--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If Athens shall appear great to you…" description: "\"If Athens shall appear great to you, consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by men who learned their duty.\" — Pericles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/pericles-11474_athens_if-athens-shall-appear-great-to-you-cons_1011474.png" --- # If Athens shall appear great to you, consider then that… ![“If Athens shall appear great to you, consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by men who learned their duty.” quote by Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/pericles-11474_athens_if-athens-shall-appear-great-to-you-cons_1011474.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/pericles-11474_athens_if-athens-shall-appear-great-to-you-cons_1011474.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/pericles-11474_athens_if-athens-shall-appear-great-to-you-cons_1011474.png) > “If Athens shall appear great to you, consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by men who learned their duty.” [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness arises from courageous individuals who fulfill their responsibilities. **In simple terms:** Heroes and duty create glory. Key Takeaway Honor duty and bravery. Themes courage duty legacy Mood inspirational historical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - military training - public service - civic education Key Concepts citizenry heroism Questions to Reflect On - What duties define your community? - How can ordinary people become valiant? A Different Perspective Not all societies value duty equally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Athens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athens/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Valiant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valiant/) ## Related quotes > [I have learned that to do one's next duty is to take a step toward all that is worth possessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/i-have-learned-that-to-do-one-s-next-duty-is-to-take-a-step-toward/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [“The truly educated man is the man who has learned the duty and responsibility of doing something useful, something helpful, something to make this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-thomas/the-truly-educated-man-is-the-man-who-has-learned-the-duty-and/) [Edith Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-thomas/) > [Men have learned to shoot without missing their mark and I have learned to fly without perching on a twig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/men-have-learned-to-shoot-without-missing-their-mark-and-i-have/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [In terms of evolutionary history, it was only yesterday that men learned to walk around on two legs and get in trouble thinking complicated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/in-terms-of-evolutionary-history-it-was-only-yesterday-that-men/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Another sign of the learned man of the hereafter is that he keeps himself distant from the ruling authorities and avoids their company, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imam-al-ghazali/another-sign-of-the-learned-man-of-the-hereafter-is-that-he-keeps/) [Imam Al-Ghazali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imam-al-ghazali/) > [“A bum woke up in the gutter right beside where I stood looking across the street at this place. He felt in the waist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/a-bum-woke-up-in-the-gutter-right-beside-where-i-stood-looking-across/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [The world was all mud and wire. The war in the heavens was only a faint imitation of the horror men had learned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tad-williams/the-world-was-all-mud-and-wire-the-war-in-the-heavens-was-only-a/) [Tad Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tad-williams/) > [“distance and found no smoke. We drank our coffee and ate fresh venison killed by Short Bull, and then we straddled our horses and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/distance-and-found-no-smoke-we-drank-our-coffee-and-ate-fresh-venison/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [“Did you teach him wisdom as well as valor, Ned! She wondered. Did you teach him how to Kneel! The grave yards of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/did-you-teach-him-wisdom-as-well-as-valor-ned-she-wondered-did-you/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/eneke-the-bird-says-that-since-men-have-learned-to-shoot-without/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [Men have learned the secret of unity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/men-have-learned-the-secret-of-unity/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Previously, even in Egypt, men had not learned to see straight. They fumbled in the dark, and didn't quite know where they were, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/previously-even-in-egypt-men-had-not-learned-to-see-straight-they/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [“What history teaches us is that men have never learned anything from it.” —G. W. F. Hegel, nineteenth-century German philosopher”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-viola/what-history-teaches-us-is-that-men-have-never-learned-anything-from/) [Frank Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-viola/) > [Peace will never be entirely secure until men everywhere have learned to conquer poverty without sacrificing liberty or security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-thomas/peace-will-never-be-entirely-secure-until-men-everywhere-have-learned/) [Norman Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-thomas/) > [When men ask me how I know so much about men, they get a simple answer: everything I know about men, I learned from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/when-men-ask-me-how-i-know-so-much-about-men-they-get-a-simple-answer/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) ## More by Pericles > [Your great glory is not to be inferior to what you have been given by nature, and the greatest glory of a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/your-great-glory-is-not-to-be-inferior-to-what-you-have-been-given-by/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [Although only a few may originate a policy, we are all able to judge it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/although-only-a-few-may-originate-a-policy-we-are-all-able-to-judge-it/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [Time is the king of all men, he is their parent and their grave, and gives them what he will and not what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/time-is-the-king-of-all-men-he-is-their-parent-and-their-grave-and/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [She is best who is least spoken of among men, whether for good or evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/she-is-best-who-is-least-spoken-of-among-men-whether-for-good-or-evil/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/what-you-leave-behind-is-not-what-is-engraved-in-stone-monuments-but/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [For grief is felt not so much for the want of what we have never known, as for the loss of that to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/for-grief-is-felt-not-so-much-for-the-want-of-what-we-have-never/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/just-because-you-do-not-take-an-interest-in-politics-doesn-t-mean/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [All who have taken it upon themselves to rule over others have incurred hatred and unpopularity for a time; but if one has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/all-who-have-taken-it-upon-themselves-to-rule-over-others-have/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [As for poverty, no one need be ashamed to admit it, the real shame is in not taking practical measures to escape from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/as-for-poverty-no-one-need-be-ashamed-to-admit-it-the-real-shame-is/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [I am more afraid of our own mistakes than of our enemies' designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/i-am-more-afraid-of-our-own-mistakes-than-of-our-enemies-designs/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [We alone regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs not as harmless but as a useless character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/we-alone-regard-a-man-who-takes-no-interest-in-public-affairs-not-as/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [“Wait for that wisest of all counselores, Time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/wait-for-that-wisest-of-all-counselores-time/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [Trees, though they are cut and loped, grow up again quickly, but if men are destroyed, it is not easy to get them again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/trees-though-they-are-cut-and-loped-grow-up-again-quickly-but-if-men/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [Time as he grows old teaches many lessons. - Aeschylus Time is the wisest counselor of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/time-as-he-grows-old-teaches-many-lessons-aeschylus-time-is-the/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [In private matters everyone is equal before the law. In public matters, when it is a question of putting power and responsibility into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/in-private-matters-everyone-is-equal-before-the-law-in-public-matters/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) [Explore all 59 Pericles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) ## More Athens quotes > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [As for Aliki - if you were to stand in the middle of Rome and say the name Sophia Loren, or Paris and say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/as-for-aliki-if-you-were-to-stand-in-the-middle-of-rome-and-say-the/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [Homer, Hesiod, Pythagoras, Plato, and Cicero, just to name a few, all lived in pagan societies. Some of the greatest political and military leaders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/homer-hesiod-pythagoras-plato-and-cicero-just-to-name-a-few-all-lived/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [Athens, much like Austin, is a difficult music scene. There are so many musicians there that it is hard to get gigs and hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-smith/athens-much-like-austin-is-a-difficult-music-scene-there-are-so-many/) [Corey Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-smith/) > [The sophists were as a rule men who had traveled widely and seen different forms of government. Both conventions and local laws in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-sophists-were-as-a-rule-men-who-had-traveled-widely-and-seen/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [You look around the world at geniuses, and they don't appear randomly, they appear in genius clusters. Athens in 50 BC, Florence 1500, Silicon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/you-look-around-the-world-at-geniuses-and-they-don-t-appear-randomly/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Athens will again be the host of the Games in 2004, but there are rumors that they might be switched if the Greeks don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-toomey/athens-will-again-be-the-host-of-the-games-in-2004-but-there-are/) [Bill Toomey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-toomey/) > [“South of Larissa the landscape began to change. Jude watched an irrigation machine like a giant stick insect creeping over a field, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-alkazraji/south-of-larissa-the-landscape-began-to-change-jude-watched-an/) [Paul Alkazraji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-alkazraji/) > [I said it before we arrived in Athens, that we wanted to prove to the world that our bronze medal in Sweden was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianluca-basile/i-said-it-before-we-arrived-in-athens-that-we-wanted-to-prove-to-the/) Gianluca Basile > [In the infancy of civilization, when our island was as savage as New Guinea, when letters and arts were still unknown to Athens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-the-infancy-of-civilization-when-our-island-was-as-savage-as-new/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [I always look back to my first Olympic medal in 2004 in Athens. I was very new to the sport, and it was my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allyson-felix/i-always-look-back-to-my-first-olympic-medal-in-2004-in-athens-i-was/) [Allyson Felix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allyson-felix/) > [The commonwealth of Athens is become a forest of beasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-commonwealth-of-athens-is-become-a-forest-of-beasts/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Anacharsis coming to Athens, knocked at Solon's door, and told him that he, being a stranger, was come to be his guest, and contract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/anacharsis-coming-to-athens-knocked-at-solon-s-door-and-told-him-that/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [It was appointed by law in Athens, that the obsequies of the citizens who fell in battle should be performed at the public expense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett/it-was-appointed-by-law-in-athens-that-the-obsequies-of-the-citizens/) [Edward Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett/) [Browse all 171 Athens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athens/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If Athens shall appear great to you, consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by men who learned their duty.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pericles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/if-athens-shall-appear-great-to-you-consider-then-that-her-glories/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Athens" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/if-athens-shall-appear-great-to-you-consider-then-that-her-glories/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/pericles-11474_athens_if-athens-shall-appear-great-to-you-cons_1011474.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/pericles-11474_athens_if-athens-shall-appear-great-to-you-cons_1011474.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/pericles-11474_athens_if-athens-shall-appear-great-to-you-cons_1011474.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If Athens shall appear great to you, consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by…” — Pericles", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Pericles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If Athens shall appear great to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/if-athens-shall-appear-great-to-you-consider-then-that-her-glories/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/if-athens-shall-appear-great-to-you-consider-then-that-her-glories/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```