Pre-Battle Exhortations (Famous Speeches by Famous Commanders)

The category of pre-battle speeches, strictly speaking, includes utterances by generals to their troops to raise their morale before a combat and to spur them on to noble deeds.

The first-century-AD philosopher Onasander (Strategikos 1.13, 15) comments that a general must be a good and effective speaker in order to encourage his men before battle, and ancient historians on occasion have commanders address large audiences of soldiers in an age when there was no artificial amplification of the human voice.

These are the historic speeches which motivated soldiers to do the impossible. What can you learn from their speeches? What lessons of inspiration and persuasion lie in their words and deeds?

Schedule of Pre-Battle Exhortations: 

Week of 1 May : Miltiades' Speech before Marathon
Week of 8 May: Leonidas at Thermopylae
Week of 15 May: Themistocles at Salamis
Week of 22 May: Pausanius at Plataea
Week of 29 May: Pericles Funeral Oration
Week of 5 June: Epaminondas of Thebes
Week of 12 June: Alexander at Granicus
Week of 17 June: Alexander at Issus
Week of 24 June: Alexander at Gaugamela 
Week of 1 July: Alexander at Hydaspes 

Speeches will follow throughout Military History to the Second World War and beyond. 

Since each class session will highlight a different historic and motivating speech; students may "drop-in" and participate without any prior knowledge. 

This class provides excellent models for the student in Speech and Debate, Model U.N., or Student Government. Additionally, learning the patterns of these speeches can help unlock the confidence needed to speak before groups of people and help with the powers of persuasion.