In Thucydides' On Justice, Power and Human Nature and Sophocles' Oedipus plays, they use language and speeches to convey the same things. The political orders in these works use their speeches to form a sense of purpose, sway political views and to manipulate for their own personal self-interest.
In both of their works, Thucydides and Sophocles write of a speech that instills a sense of ambition. In On Justice, Power and Human Nature, Pericles uses the oration not only to respect the departed, but to instill in the Athenians national pride and a zest to fight. The speeches that were given at funerals would primarily talk about the ancestors of the deceased and the lives they led. Pericles acknowledges this custom and proceeds to remind Athens what they are fighting for. He claims that the Athenian government is more of "an example to others, then they are to [Athens]," (Thucydides, ii.37) and that not only is there freedom and generosity between the government and the citizens, but also between one another as well. Pericles continues his eulogy by praising Athens' recreational activities, her soldiers' courage and loyalty, and her citizens' restraint against extravagance in what is beautiful (Thucydides, ii.37-40). Pericles praises do not cease until he finishes with his remarks of Athens being an education for Greece. He wants the citizens to remember the soldiers but forget about the tragedy that had occurred. These Greeks "ran away from the word shame," and Pericles urges the rest of the Athenian public body to do the same as well. In summation, Pericles' purpose of his speech was to convince the people to not be afraid of dying in battle and choose the most honorable course of action by fighting boldly. In "Oedipus the King," Oedipus gives a speech
Also Thucydides and Sophocles incorporate speeches of a political order to demonstrate its power to sway the one's political view. During the debate at Athens in 415, two particular political leaders fought to sway the decision of the Sicilian expedition. It began with Nicias coming forward with the intention of changing the minds of the Athenians. He understood that the character of Athens was bold and daring, but he hoped that his logic would prevail (Thucydides, vi.9). He reminds the assembly that Athens had just recovered from the plague and war to allow the population and money to increase.
For Pericles, Athenian values are realized through culture and “daily devotion.” He claims that Athenian citizens obey both “the laws themselves” and “agreed-on social values (which need no specific legislation),” not requiring legislation to uphold their values. Accordingly, Pericles views exceptionalism as intrinsic to Athenians. Boasting about the city, Pericles questions “how else did she become great but by this genius in her citizens?” A recommitment to civic values, therefore, is simple to Pericles: Athenians are exceptional at the moment of his speech, and must simply continue their past conduct in order to achieve future
Pericles’ Funeral Oration is a speech given by the Athenian leader Pericles, at a funeral, after the first battle of the Peloponnesian war. Pericles used this public funeral to make a statement and praise the Athenian people. “Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves”. Pericles believes Athens is original. They do not have to conform, they make the rules and other countries follow. “Its
To begin, Lincoln and Pericles both express tone in similar ways. In order to encourage his frazzled and hopeless soldiers and families, in addition to emphasizing the deceased, Lincoln needed to state his tone in an explicit and benevolent approach in the “Gettysburg Address”. To do this, Lincoln begins his speech with “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the position that all men are created equal.” Because the exact opposite was enduring at that time, Lincoln states this to remind the soldiers of what they are fighting for. Likewise, using a solemn tone, Pericles also attempts to grasp attention by introducing the past. He attempts this by extoling the ancestors of Athens. Which is obvious because he begins with the words “I shall begin with our ancestors”. In the second paragraph he states that they dwelt in the country from time to time without failure, and for this reason is it proper for them to have the first mention at a time of honoring the fallen.
Imagine yourself listening to a political debate, undecided as to which leader you agree with. One candidate begins to speak about unjust societal issues, such as the horrifying amount of people in the world that do not have food on their table. The candidate also begins to touch upon the topic of taxes and how he will lower them if he is elected. You find yourself being persuaded in the direction of emotions and morals. The power of language used to appeal others is not only present in the modern world, but also in the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by famous English playwright William Shakespeare. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar portrayed a story of how an aspiring leader, Julius Caesar, is assassinated by a group of schemers, lead by Marcus Brutus, who disagreed with Caesar’s decrees and ways of governing. Over the course of the text, it demonstrated the use of two rhetorical charms: ethos and pathos. While ethos refers to the moral and ethical appeal and pathos invokes to the emotional aspect, each one was evidently shown in the funeral speech for Caesar given by his best friend, Mark Antony. Prior to Antony’s speech, Brutus had given the plebeians a synopsis of what had occurred. However, Mark Antony knew that what Brutus had told the plebeians was false. In such manner, he allured the plebeians onto his side of the tragedy by touching upon ethical and emotional appeals.
In Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles commends the ergon of Athenian heroes, which has placed them in the realm of logos, while directing the Athenians to follow these ideals of logos. The maintenance and continued success of Athens' political establishment relies on the prevalence of polis, rationality and discourse over family, emotion and reckless action. However, the indiscriminate turns of fate and fortune, often place logos in opposition with the base, primal nature of ergon. Both Thucydides and Sophocles recognize that when logos conflicts with the unexpected ergon, the preservation of rationality and unanimity among the citizens of the polis depend on the leadership of a single honest leader. In the History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides presents Pericles as a man of logos, whom Athens needs to achieve its full potential as an empire and later to rescue her from disaster. Likewise, Sophocles presents Theseus, in Oedipus Colonus, as the perfect successor of Pericles, who returns Athens to its former glory before the end of the war. In these two examples, we see that the dominance of logos over ergon within a polis lies in the ability and logos of the city’s current leader.
Sixteenth century play writers often focused on the tragic irony of fate. One such play-writer is Sophacles. In one of his later plays, “Oedipus”, he writes the tragic story of a man who can’t avoid his pre-destined fate, and that some things just can’t be changed by the people in your life no matter how hard they try. Oedipus, the main character of this tragedy, he is a protagonist ruled by conflict and fate. This is evident in the characters traits and motivations, interactions with others, and the characters language and what others say about him.
Pericles did not wish to simply reiterate what Athens had achieved, but rather he wanted to address how and why Athens achieved. He believed that Athenian politics, culture, and character were more relevant to the deceased soldiers than their ancestor’s military successes. Accordingly, he praised these elements of Athenian society and in the process justified the soldiers’ sacrifice. He spoke “but what was the road by which we reached our position, what the form of government under which our greatness grew, what the national habits out of which it sprang; these are the questions which I may try to solve before I proceed to my eulogy upon these men; since I think this to be a subject upon which on the present occasion a speaker may properly dwell, and to which the whole assemblage, whether citizens or foreigners, may listen with advantage.” (2.36.4).
The most predominate and important aspect In the play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare are the speeches given to the Roman citizens by Brutus and Antony, the two main charaters, following the death of Caesar. Brutus and Antony both spoke to the crowd,using the same rhetorical devices to express their thoughts. Both speakers used the three classical appeals employed in the speeches: ethos, which is an appeal to credibility; pathos, which is an appeal to the emotion of the audience; and logos, which is an appeal to the content and arrangement of the argument itself. Even though both speeches have the same structure Antony’s speech is significantly more effective than Brutus’s.
It is widely known that the Athenians highly valued their warrior class, and they saw the warriors as a ring of the higher circle of the society. The Athenians were very proud of Athena and its traditions, as well. Athenian’s thought that Athena was the best, none could be better. The funeral oration was aimed to respect the fallen as well as to keep up the national pride and its passion to protect their nation. The speech was a eulogy which focused on the eminence of Athens and its predecessors. Usually a son was chosen to give the eulogy. The law required the speech to have several essential components. The speech had to concerning the lives of the deceased. At his eulogy’s end, Pericles spoke in regard to the soldiers. The speech talked about the life that the departed lived and the achievements which they gained. Pericles wanted the citizens to recall the soldiers but to forget about the tragedy that had occurred. He wanted the departed’s lives to be remembered, but not their demise. The speech helped the Athenians appreciate what their ancestors had died for and how they shou...
As perspectives and opinions in the realm of political science are fluid and bound to change, he receives a variety of replies, for the representatives body he sent happen to comprise a Realist, a Liberal and a Constructivist. The variances the philosophies and universal laws his representatives throw back at him intrigue General Cleomedes. He recognizes that within the power play of the world, and the role of Athens as a superpower within the world’s political arena, he must be thoroughly versed in every possible political perspective. Thus, he invites his representatives to share their own view of what transpired between the dialogue between the Melians and the Athenians.
Pericles gave a few reasons for giving this funeral oration. The main purpose Pericles gave his speech was to praise the Athenian war dead. For example, in the speech he states, “When men’s deeds have been brave, they should be honored in deed only and with such honor as this public funeral”. He goes on to explain in the speech that a friend of the dead who knows all the facts is more likely to think that the words of the speaker are not good enough or do not meet their expectations. Although a listener that does not know the dead will be envious of anything that surpasses his own powers or knowledge. He gives reasoning for this in the speech by stating, “Mankind are tolerant of the praises of others so long as each hearer thinks he can do as well or nearly as well himself, but, when the speaker rises above him, jealousy is aroused and he begins to be incredulous”. His speech was also meant to be a tribute to the city of Athens and the way of life there. Pericles wanted to convince the people of Athens that their city is worth dying for. To do this he talks about the ancestors and how their land has been passed down from generation to generation.
I believe that this closely relates to the early context of “Is the Glory of War a Boy Thing?” Because I believe one can easily glorify both the rise of the empires as a courageous and powerful movement, rather then closely looking at the true outcome of these wars. A Pericles type of funeral oration would have possibly been effective in ancient Rome or China, because at the time both were such powerful empires, people would have easily been convinced to believe practically anything. How can one find it just, to kill practically a whole society because they pose as a possible threat to economy because they too, are growing grapes? Pericles states in his oration that the people under his society are the best, and that it was perfectly acceptable to dominate other areas. He also mentions ancestors, and the pride in Athens, so its important to praise and glorify those who died. Isn’t it funny how history repeats itself? The Romans believed that because felt threatened it was okay to dominate other lands, and their ancestors faced hardships with the nomads it was acceptable to do so in return. Or the Chinese, who believed that war a proper, powerful, and masculine act of man.
Thucydides’ version of Pericles’ “Funeral Oration” can be read as more of an ironic rendering of Pericles’ original speech since The History of the Peloponnesian War is not just considered to be a historical account but also a “highly imaginative piece of work” in which Thucydides made characters involved in the war say what he believed they actually meant instead of what they might have originally said (Thucydides Introduction pg. x). In the “Funeral Oration”, Pericles praises certain
The great Sophoclean play, Oedipus Rex is an amazing play, and one of the first of its time to accurately portray the common tragic hero. Written in the time of ancient Greece, Sophocles perfected the use of character flaws in Greek drama with Oedipus Rex. Using Oedipus as his tragic hero, Sophocles’ plays forced the audience to experience a catharsis of emotions. Sophocles showed the play-watchers Oedipus’s life in the beginning as a “privileged, exalted [person] who [earned his] high repute and status by…intelligence.” Then, the great playwright reached in and violently pulled out the audience’s most sorrowful emotions, pity and fear, in showing Oedipus’s “crushing fall” from greatness.
The Melians argued using consequences of an Athenian take over. In section 110, the Melians threatened that if their allies the Lacedaemonians were provoked by the takeover of Melos, they might attack Athens itself: "...the Cretan sea is a large place; and the masters of the sea will have more difficulty in overtaking vessels which want to escape than the pursued in escaping. If the attempt should fail they may invade Attica itself, and find their way to allies of yours whom Brasidas did not reach: and then you will have to fight, not for the conquest of a land in which you have no concern, but nearer home, for the preservation of your confederacy and of your own territory." In addition, the Melians complained that they would be thought of as cowards if they surrendered, and they warned the Athenians that hostility would turn other neutral city-states against them.