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Athens holds a public funeral for its first war dead

431/430 BCE, Athens. An event.

Where and when

431/430 BCEAthens

about 2,455 years ago

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, Athens

In the winter after the war began, Athens gives a funeral at public cost to those who first fell. Pericles is chosen to speak.

In the same winter the Athenians gave a funeral at the public cost to those who had first fallen in this war.

Thucydides 2.34.1Translated by Richard Crawley (1874)Read the full passage (Thucydides 2.34.1, opens scaife.perseus.org)

Meanwhile these were the first that had fallen, and Pericles, son of Xanthippus, was chosen to pronounce their eulogium.

Thucydides 2.34.8Translated by Richard Crawley (1874)Read the full passage (Thucydides 2.34.8, opens scaife.perseus.org)

Background: Pericles's Funeral Oration, Wikipedia (opens en.wikipedia.org)

Why it matters

Pericles' speech at this funeral, as Thucydides records it, is famous, and it is called significant because it differs from the usual form of Athenian funeral speeches.

Based on Wikipedia: Pericles's Funeral Oration

"Pericles's Funeral Oration" is a famous speech from Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War.

The "Funeral Oration" is significant because it differs from the usual form of Athenian funeral speeches.

Wikipedia, Pericles's Funeral Oration (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-25. Text CC BY-SA 4.0. Our line is checked against these sentences only.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. 431 BCE1 year earlier Thebans attack Plataea and the war begins Same years
  2. 431 BCE0.8999999999999773 years earlier Spartan army invades Attica Also about war and empire
  3. 431/430 BCEThis momentAthens holds a public funeral for its first war dead
  4. set in 431/430 BCEDuring it Pericles on Athenian democracy Rests on this event
  5. set in 431/430 BCEDuring it Pericles honors the war dead Rests on this eventAlso about death
  6. 430 BCESame year Plague breaks out in Athens Same years
  7. set in 430 BCESame year Pericles calls Athens' empire a tyranny Also about war and empire
  8. 430 BCE, written laterSame year Thucydides on the plague he caught Also in Athens
  9. 430 BCE, written laterSame year Thucydides on the plague in Athens Also in Athens
  10. 430 BCE, written laterSame year Thucydides on how the plague changed people Also in Athens
  11. 429 BCE1 year later Pericles dies Also about death

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