Question

Let me say that our system of government does not copy the institutions of our neighbours. It is more the case of our being a model to others, than of our imitating anyone else. Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people. When it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law; when it is a question of putting one person before another in positions of public responsibility, what counts is not membership of a particular class, but the actual ability which the man possesses.

–Pericles’s funeral oration,
Thucydides

What is the central idea of this excerpt?

Other states look to Athens as a political leader.
Athenians take their public responsibilities seriously.
Athens is unique in its commitment to democracy.
Athenians are equal because Athens is free of social classes.

Answer 1

Athens is unique in its commitment to democracy.

Pericles emphasizes that Athens doesn’t copy others, serves as a model, places power in the whole people, guarantees equality before the law, and awards public office based on ability rather than class.