Download 3.13 SOAPStone Activity for Pericles` Funeral

3.13
SOAPStone Activity for Pericles’ Funeral Oration
Pericles’ Funeral Oration
At the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians held, as was their custom, an
elaborate funeral for all those killed in the war. The funeral oration over these dead was delivered by the
brilliant and charismatic politician and general, Pericles, who perished a little bit later in the horrifying
plague that decimated Athens the next year. The Funeral Oration is the classic statement of Athenian
ideology, containing practically in full the patriotic sentiment felt by most Athenians.
Excerpt from the oration:
“Our form of government does not enter into rivalry with the institutions of
others. We do not copy our neighbors but are an example to them. Our
constitution is called a democracy, because power is in the hands not of a
minority but of the whole people. When it is a question of putting one person
before another in positions of public responsibility, what counts is not
membership of a particular class, but the ability the man possesses… Our city
is thrown open to the world and we never expel a foreigner or prevent him
from seeing or learning anything of which the secret if revealed to an enemy
might profit him. We rely not upon management or trickery, but upon our
own hearts and hands. And in the matter of education, whereas they [Sparta]
from early youth are always undergoing laborious exercises which are to
make them brave, we live at ease and yet are equally ready to face the perils
which they face… when the hour comes we can be as brave as those who
never allow themselves to rest… we are lovers of the beautiful, yet with
economy, and we cultivate the mind without loss of manliness… To avow
(admit) poverty with us is no disgrace; the true disgrace is in doing nothing to
avoid it. An Athenian citizen does not neglect the state because he takes care
of his own household… We alone regard a man who takes no interest in public
affairs, not as a harmless, but as a useless character…
Pericles’ SOAPSTone Activity
Using the primary source titled “Pericles’ Funeral Oration,” complete the SOAPSTone
activity below and then answer the questions that follow. Be prepared to share your
responses with the class.
Speaker (Who is the speaker of this document? Include more than just a name.)
Occasion (What short-term and long-term events surround this document?)
Audience (Who is the intended audience of this document?)
Purpose (What is the purpose of this document?)
Subject (What is the subject of the document?)
Tone (What is the tone of the document?)
Additional Questions:
1. What type of government did Athens have at this time? Explain what this means in Athens.
2. What is the difference between Athens and Sparta in educational goals?
3. What do Athenians value?
4. What is meant by the last line of the oration?