniques for arguing against what he is saying?)

-          Praise of the city

-          These men fought for this

-          You should too!

-          Men will be honored and remembered forever

-          So be like them.

-          Find comfort where you can, but stand up and be courageous.

The pride that he invokes and plays with really becomes powerful in encouraging the citizens to participate and be patriotic. It always circles back around to pride. This is a very persuasive technique.

Philosophy: 

I feel like Pericles embodies the sophists in many ways. Not only does he help to create and insight, but he also induces beliefs. Like other sophists, he focuses on the crowds and has an amoral (or relative morality) stance. His speech is long-winded and directed toward the large group. There does seem to be a bit of morality, but I feel that it’s more relative- he praises certain qualities that Athens has, but were other countries to possess those same qualities, they aren’t praised. In fact, it would be a bad thing (in the eyes of the Athenians). 

Patriotism Elevated by Death

History

I love what James said in his post regarding being American. I too couldn’t help but notice the American ideologies expressed in the Funeral Oration of Pericles. “Our system of government does not copy the institutions of our neighbors” (line 27, page 73). “When our work is over, we are in a position to enjoy all kinds of recreation for our spirits” (4, 74). “We, when we launch an attack abroad, do the job by ourselves and, though fighting on foreign soil, do not often fail to defeat opponents who are fighting for their own hearths and homes” (21, 74). “The worst thing is to rush into action before the consequences have been properly debated” (7, 74). Thucydides stated in the beginning that “similar events would occur in the future if the same causes are present” (71). It seems obvious to me that the same can be said of patriotism if I can read a speech intended for ancient greeks and think of my present day country.  

Rhetoric

Through recognizing the historical similarities between ancient Greece and present day America (specifically in regards to ideology) I feel it necessary to comment on the magnificent persuasive power of patriotism. The fact that Pericles purposefully begun his speech by appealing to patriotism, that pride of country carried me to the end of the speech. In the middle of his speech, he made questionable statements such as: having more children makes up for the death of one or that the “greatest glory of a woman is to be least talked about by men” (8, 78). (Macey R. has a different interpretation of this quote that is quite interesting.)Though I personally did not agree with those statements, because he successfully utilized rhetoric to convince me to be a team player and embrace the community ideals, I was able to disregard such comments that went against my personal beliefs.

Philosophy

In consideration of the philosophy presented in this speech, I completely agree with Macey R. Not only did Pericles use his speech praising dead men to elevate Athens, he used such a speech to also elevate himself. We learn from the text that Pericles stands on a high platform. Not only is this a means of projection, but I also believe this is a sophist action alluding to their belief of being more knowledgeable than everyone else and thus superior. Furthermore, some of the language was so loaded that it distracted from the men being honored and guided the audience’s attention to the man speaking. This type of performance truly is character of a sophist. 

Perfect Weather to talk about Death

HISTORY

              From his speech it was very obvious how important death is to Greek civilization. By analyzing the way people react to death and sorrow we can often discover what they believe about life. For example, the Greeks respect their dead based on how they died; an honorable life was one that was given in military service. Notice that, in mentioning the soldiers who died at Marathon, Pericles reveals that even some military deaths are more honorable than others. What I glean from these facts is that the Greeks were a collectivist society because they saw the community as a whole, not as a collection of individuals. They honored the dead who honored the community by giving of their lives.

RHETORIC

              The order in which Pericles addressed the different groups in his speech stood out to me. First, he talked to the parents, the ones who had sacrificed their lives raising the men who had just died. He reminds them that their sacrifice was not in vain because their sons died honorable deaths and contributed to society. Then he addressed the brothers and sons and the point I made above is emphasized. He doesn’t comfort the living men about the deaths, but rather comforts them that one day they may also be able to die for their country. Lastly, he talks to the widows of the group, the people that in modern times would be addressed and comforted first, and, as touched on by Macey, he mentions them only long enough to say that he isn’t going to talk about them.

PHILOSOPHY

              I don’t know if I can make a definitive statement on which of the three philosophical categories Pericles should be put in, but I definitely can see how he exemplifies the philosophy of a Sophist. At first I was going to sort him as a Socratic because he tries to find the truth of what is happening. However, I realized, with a little help from Hailee, that he was very biased to Athens. Socrates would never have made such blanket statements about Athens being superior.

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.

HPR: How Pericles Rhetoricized

HISTORY
At the end of his oration, Pericles speaks directly to the women in the audience for just a couple of sentences: their greatest glory, he claims, is to not be mentioned by men. That's it! He's done with the women and ends his speech. Women were influential in ancient Greece inasmuch as they were beautiful (e.g., Helen), but weren't they also looked down upon (in the Iliad, wasn't it an insult to call someone a woman)? So perhaps Pericles was misrepresenting Greek culture. Or maybe not, and the Greeks had the same tradition as ancient Hebrews: that to be respectful, one avoids mentioning women.

PHILOSOPHY
In response to Alexander's post: It would appear that Pericles falls in line with the Socratics because he doesn't think that belief should depend on "the goodness or badness of one man's speech." In my opinion, Pericles just makes everyone think that's what he believes, and then goes off about the city of Athens. The speech was supposed to honor the dead, but instead, Pericles totally pulls a Sophist and uses his speech-making powers to persuade everyone that Athens is the best. He talks about how the Athenians search for truth like Socratics do, but the speech itself seems more like Sophist-ry to me.

RHETORIC
As Thomas said, this speech appears to be epideictic. There is definitely the element of "praise"; however, Pericles praises Athens mostly, not the dead. He says that "Praise of other people is tolerable only up to a certain point...where one still believes that one could do oneself some of the things one is hearing about." So he actually uses this occasion to throw in some deliberative rhetoric--to persuade the Athenians to build up their great city. He was definitely considering the future and making sure that the people would follow the examples of the dead with greater motivation to do what was best for Athens.

Hybrids Survive

History as a Genre of Writing

After reading Pericles' Funeral Oration, I picked up on several key differences in custom that were chosen over what the "norm" was back in those times.  Pericles glazed over and outright skipped the glorifying of the fallen Athenian soldiers, so as not to dishearten those who had not participated in the war.  This was quite revolutionary to shift the focus of the fallen to the glory of the country and to keep everyone feeling more or less equal to one another at the end of the day.  As noted by Pericles, this was the opposite of what had been done before, but he still utilized history and a sense of patria to captivate the audience. 

Epideictic Oratory

Having read this section of Alexander's post, I felt the need to perpetuate the thought.  Some of the definitions for this type of speech found on the rhetoric.byu.edu site include "fit for display" and "ceremonial."  Thirdly and most obviously, the oration is loaded with high praise to Athens, the culture, the people, and individuals of all social standings, including those loved ones of the fallen.  Pericles does not simply restrict himself to honoring fallen soldiers as gods among men, but rather praises the whole for which those men bravely fought.  It is in this way that the speech is highly effective in influencing others, as it is all-encompassing to its listeners.  Everybody is made happier in some way. 

Philosophy

Through examining the thoughts of Katie, Alexander, and Adam, I found connections in Thucydides' work to all three groups of philosophy.  As a Sophist, Pericles did encourage more children to be born in order to lessen the post-war deficit.  In Socratic terms, the people of Athens did in fact debate for the sake of finding truth.  Pertaining to Pre-Socratics, Pericles explored the possibility that the principle of honor was the driving force or essence behind the Athenians' superiority.  I am sure that there could be a "best" answer, but more often than not, people's ideals and actions meld together across the varying realms.  This happens a lot in politics, as a rigid politician is highly unlikely to be reelected, while one who caters to the popular vote remains in office.  Stark black and white characteristics oftentimes cause critical flaws or weaknesses.  Understanding and potential are restricted, to say the least.  

Don't Cry for Me Athens

Historical Happenings

Thucydides intent for writing this history of Pericles’ Funeral Oration was to prevent future mistakes from occurring again.  He was concerned with accuracy and only recorded events that he had seen personally or had heard the perspectives of many in relation to that event.  He was concerned with recording that which was closest to be reality.  Although what a speaker may have said could be biased, Thucydides wanted the history to be what the speaker had actually spoken.  It seems that Thucydides was starting the process of making histories and trying to make sense of the differing opinions of many to help those in the future.

Establishing Ethos

Pericles speech caught me off guard a little.  He speaks much of the city in the beginning and not of the fallen soldiers.  He spends the majority of the speech reflecting on the grandeur of the city.  But as he speaks of the city he builds up the pride of those in the audience who pertain to this remarkable city.  This is one way that he begins to gain ethos.  Who doesn’t like to hear something good about himself?  Then he uses the city to connect to the soldiers.  It was their knowledge of the importance of this city that gave them courage. 

Pericles' Philosophy

But was Pericles doing what was morally correct while he praised Athens and its inhabitants?  He uses their emotions to encourage them to have more children.  Doesn’t that seem a little out of place for a eulogy?  I would say that Pericles was a Sophist because he wasn’t focused on the morals of the war but in encouraging them to be superior.  I disagree with Alexander that Pericles was seeking for truth because his “truth” seemed very biased to the side of Athens.  We have to consider both sides to arrive at truth.  When it comes down to it, killing may not be what is morally correct.   

Honor in all things

The great Greek general Pericles was renowned for his strength in battle as well as an orator. His famous funeral speech is his best known work of rhetoric, and one with an inspiring theme.

Athenians > Spartans

When looking at the background for his speech, this funeral took place during the first year of the Pelopponesian war. This war wasn't against the Persians, Egyptians or other foreign powers but instead against the Spartans, who were the enemy. Pericles uses this factor to raise morale for the Athenians. He references the severe training that the Spartans instill in their male children to make them powerful warriors and denotes that despite this brutal and intense learning, the soldiers of Athens are just as prepared to battle with the same drive as their enemies. The Athenians instead use courage and loyalty rather than sheer force and as such are greater than their enemies.

The Athenian Soldier: Integrity and Honor

Pericles is the war general of the Greeks and yet in his speech, he frequently avoids topics that would bring attention to him, choosing instead to appeal to his audience consisting of soldiers and relatives of soldiers. He tells them of the honor that it is to be a soldier, choosing to fight the enemy and be magnanimous in their role. Pericles continues in like manner to show the ideal of a true Athenian warrior, making his speech not only a tribute to those that had fallen, but as a rally to the living in the onslaught of this war.

Honor = Essence

Unlike Katie or Alexander, I found that Pericles' speech had many similarities with the Presocratics rather than Socrates himself. These philosophers were searching for the archon of the universe, each one emphasizing a specific concept. Should Pericles have been one, he would have based his theory of archon on ethos. He mentions that the Athenians aren't merely noble soldiers in battle, but also in their homes. He mentions how they frequently do good things to others without desiring something in return (a rather christian belief interestingly) which gives each men an air of integrity and nobility. The Athenians seem to be unique to this in Greek culture and he cites this as a reason to their own superiority. In all, his speech acts as if the principle of honor could be the basis of human essence.

Praise to the Men

Unique New York Greece

One of the greatest points of pride in Pericles’s speech is the idea that Greece, and more specifically Athens, differs greatly from surrounding sovereignties. They are braver than the Spartans. The people care more for the government. They are more tolerant of foreigners who happen through Athens. Later in his oration, he lauds Athens for her greatness. He even goes as far to say that her greatness is such that famous men have the whole earth as their memorial, in foreign lands also, where it fixed on the hearts of the men who came across the citizens of so great a city. From his description, though bias, we understand that Greece/Athens had surpassed the neighboring regions in politics and foreign policy.

Textbook Epideictic Oration

Pericles’ funeral oration falls nicely into the category of epideictic oration. His speech is replete with praise to the fallen, praise to the city for which they fell, praise to the survivors, and praise to the morals for which the fallen stood. Especially towards the end of his address, he praises the relatives for being able to cope with grief – real grief, born from the loss of love. He praises every group of people that could be associated with the men who died for the cause.

Socratic Pericles

Though I agree with Katie’s thought on Socrates’ personal reaction to Pericles’ oration, I still believe that Pericles’ commentary on the characteristics of the Athenian thought process would generally place him more in line with the Socratic thinkers. Pericles asserts that the residents of Athena possess a propensity to act in accordance with truth. He declares that they will debate an issue first, to gain a better understanding of that issue, before acting on it. This tendency indicates that they are seekers of truth. Rather than just debating for the sake of debating, Athenians debate to arrive at a particular conclusion that will allow them to act properly. They seek a debate to mitigate and weigh risk before acting; they seek the truth to avoid acting in ignorance. This seems to be very reflective general Socratic ideology.

An Education to Greece

   History and Greek Civilization

Because history is the past of the winners, and Athens
definitely won to history, Pericles was right that future
ages will wonder at Athens.  We do so today.

           

            Pericles’s speech reveals Athenian civilization in two ways: the traditions and pride.  Pericles mentions that he does not want to give the speech because the bravery of the soldiers speaks for themselves. However, it is his duty to honor his ancestors and traditions. Pericles, though, focused much more on the pride and glory of Athens.  According to Pericles, Athenians have natural bravery instead of Spartan state-induced bravery.  The Athenians also pride themselves on working alone and not needing allies.  Athenians enjoy living in a world where beauty, things of the mind, bravery, politics, and service live harmoniously.  Athens is an “education to Greece” and "future ages will wonder at us.”  However, Pericles is only at least partly employing propaganda because Athens had its problems.  However, history is not the truth of the past but a reconstruction of the winner’s memories.  So Athens, the winner, is a golden city to Pericles.

Employing Ethos

            Pericles establishes his ethos mostly through emotional appeal.  Though he already had great ethos because he was a leading statesman in Athens, he mentioned none of his accomplishments during his speech, which actually increased his ethos.  He instead establishes ethos mostly through pathos.  When he says a speech is not necessary because of the bravery of the soliders, he is being sympathetic to the mourners.  He uses the word “we” instead of “you” to connect him with his audience.  Once he has the audience firmly on his side through his pathos, he is able to give the mourners advice to have more children, and they will take his advice.

Socrates vs. Pericles

Socrates would question even the most mundane
so he would definitely question the bravery of
the Athenian soldier. 

                        Socrates would have approached this funeral oration very differently than Pericles.  I imagine that he would attempt to discover if the dead soldiers were actually brave or only acting on orders.  He would question the mourners about their sons and brothers and their character.  He would not dote on Athens for more than half the speech but attempt to expose its corruption. Under his motto that “an unexamined life is not worth living” Socrates would bring the hard questions to light as opposed to Pericles’s epideictic, praising oration.

was most interested in knowing absolute truth.  I even conjecture that unlike Adam's thoughts, Pericles represented the Sophist thought.  Sophists were pragmatic, and Pericle’s advice to have more children and to women quiet were pragmatic thinkings taken from a difficult situation.  Pericles based himself in real life events, not in theory.