Greek sightseers in the fayum in the third century B.C.

An attempt is made to determine the context and scope of Thuc. 11,45,2 on the assumption that the addressees are widows specifically. Current interpretations of the meaning of the passage and the connection between the two parts of the exhortation are criticized and modified. The message of Pericles is seen in the light of other funeral orations and placed within the perspective of widowhood in Athenian society.