At the end of the Peloponnesian War Pericles, an elder states man and builder of the democracy in Athens, at the ceremony to honor those who had fallen, gave a moving speech to remind all of Athens why these men gave their lives. In the course of this infamous speech he begins to discuss what it is that separates Athens from others. Pericles truly believes that Athens is a model to other cities if the time, and a city that he is proud of. However, he is faced with the great challenge of conveying this message to a city mourning people. Only his great skill at rhetoric could create such a positive tone to such a negative occasion. Further, It was this skill that helped pave the way for historical figures throughout time to reach into the hearts of their respective publics (namely, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address). Parallels of Athenian culture in Pericles's speech can also be seen in works of the great playwright Sophocles. In this paper I will compare both the Gettysburg Address and Sophocles's plays Oedipus the King and Antigone to Pericles's Funeral Oration in an attempt to show the parallels in content and style between them.
            
             Pericles in the opening parts of his oration begins to go into something that has always separated Athens from all others, government. Pericles states that "Our constitution does not seek to copy the laws of our neighbors; we are an example to others, not imitators of them". In these times, there was an absolute rule, one person, or a small group ruled for themselves, not for others. The masses were of no concern. In Athens this was far from the case. Athens created it's own government, one that was for the people, and benefited the people. "As far as public life is concerned, we live as free men," Pericles says this with confidence. The people of Athens had a government that supported them; there was no favoritism. All where viewed as equal in the eyes ...