The document discusses how rhetoric was important in Athenian democracy. Politicians and public speakers used rhetoric to gain power and influence policy decisions made by the Athenian people. Great demagogues like Pericles were able to rise to power through their oratory skills. Pericles' Funeral Oration is discussed as an example of how he used rhetoric to raise the spirits of Athenians during a crisis in the Peloponnesian War and deflect potential blame from himself.