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Of their nature it comes that they are mourned as mortal, of their valor that they are lauded as immortal. Thus you see them given a public funeral, and contests of strength and knowledge and wealth1 held at their tomb; because we think that those who have fallen in war are worthy of receiving the same honors as the immortals.
1 Since about 450 B.C. the State funerals had become elaborate festivals: they were celebrated each year in October, and included athletic and musical competitions.
Lysias. Lysias with an English translation by W.R.M. Lamb, M.A. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1930.
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