Pericles Funeral Oration

1. According to Pericles, Athens is great because everyone can be apart of the government, whether they are wealthy or poor. He specifically says, "Our form of government is called a democracy because its administration is in the hands, not of a few, but of the whole people." Public office is not based on social standing, but on ability. There is relaxation at home and since Athens is so great he says, "all kinds of imports flow in to us from all over the world."

2. Athens is less strict as a whole when compared to other city-states. Pericles says, "Our city is open to all the world." They do not hide anything from other city-states. Instead of relying on military, they rely on courage. For education, we are always ready to face danger just like the others. Also, they make friendship by helping others, not by being helped. He states, "Helping others makes us a more trustworthy friend, because we then act so as not to lose the good will that our help created."

3. With all the good things, comes some problems in Pericles' description of Athens. Pericles says, "No man is kept out of public office by the obscurity of his social standing because of his
poverty, as long as he wishes to be of service to the state." They take everyone into office if they want to be in it. This is a problem because the person could be uneducated and therefore make wrong decisions for the city-state. Another problem is that they do not have some form of defense. This could result in a disaster if a war were to break out.