Shakespeare's Pericles : The Journey Of The Soul

A reading of Thucydides’, Pericles’ Funeral Oration and The Melian Dialogue uncovers both contrasting and comparable viewpoints on Athenian politics, power, aims of war, and empire. Thucydides presents two differing characteristics of Athens, one as the civilizer in Pericles’ funeral oration and the other as an tyrant in the Melian dialogue. In the funeral oration delivered by Pericles during the first year of the war, the Athenian leader emphasizes the idealized personal image of the Athenians in regard to their constitution and good character. Pericles goes on to praise the Athenian democratic institution of Athens that contributes to their cities greatness; in Pericles’s own words, “The Athenian administration favors the many instead of few… they afford equal justice to all of their differences” (112, 2.37). This quote emphasizes the good character of the Athens’ to coax and encourage the Athenians to preserve and better their great empire into the future. On the other hand, in the Melian dialogue, this notion of justice and equality is irrelevant; one, because Athens compared to Melos, is the stronger of the two and thus, is more powerful. Further, Athens, will continue to acquire absolute power and build its empire by conquering Melos and whomever else stands in its way. Through Pericles’ funeral oration and the Melian dialogue, the following conclusions/themes will demonstrate both the changing and somewhat stable nature of Athenian policy with regards to empire,

In the Aftermath of the Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta, Pericles, Athens’ general and statesmen, delivered a powerfully comforting eulogy to the polis of Athens, assuring the people that their city state is in good hands, and easing the pain of all the families and relatives of the deceased. He uses several rhetorical devices throughout his speech to gain a positive emotional appeal by his audience and makes assertions in the attempt to enhance and transform the perception of him by the audience.

Pericles’ profound rhetorical skills were displayed within his Funeral Oration honoring Athenian soldiers who demonstrated extraordinary valor. Although the subject of his speech was in honor of the fallen soldiers who died gloriously defending Athens, he primarily praised Athens and everything it stood for. Within his speech, Pericles focuses on acting for the greater good of the city, which included sacrificing oneself much like the modeled sacrifice the dead had displayed through their valor. Through praising Athens and the fallen soldiers Pericles idealized the dead, showing their modeled behavior as honorable and glorious, which further appealed the sacrifice of dying for Athens. Pericles idealized motives continuously praised Athens: the dead, ancestors, and the city. Theses motives were intended to explain why Athenians should love their city and willingly sacrifice to ensure continued happiness and freedom.

“The new world had an extraordinary richness of languages”(Native peoples prior to European arrival).In the fifteenth century, people in Europe began to explore west to seek new lands and resources because of economic problems.The Europeans came to America to look for gold and silver, but the trip would be difficult and dangerous because there were no maps and not much knowledge on how to get there.Prince Henrey took the challenge to make it possible for others to sail to the Americas without any knowledge on how to get there.He created a place where people who were interested could share their knowledge about geography.People learned about maps and navigation.Then, Henrys sailors finally decided to lead others to go west where eventually Jamestown would be created.In 1606, King James told the three royal charters to create a comfortable colony on the east coast.The English worried about being attacked from the Spanish so they chose almost an island where they parked their ships by tying them to the trees available.To honor the king, they named the place Jamestown(Culters at Jamestown).

The reason William Bradford and the pilgrims came to the New World was to flee the religious persecution of the Anglican Church in England and come to a place where they could openly be puritan. This started the Great Migration of the Puritans. After them, almost all other emigrants from England to the colonies came for the same principle idea, religious freedom. From this starting principle, different colonies emerged. Two regions within the colonies became the Chesapeake, which consisted of Virginia and Maryland, and New England, which included, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Migrants flocking from Great Britain to the New World settled the New England and Chesapeake Bay colonies. These emigrants were driven by a variety of motives, ranging from economic liberation to religious freedom. The New World was seen as a hotspot for disease and brutality, but also a catalyst to creating a new life, whether one of piety or one of riches (document 10). As the century progressed, the colonies of New England and Chesapeake Bay followed divergent paths. The diversion of New England and Chesapeake colonies occurred due to differences between economic and religious motives of the original settlers.

In the seventeenth century, the populace that left England for America were influenced by the prospects that could either help them personally, or the mother country. The English settled in regions in America based on the religious acceptance of that area and ones that offered a preferable lifestyle.

In The History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides chronicles the events, battles, and democratic processes of the war between Athens and Sparta. Shortly after war broke out, Pericles delivered his funeral oration in honor of the courageous Athenians who already perished in battle. Through his funeral oration, Pericles reveals the true nature of Athenians. Ultimately, they were good natured since all the citizens of Athens willingly and dutifully served their country, and ultimately the common good; the structure of Athens and its government provided many outlets to do so. This relationship between the government and the people delineated itself as one of mutual reciprocity, seeing that the nature of Athenians directly correlated with

By the early 1700s, many Europeans traveled to the New World. Majority of these people traveled because of religious, agricultural, and economic reasons. As a result, a diverse set of people traveled to Chesapeake bay and New England. Because of the different reasoning for travel, and different beliefs, they developed into two distinct societies.

Although this philosophy was popular with the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty, it was not so popular among his subjects. The fact that this philosophy had a ruler thinking so little of his subjects says a lot about the conditions the people under his dynasty had to live through.

Athens is a major Greek city-state in European history. It was a great center of cultural and intellectual development, and thus home to philosophers. Socrates and Pericles, two of these philosophers, had polarizing opinions about the city-state and its citizens. While Pericles chooses to praise the Athenian citizen, Socrates criticizes Athens’ people. Pericles gave his opinion at a funeral during the first battles of the Peloponnesian War, while Socrates gave his during the trial that ultimately led to his death. The Athenian city-state has become a model for today’s systems of government and a hearth for western philosophy, so Pericles’ opinion seems to be the one that is more accurate.

We can learn several things from the “Funeral Oration of Pericles“. Two of these things are, the Athenians respect for their warrior class and how the Athenians were exceedingly proud of their city and its customs. The Athenians respected the warrior class and placed them among the top members of their society. They were seen as the top portion of their classes. They are classified as heroes or idols. The Athenians are extremely proud of their city and its traditions. To the people of Athens their country was at the top and there was no other country that could top them off. The purpose of the funeral oration is not only to respect the departed but, but also to instill the citizen’s national pride and a passion to fight for Athens.

Funeral orations or speeches were given in Athens to honor all the soldiers that had lost their lives during battle. During such speeches, an educated and reputable man was selected to stand over the dead and address the Athenian people. One such speech was The Funeral Oration of Pericles which is defined as, “a famous speech given by the Athenian leader Pericles after the first battles of the Peloponnesian war” (Halsall). Based on my understanding of this Funeral Oration’s context, I must say that I do not agree with everything Pericles says about Athens. Pericles’ oration is based on his view of Athens; while he accurately describes the Athenian Government and the culture of Athens, his description of Athens’s relationship with its neighboring

In 431 BCE, Pericles delivered his “Funeral Oration” during the midst of the Peloponnesian War in order to honor those who died for Athens. This eulogy was given in the middle of the war during a state celebration where the population gathered to commemorate those who defended Athens. However, Pericles also used his speech as an opportunity to honor the military and to inspire other citizens to fill the remaining vacancies in the army. Throughout his speech, Pericles emphasizes the glory of the Athenian democracy in order to honor the fallen soldiers and to inspire his people to continue to fight for the future of Athens.

Ancient civilizations and modern countries like the United States of America, are drastically different regarding varying aspects of society. The ancient Greeks certainly wouldn’t understand a smartphone, and similarly, a time traveller in ancient Greece would baffle at intense worship of multiple deities. So, while some people certainly appear to worship the latest iPhone, American culture does orient itself around worship of any form. Despite cultural differences and technological advancements, human emotion and reaction is a constant. Those mourning a loved one feel grief, crushing military defeat provokes anger, people reacted in two hundred B.C.E., and people react today, in 2017. Human response to tragedy has changed so little, that a funeral oration from around four hundred B.C.E., mirrors Obama’s speech after the Charleston massacre to an uncanny degree. The striking similarities between the orations provide insight into the difference in western values and their evolution over time as well as, insight into how political conditions of the time period influence the direction of the speeches.