Pericles Exercise One
Recall that Thucydides wrote that he made “each speaker say what I thought the situation demanded, keeping as near as possible to the general sense of what was actually said.”
Before reading the speech, imagine that you must speak for or against going to war before Congress or another political body. What issues would you need to address when speaking? What would you say in order to convince your audience? Are there any issues or topics that you would leave out? [15 minutes]
As you read through the speech, write down, in your own words, Pericles’ arguments in favor of going to war. [30 minutes]
Making the case for war then and now: Do any of Pericles' arguments address issues or concerns that you did not think of? Does he leave anything out? How would you account for any of these differences? [15 minutes]