Today's Passage
This passage comes from Pericles' famous Funeral Oration (epitaphios logos), delivered in 431/430 BCE during the first year of the Peloponnesian War.
Crawley Translation (1910)
“So died these men as became Athenians. You, their survivors, must determine to have as unfaltering a resolution in the field, though you may pray that it may have a happier issue. And not contented with ideas derived only from words of the advantages which are bound up with the defence of your country, though these would furnish a valuable text to a speaker even before an audience so alive to them as the present, you must yourselves realize the power of Athens, and feed your eyes upon her from day to day, till love of her fills your hearts; and then, when all her greatness shall break upon you, you must reflect that it was by courage, sense of duty, and a keen feeling of honour in action that men were enabled to win all this, and that no personal failure in an enterprise could make them consent to deprive their country of their valour, but they laid it at her feet as the most glorious contribution that they could offer. For this offering of their lives made in common by them all they each of them individually received that renown which never grows old, and for a sepulchre, not so much that in which their bones have been deposited, but that noblest of shrines wherein their glory is laid up to be eternally remembered upon every occasion on which deed or story shall call for its commemoration. For heroes have the whole earth for their tomb; and in lands far from their own, where the column with its epitaph declares it, there is enshrined in every breast a record unwritten with no tablet to preserve it, except that of the heart. These take as your model and, judging happiness to be the fruit of freedom and freedom of valour, never decline the dangers of war. For it is not the miserable that would most justly be unsparing of their lives; these have nothing to hope for: it is rather they to whom continued life may bring reverses as yet unknown, and to whom a fall, if it came, would be most tremendous in its consequences. And surely, to a man of spirit, the degradation of cowardice must be immeasurably more grievous than the unfelt death which strikes him in the midst of his strength and patriotism!
Modern Translation
These men died as true Athenians should. You who survive must resolve to face the enemy with equal determination, though you may hope for a more fortunate outcome. Don't be satisfied with merely hearing about the benefits of defending your homeland—though such words would provide ample material for any speaker addressing an audience already aware of these truths. Instead, you must witness Athens' power with your own eyes, contemplating her greatness daily until passionate devotion fills your hearts. When you fully grasp her magnificence, remember that men achieved all this through courage, duty, and an acute sense of honor in action. They refused to let personal setbacks in any venture lead them to withhold their valor from their city; instead, they offered it as their most splendid gift. Through this collective sacrifice of their lives, each man won individual fame that will never fade. Their tomb is not merely where their bodies lie, but rather the most noble monument where their glory remains, eternally recalled whenever deeds or tales demand remembrance. Heroes claim the entire world as their sepulcher; in distant lands beyond their own, where no inscribed column marks their graves, their memory lives unwritten in every heart, preserved not on stone but in human consciousness. Take these men as your example. Understanding that happiness comes from freedom and freedom from courage, never shrink from war's perils. It's not the wretched who should be most willing to risk their lives—they have nothing to anticipate. Rather, those should be readiest whose continued existence might bring unforeseen misfortunes, and for whom defeat would prove most catastrophic. Surely, for any man of honor, the shame of cowardice brings suffering infinitely worse than death that comes unfelt while one fights with full strength and patriotic fervor!
Historical Context
This passage comes from Pericles' famous Funeral Oration (epitaphios logos), delivered in 431/430 BCE during the first year of the Peloponnesian War. Pericles, Athens' leading statesman, speaks at the public funeral for the war's first casualties. The speech serves multiple purposes: honoring the dead, consoling the living, and justifying Athens' imperial policies and democratic values. This particular section transitions from praising the fallen to exhorting the survivors. Pericles transforms grief into patriotic fervor, arguing that true commemoration requires emulation, not just remembrance. The speech represents a crucial moment in Athenian self-definition, articulating the city's ideological foundations while the costly war that would ultimately destroy its empire had just begun.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
Funeral Oration Genre
The epitaphios logos was a distinctive Athenian institution where a prominent citizen chosen by the state delivered a public eulogy for war dead. This genre combined commemoration with civic education, using the occasion to reinforce democratic values and military virtue.
Learn more →Athenian Imperialism
Pericles' call to 'feed your eyes upon' Athens' power reflects the city's imperial height. By 431 BCE, Athens controlled a maritime empire of over 200 tributary states, using Delian League funds to build monuments like the Parthenon that embodied the greatness Pericles invokes.
Learn more →Greek Hero Cult
The concept of heroes having 'the whole earth for their tomb' connects to Greek hero worship, where fallen warriors could receive cult honors. Pericles universalizes this tradition, suggesting these men's heroism transcends local shrines to achieve cosmic significance.
Learn more →Arete and Shame Culture
The contrast between honorable death and shameful cowardice reflects Greek arete (excellence/virtue) and the Mediterranean honor-shame value system. Public reputation mattered supremely; Pericles exploits this psychology to motivate continued military service despite mounting casualties.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Plato: Menexenus (246d-247a)
Plato's Menexenus contains a funeral oration supposedly by Aspasia, Pericles' companion. It parodies yet parallels Thucydidean themes, especially the idea that noble death brings eternal fame.
Read passage →Lysias: Funeral Oration (Oration 2.23-24)
Lysias delivered this epitaphios around 392 BCE. Like Pericles, he emphasizes how the dead's sacrifice creates an obligation for the living and argues that courage springs from freedom.
Read passage →Herodotus: Histories (7.104)
Demaratus explains to Xerxes how Spartan freedom produces superior courage. This parallel between freedom and military valor anticipates Pericles' similar argument about Athenian motivation.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How does Pericles transform grief into patriotic motivation? What rhetorical techniques make this transformation effective?
- What tensions exist between individual glory and collective sacrifice in this passage? How does Athenian democracy reconcile these?
- Compare Pericles' concept of immortal fame through memory with modern forms of war commemoration. What has changed or remained constant?
- Why does Pericles argue that the prosperous have more to lose than the wretched? How does this relate to Athens' imperial position?