The Human Journey

W2 Discussion 2

Kevin Reilly,  The Human Journey, Chapter 3

Website: British Museum, Athens –

Website: British Museum, Sparta –

Primary Sources:

Website: Thucydides (c.460/455-c.399 BCE): Pericles’ Funeral Oration from the  Peloponnesian War (c. 430 BCE) –

Website: Xenophon (c.428-c.354 BCE): The Polity of the Spartans, c. 375 BCE –

Discussion Prompts:

After reading Chapter 3 and the material at the websites, and viewing the video, please make a 250-word initial post that answers the following questions about the primary sources:

Who do you think were the intended audiences of Pericles’ Funeral Oration and Xenophon’s description of the Spartan state? How might their purpose and intended audience affect their tone? Can we take these accounts at face value? Why or why not? What else would you like to know from the author?

Who do you think were the intended audiences of Pericles’ Funeral Oration and Xenophon’s description of the Spartan state? How might their purpose and intended audience affect their tone? Can we take these accounts at face value? Why or why not? What else would you like to know from the author?

Introduction

When you read historical accounts, it’s important to consider whether they were intended for a specific audience, and how they would have been perceived by them.

Pericles’ Funeral Oration and Xenophon’s description of the Spartan state were intended for different audiences.

The purpose of Pericles’ Funeral Oration is to praise his family and friends, but also to encourage Athenian citizens to support their respective cities, especially Athens. This may seem obvious at first glance, but it’s important because it helps us understand why he wanted the Funeral Oration written in the first place: he wanted people from all over Greece who were not living in Athens or Sparta (or any other city) heard about how great Pericles’ family was!

Xenophon’s description of Spartan society is meant for an audience that already knows enough about Sparta before reading his book – which means there isn’t much new information here either; instead he simply uses examples from history as proof that some things are better than others: “The Spartans are very strict with themselves and with one another” (2).

The purpose and audience of the Funeral Oration is to praise Pericles’ family and friends, but also to encourage Athenian citizens to support their respective cities, especially Athens.

The purpose and audience of the Funeral Oration is to praise Pericles’ family and friends, but also to encourage Athenian citizens to support their respective cities, especially Athens. The idea behind this was that Pericles wanted to encourage people who had been loyal supporters of Athens or other Greek cities for many years to continue doing so. This would help keep them strong as well as prevent any potential weakening among other members of their community who might think about leaving their homes if they did not feel like being involved in politics anymore (which could lead them over time).

The purpose of describing the Spartan state is to describe an ideal state that should be emulated by Athens, but also for Sparta to see what kind of other states are out there.

The purpose of describing the Spartan state is to describe an ideal state that should be emulated by Athens, but also for Sparta to see what kind of other states are out there.

Sparta’s history is full of examples of how not to do things and why people avoid those who do them. They were very secretive about their military tactics, which made it hard for other nations like Athens to learn from them. They also had a reputation for treating their slaves poorly, so even though they had a high number of slaves compared with other city-states like Athens or Corinth (who did not have anywhere near as many slaves), this could give rise to questions about whether they treated their citizens properly too!

The tone of these accounts is not necessarily different, but it depends on both audience and purpose.

The tone of these accounts is not necessarily different, but it depends on both audience and purpose. A historian’s tone may reflect their own experiences, attitudes and knowledge about a subject. For example, Thucydides’ account of the Peloponnesian War is more objective than Xenophon’s description of Sparta because he was more removed from events in Athens at the time he wrote his history than Xenophon was when he travelled through the city to gather information for his book (Xenophon).

The tone can also be affected by your own feelings about an event or person involved in it. If you think that someone was doing something wrong then they’re likely to come across as suspicious or even villainous in your eyes–this might lead you towards writing something negative about them in order to better understand why they behaved badly towards others (think back again at those terms like “good” vs “bad”).

When you read historical accounts, it’s important to consider whether they were intended for a specific audience, and how they would have been perceived by them.

When you read historical accounts, it’s important to consider whether they were intended for a specific audience, and how they would have been perceived by them. The tone of the account depends on the purpose behind its creation. For example, Xenophon’s description of Sparta is more political than Pericles’ Funeral Oration–and thus has a different purpose than Pericles’.

You should also consider your own cultural background when reading these texts: if you’re American or British and grew up with an American education system that focuses on individualism rather than collectivism, then your interpretation may be different from someone who grew up under the influence of the Greeks’ idealistic view of society (as seen in Plato’s Republic).

Conclusion

If you’re interested in reading more about the history of ancient Greece, check out our other posts on these topics: