History Essay

Nicki Alpern 9-25-03 Per. 9 History Essay Pericles expresses many features of Athenian society in this funeral oration. According to Pericles, “everyone was equal under the law.” He tried to make this true by making lower class citizens eligible for public offices and allowing them to participate in public affairs. Pericles also states that “what counts is no membership in a particular class, but the actual ability which the man possesses.” This means that the class a person is in had nothing to do with their political ability or ideas. He tried to maintain equality between the classes and gave them the same jobs and privileges. This helped more people in Athens attend his assemblies and more Athenians partook to their democracy. Pericles also declared that “the political life was free and open” meaning that everyone had a say in the government and it was related to the Athenian daily life which he also states as “free and open.” Besides beginning free and tolerant he states that “we are free and tolerant in out private lives but in public affairs we keep to the law.” I think in this he was declaring that there was a difference between a person’s private life and a person’s political life. Even thought both were considered to be “free” they were free in different ways. The democracy was free because everyone was had a say and anyone could be a part of the political system, but they still followed the laws. Because of the way Pericles ran the government, he states that they system made people more interested in the affairs of the state. This means that the people of Athens were not preoccupied with their lives and business because they were kept informed on the political issues. According to Pericles, his way of government was an “education to Greece.” He thought that his state was so ran so well that the other countries should learn

from them. Pericles system of government was an overall success because of his features for Athenian society.