Pericles' funeral oration

An important text concerning Greek civilization - or, more specifically, Athenian civilization - is Pericles' funeral oration, delivered in honor of the Athenians killed in the first year of fighting in the Peloponnesian War. Our source for Pericles' oration is Thucydides, 2.35-46. This speech was discussed in class lectures, and you can find a complete text on it on the web. This leads to the translation which was discussed in class, and this leads to a different translation of the same speech.

Unfortunately, Amos & Lang do not appear to deal very comprehensively with this important text.

On p. 116 they say "Pericles' view of Athens as an 'education to Greece' and of Athenians as 'lovers of beauty without extravagance, and cultivators of the mind without being soft' may be idealized." Both quotes are from Pericles' funeral oration, although Amos & Lang do not specify this.

Also, on p. 146, Amos & Lang write as follows: "In his famous Funeral Speech over the dead of the first year of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles says to the widows, 'The greatest honour a woman can have is to be least spoken of in men's company, whether in praise or in criticism.'" As Amos & Lang say here, this is from Pericles' funeral oration; moreover, it may provide an important insight into the attitude which Athenian men had toward women.

All three quotes which Amos & Lang make from Pericles' funeral oration are important. As already stated, though, there is a good deal more to the speech than these few passages.