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Secondary sourceSpeech431/430 BCE

Pericles' Funeral Oration

Thucydides · 431/430 BCE

The famous speech honouring Athens' war dead, recorded by the historian Thucydides as spoken by Pericles in 431/0 BC.

This is Pericles' most famous speech, though recorded and likely reshaped by Thucydides rather than word-for-word.

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Manuscript page in Greek handwriting with a decorative heading at top, showing the text of a speech in dense lines of script on aged parchment with marginal notes at left and right edges.
Pericles' Funeral Oration, as recorded by Thucydides, in a medieval manuscript, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cod. graec. 430, fol. 53v.

About this source

What it is

This is a speech attributed to Pericles, preserved in Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. It was delivered at a public funeral for Athenian war dead during the Peloponnesian War, and survives only through Thucydides' written account, not a direct transcript.

Why it matters

The speech praises Athenian democracy, openness and civic duty, and is one of the most famous statements of Athenian ideals. Because Thucydides says he reconstructed the main ideas rather than quoting word for word, the speech reveals as much about how Thucydides wanted Pericles remembered as about what Pericles actually said.

Look closer

  • Why might Thucydides have chosen to focus on Athens' government rather than its military victories?
  • What does it mean that the speech may not be an exact record of Pericles' words?
  • Who is praised in this speech, and who is left out?

This speech is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Pericles on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Photograph of the Parthenon temple on the Athenian Acropolis, seen from the front-left under a deep blue sky. White marble Doric columns and a partly damaged pediment stand on a stepped base, with scattered marble blocks and ruins in the foreground.Artifact

Primary source

Parthenon

447-432 BCE

Marble bust of a bearded man wearing a tall Corinthian-style helmet with a raised crest and cheek guards. Curly hair and beard are carved in detail. The bust rests on a tan stone pedestal against a grey wall.Sculpture

Secondary source

Pericles with the Corinthian Helmet

Kresilas · Roman copy, from a Greek original near Pericles' lifetime

Facsimile page of Greek manuscript handwriting in minuscule script, nine lines of dark ink on white, headed 'Facsimile No. 57', with a transcription and caption 'Thucydides.—Tenth Century' below.Book

Primary source

History of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides · 5th century BCE

Book

Secondary source

Life of Pericles

Plutarch

A long gallery with dim lighting and a grid ceiling. Carved marble relief panels line the left wall and are displayed along the right wall; a visitor walks toward a distant display of marble heads and sculptures. A dark bench sits in the foreground.Sculpture

Primary source

Parthenon Frieze

Phidias · c. 443-437 BCE

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