Pericles - Oratory

"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others" - Pericles

In the glorious and Ancient Greek city-state of Athens (495BC), a noblewoman named Agariste dreamt that she would give birth to a lion. On one fateful night, her son was born; Pericles, a lion made flesh.

This heroic age of 5^th-century Athens BC, predicated on the values of glory, honour and loyalty, produced historical titans; Hippocrates, Sophocles and Democritus, to name a few. Yet it was Pericles ‘The Olympian’, through guile and fortitude, that carved himself into the history books and produced, what we now know as – The Periclean Age.

He ruled as a Strategos, an elected military general who held power in Athens, for 29 years straight. To leave Athens as superior to all other nations was his aim. Through social reform, ruthless military leadership and grand building projects, including the Parthenon upon the Acropolis; Pericles would provide justification for the most arrogant claims surrounding Athenian Supremacy.

The Parthenon

The Acropolis by Leo Von Klenze, 1846

He died in 495 BC; leaving Athens as his shining memorial. 

The Olympian possessed a great number of character traits that are worthy of admiration. Yet, it is with his mastery in oratory that we see the roots of his power and influence.

As a member of Athenian nobility, Pericles was naturally tutored by the great philosophers of his time. The duty of armouring Pericles for his future trials lay at the feet of two great philosophers: Zeno and Anaxagoras; it is with these men that Pericles developed himself into a master orator.

Oratory is the art of articulated speech and its foundation lies in mastering the skill of rhetoric (persuasive speaking). Whether you are leading a nation into war or attending a job interview, you should use oratory to achieve your goals.

Aristotle, Plato and Cicero have all studied the skill of rhetoric. Again; rhetoric is the skill of persuading someone and oratory is acting out that skill in the public arena. You need not be standing before Athenian citizens to develop your skills in this domain. In every speaking interaction, you can develop yourself into a master orator. The two main principles, I believe, that govern an effective orator are; brevity and beauty. 

We see these governing principles in Pericles's famous funeral oration - a speech he gave to the Athenian masses during the Peloponnesian war (431BC).

'Such was the end of these men; they were worthy of Athens, and the living need not desire to have a more heroic spirit, although they may pray for a less fatal issue. The value of such a spirit is not to be expressed in words. Anyone can discourse to you forever about the advantages of a brave defence, which you know already. But instead of listening to him I would have you day by day fix your eyes upon the greatness of Athens until you become filled with the love of her; and when you are impressed by the spectacle of her glory, reflect that this empire has been acquired by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do it, who in the hour of conflict had the fear of dishonour always present to them, and who, if ever they failed in an enterprise, would not allow their virtues to be lost to their country, but freely gave their lives to her as the fairest offering which they could present at her feast. ' 
 Thucydides The History of the Peloponnesian War 

The funeral oration exemplifies the power of oratory. Pericles is is clear but graceful. There is no jargon or pretentiousness; Pericles wishes to rally his nation together at a time of reflection and he achieves this aim by speaking in a way that is both melodic and concise. 

Eradicate the 'uhm' from your speech; Provide clarity by meditating on what it is, precisely, that you wish to attain from speaking; Never neglect the importance of beauty in your words but do not resort to jargon to appear intelligent. Most of all, adopt the mindset of improvement; through assessing your interactions and taking action on what you have learnt, you will improve as an orator and attain success as a consequence.

Pericles stands as an example of why oratory matters and his speeches offer us training. 

By Christian Hotten