The paragraph selected here is a passage from Pericle's Funeral Oration, said during a public funeral for those deceased during war. The funeral oration is longer than what is presented here and dwells into what makes Athens special, such as its democratic nature and the character of its people.
The passage mentions the greatness of Athens, as to show what is at stake if war is lost. Then, it remembers those who died defending Athens and moves on to encourage its citizens to continue fighting for its city.
The whole point of the speech is to boost the morale of the attending citizens and to encourage their support on the war effort. From the paragraph selected here, we can deduce that the main idea is <u>1 - People who live in Athens are fighting to protect their privilieged way of life.</u>
Checking around for any context clues.
See what is around the unfamiliar words.
I am sorry that this is so bad, hope you get a good grade though!