Friends, Greeks, Honors Students! Lend me your ears.
Spencer Wood
The main thing that I got from this eulogy was how the Greeks viewed themselves as a people. The first thing is that this funeral was publicly funded, so they must have a very high view of soldiers. This is interesting because soldiers were just average men in society. Anyone who could afford the armor could be a soldier, but the fact that Athenians paid for those who fell in battle to be appropriately buried shows their esteem toward the military. Next, we see that the Greeks were very opinionated and were not willing to let a story be told wrong. Pericles says that when you tell a story, your friends want to add different parts that they think is important and people that may not like you are already in a mindset of envy thinking that you are exaggerating. This shows a fascinating insight into ancient society. Its almost like because they were a people with an oral-based history that everyone had different ideas of what went on at various events. This also shows the need for a written account of history, so there is less conflict among sources. Finally, Athens know that they are different than everyone else. It's very similar to the Puritan settlements of early America with the 'city on a hill' idea. Pericles also says that Athens "cultivates refinement," which sounds incredibly pompous. But we have to remember that Greeks see themselves as civilized and if you aren't greek then you're a barbarian, which just makes the quote more interesting to me. In short, Athens is, as Pericles states, "the school of [greece]" and to an extent the school of the world.
Zane and Josh(im the anonymous boye)
The main thing that I got from this eulogy was how the Greeks viewed themselves as a people. The first thing is that this funeral was publicly funded, so they must have a very high view of soldiers. This is interesting because soldiers were just average men in society. Anyone who could afford the armor could be a soldier, but the fact that Athenians paid for those who fell in battle to be appropriately buried shows their esteem toward the military. Next, we see that the Greeks were very opinionated and were not willing to let a story be told wrong. Pericles says that when you tell a story, your friends want to add different parts that they think is important and people that may not like you are already in a mindset of envy thinking that you are exaggerating. This shows a fascinating insight into ancient society. Its almost like because they were a people with an oral-based history that everyone had different ideas of what went on at various events. This also shows the need for a written account of history, so there is less conflict among sources. Finally, Athens know that they are different than everyone else. It's very similar to the Puritan settlements of early America with the 'city on a hill' idea. Pericles also says that Athens "cultivates refinement," which sounds incredibly pompous. But we have to remember that Greeks see themselves as civilized and if you aren't greek then you're a barbarian, which just makes the quote more interesting to me. In short, Athens is, as Pericles states, "the school of [greece]" and to an extent the school of the world.
Zane and Josh(im the anonymous boye)
I like how you brought in the fact that funerals were publicly funded which created a natural bias. I agree that this makes Athens sound pompous but we have to remember that they are saying all of this to appeal to the families of the lost soldiers. Overall, I'd say you make some great points about the culture of Athens.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I also thought it was interesting how Athens paid for a public funeral. It definitely showed the people of Athens were held to a higher standard. They truly believed they were the best Greek culture and they wanted to spread that with the world.
ReplyDeleteI love the aspect of the paid funeral. It allows us (the reader) to see a mental image on how people where held to a high honor and love for what they did.
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