<P> Several funeral orations from classical Athens are still extant, which seem to corroborate Thucydides' assertion that this was a regular feature of Athenian funerary custom in wartime . </P> <P> The Funeral Oration was recorded by Thucydides in book two of his famous History of the Peloponnesian War . Although Thucydides records the speech in the first person as if it were a word for word record of what Pericles said, there can be little doubt that he edited the speech at the very least . Thucydides says early in his History that the speeches presented are not verbatim records, but are intended to represent the main ideas of what was said and what was, according to Thucydides, "called for in the situation". We can be reasonably sure that Pericles delivered a speech at the end of the first year of the war, but there is no consensus as to what degree Thucydides' record resembles Pericles' actual speech . Another confusing factor is that Pericles is known to have delivered another funeral oration in 440 BC during the Samian War . It is possible that elements of both speeches are represented in Thucydides' version . Nevertheless, Thucydides was extremely meticulous in his documentation, and records the varied certainty of his sources each time . Significantly he begins recounting the speech by saying: "Περικλῆς ὁ Ξανθίππου...ἔλεγε τοιάδε", i.e. "Pericles, son of Xanthippos, spoke like this". Had he quoted the speech verbatim, he would have written "τάδε" ("this", or "these words") instead of "τοιάδε" ("like this" or "words like these"). </P> <P> The Funeral Oration is significant because it differs from the usual form of Athenian funeral speeches . David Cartwright describes it as "a eulogy of Athens itself ...". The speech glorifies Athens' achievements, designed to stir the spirits of a state still at war . </P> <P> The speech begins by praising the custom of the public funeral for the dead, but criticises the inclusion of the speech, arguing that the "reputations of many brave men" should "not be imperilled in the mouth of a single individual". Pericles argues that the speaker of the oration has the impossible task of satisfying the associates of the dead, who would wish that their deeds be magnified, while everyone else might feel jealous and suspect exaggeration . </P>

Who was pericles why did he give this speech