Pericles Argument For A Pro Democratic Government

There will always be conflicting viewpoints between the citizens of whom are governed by the same people regardless of the type of government being discussed. There are many contrasting views on Athenian democracy; however, some of the strength’s and weaknesses present in Athenian democracy hold similarities to the democracy we are today. “Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves,” (68). Pericles (ca. 495-429 B.C.E.) was a famous Athenian figure and political leader who wrote the speech called, “Pericles’ Funeral Oration,” to honor the fallen soldiers. A large piece of his speech was used to praise the Athenian democratic constitution.

Pericles takes time to laud democracy as a form of government. He believes the division of political power equally amongst citizens inevitably leads to laws that benefit the Athenian people as a whole. This in turn increase overall equality, and by extension, social mobility. Such a government is a just government in the eyes of Pericles, and thus, a shining example of Athenian superiority. “[Athens’] administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if no social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition.” (2.37.1).

Pericles spends most of the speech praising Athens. Pericles’ emphasis on democracy is very clear. He began his speech addressing the significance of the ancestors of Athens. Pointing out their sacrifices for their city and which directly correlates to the fairness and freedoms of the current Athenian democracy. Pericles’ spoke about separation of class of people is not tolerated and if anyone can serve the state they are not judged by their livelihood. He also advocates this position by returning briefly, at the end of the speech, to the fallen soldiers and their families, rather than merely promising glory to those who lose what is most their own (their lives) in defense of their own, Pericles presents glory itself as that

The Athenians democracy was the pride and jewel of their nation. It created confidence, security, and patriotism, however, it also created an arrogant mindset which eventually leads to the downfall of their nation. Pericles states that the Athenian government was unorthodox because it was a government of the whole people rather than a minority (Thucydides 1). In addition, all Athenian citizens had the right to be apart of the government and administer justice. However,

Aristophanes wrote The Acharnians at a time where the world he saw around him was changing. Athens had been at war for six years with no end in sight, the leader who started the war has been killed by a plague, and just three years prior Athens almost voted to kill off one of its allies for trying to leave the Delian League. He was seeing a whole new side of Athens. A side in which the concept of an independent polis has been lost and Athens is at war with its former allies. These are the things that inspire Aristophanes’ Greek comedy to be born. He uses the theater to address the questions he has about what is

Analyze Information How does Pericles define democracy? He defines democracy as a government of the many, not the few. With the laws ensuring equal justice for everyone, and honoring honoring talent and excellence in every field.

“Because of the greatness of our city the fruits of the whole earth flow in upon us; so that we enjoy the goods of other countries as freely as our own.” First it can clearly be noted that Pericles is talking on behalf of the city-state of Athens, rather than on behalf of himself. This is demonstrated by his use of “ us”, “our” and “we” signifying the democracy of Athens as a whole. Secondly, Pericles continues to demonstrate a great deal of pride. He is acknowledging the success and excellence of Athens and uses a metaphor to describe the result of Athens’ greatness when he says “the fruits of the whole earth flow in upon us”. He goes on to say that “…. so that we enjoy the goods of other countries as freely as our own.” This is important, because Pericles is using this statement to argue that there is no need to change the style of government Athens has. Furthermore he is using logos and logical reasoning as if to say: Athens is doing great, and we are reaping the benefits of other countries as a result of the greatness of Athens. Why should Athens change the system of government when it favors everyone and is being carried out successfully?

As we have learned that Democracy came from the word ‘demos’ which means people, that makes people the ruling party or majority rule. Ancient Greeks who were experimenting with different kinds of political system and were much interested in which system works best. By far the most radical kind of democracy is a direct democracy which lasted less than two centuries in a Greek city-state of Athens. Citizens of Athens were directly involved in the process and participated in decision making and they were proud of it, they deemed their system to be the best and superior to other systems in other Greek city-states. As Cartwright stated an excerpt from Pericles himself who was one of the greatest supporters of democracy in classic

The freedom which we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life” (Pericles’ Funeral Oration, Thucydides). In other words, it doesn’t matter what your social rank is, if you are a citizen of Athens, you have a right (and duty) to serve in the government. This is known as a direct democracy today, and it is where we, citizens of the United States, took inspiration for our current system of government. Pericles is right to praise the city-state in this regard, as its legacy still has effect on the world millenniums after its time.

Pericles was great as a leader, and he used all his skills as a logical man in order to occupy Athenians who weren’t involved in the army and who were unskilled. Because he did not want them to just get benefited from national income for doing nothing, he proposed to them different plans for public works and buildings where all kinds of industries could be involved. Since he didn’t have money of his own he was spending public money for building, and that is what he was accused of by Thucydides and other members of his party. Using the knowledge of psychology of people, Pericles knew how to persuade people in the Assembly. He didn’t have his own money, but still made the Athenians believe as though he did; and his reply to the accusation was as follows:

Furthermore, in the mind of Pericles, any citizen who did not take some part in the realm of politics was not just missing the core of Athenian democracy, but was essentially useless. This is so because Athenian democracy stood on the idea that people would take an active role in the government that represented them in order to protect their freedoms, and anyone who shunned that responsibility was a detriment to society. The arguments that Pericles puts forth are persuasive in the sense that theoretically in order for a democracy to survive as intended (which is self-representation and majority rule) then people must take politics sincerely.

encouraged to contribute and take part in self-rule. Pericles proclaimed, "We alone consider the man who refuses to take part in city affairs useless" (1). The Assembly was the regular gathering for male Athenian citizens to listen, discuss, and vote on official order issued by a legal authority. The legal authority who provided the Assembly agenda were called the Council. The Council consisted of 500 citizens, 50 from each ten tribes and could issue decrees on its own; "in a democratic city, the Council was the most important board of magistrates," (1). Pericles praised Athen for her form of government because it was very important for him, for citizens to contribute to

In my opinion one of the reasons that Aristotle hated democracy so much is partly due to the era in which he lived, he lived under Greek democracy back when democracy was fairly new and had a lot of flaws in it. I’m not so sure he would have such a hate for the democracy in the era we live in, even though he probably would not be to totally satisfied with it, but that would be due in part to the attitude of Aristotle: arrogant.

The form of democracy that Pericles put into effect was not favored by everyone. This is mainly because the people did not believe that the uneducated should have a say in any way. They thought that the poor may use this power against the rich. There was a point in time when the Athenian democracy experienced difficult phases and the rich blamed the poor for this misfortune. Some believed that giving the poor power was illegitimate.

Following that, I went on to discuss his use of a metaphorical individual that is the embodiment of democracy and outline his criticisms of this characterization. After that, I provided a response to Plato's criticism in the form of a counter-argument which was followed with a rebuttal of the counter-argument that showed the flaws in the counter-argument's defense of democracy. And finally, I provided my own response to Plato's criticism that did not take the shape of a confrontational counter-argument, but rather a discussion of the notion that a democracy is the only form of government for a philosopher to exist in as it contributes directly to the promotion of rational thought. Democracy, as it exists, allows for the furtherance of one's own personal desires at the expense of the order and harmony of society as a whole, Plato observed this, expanded upon it, and used the flaws of this form of government in order to promote his ideal form of government: that of the