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.