Fatima Hussien
Questions:
Please answer the following questions with great detail. Be sure to bring in examples from the reading to support your answer.
1. Does Pericles claim that Athens is a generous city?
a. Pericles states that Athens is a generous city because it is not only open to all but, is also becoming more fair. According to Pericles there is little distinction between the rich and the poor class and thoughts that interfere with merit are not allowed, in fact, he believes that “if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by obscure origins or poverty”. He also claims that the city is open to the world and is ready to educate any foreigners. And that it will stay that way because not only because that is what make Athens…show more content… Athens was not a city in isolation, according to Pericles. In fact, he states that “we throw open our city to the world” This means that Pericles believe that Athens not only open their door to anyone, but that it will never restrict this freedom, even if it means that that few enemies benefit from it because this is what set asides Athens from the rest.
3. Is everyone eligible to serve the city in Athens?
a. I believe that everyone could serve the city of Athens. Because Pericles claim that everyone is not only equal, but also has the same opportunities regardless of their wealth. He states that thoughts that interfere with merit are not allowed, in fact, he believes that “if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by obscure origins or poverty”.
4. Would you call this speech a "patriotic" one?
a. I would call this speech patriotic, due to the fact that, Pericles is very proud of Athens, what it had become and how it is different from the rest. He states, Athens “does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a model for others than imitators ourselves”. In other words, he is saying that Athens is the city that all the other city aspires to be like. He also states, he celebrates is what the “heroism of these and others like them have made her” in other words, he is saying that without theses men, Athens would have not been what she is today, and that it was those men who helped shape this great
