“First”, “Only”, “One of a Few”, and “No One Else” 65 character of the foe by whom he is defeated, nor to her subjects cause for complaint that his masters are unworthy (2.41.3, emphasis added). Whereas we have been examining the amplification of uniqueness expressed as “the first and only”, clearly we have a variant form of it in the praise heaped on Athens as the “only” one to act nobly in civic life and military campaigns. Finally, Plato’s (429-347) Menexenus witnesses to amplification by uniqueness. Socrates delivers to Menexenus a funeral oration embodying all of the rhetorical conventions of the day. Not sur- prisingly, a person’s geography provides a major source of honor, which of course is Athens. Socrates lists a host of reasons for Athens’ honor, especially its uniqueness: “[Our country] was the only and first (monh ... prwvth) in that time to produce human nourishment” (Menex. v 237e; see Demosthenes, Funeral Oration LX. 5). Athens’ soldiers, moreover, “by the victory which they gained over the barbarians first taught other men that the power of the Persians was not invincible” (Menex. 240d). Noble soldiers then died in the battle of Oenophyta, thus becoming “the first to be buried by the city in this tomb” (Menex. 242b). Uniqueness, then, rests in being the “first” and “only” to do something (13). Thus, we conclude that the criteria of uniqueness became a regular part of the rhetoric of funeral orations. b) Greek Hymns and Prayers Greek hymns and prayers also embody amplification by uniqueness in regard to praise of the gods. Greek prayers tend to have a tripartite structure: (1) invocation (the deity is addressed by means of name, surname, epithets and descriptive predicates); (2) discourse (prayers explain why they call on this particular god, what their relationship to the deity is, and why they think they can count on the god’s assistance); and (3) petition (content of the address) (14). Not surprisingly, we find uniqueness primarily in the prayer’s invocation. For example, Cleanthes’ “Hymn to Zeus”: (13) Isocrates (436-388) says to a relative of the deceased: “... you, Nicocles, are the first and the only (prw'to" kai; movno") one of those who possess royal power, wealth, and luxury who has undertaken to pursue the study of philosophy” (Evag. 78). (14) H.S. VERSNEL, “Religious Mentality in Ancient Prayer”, Faith, Hope and Worship. Aspects of Religious Mentality in the Ancient World (ed. H.S. VERSNEL) (Leiden 1981) 2. See also L. ALDERINK – L. MARTIN, “Prayer in Greco- Roman Religions”, Prayer from Alexander to Constantine. A Critical Anthology (ed. M. KILEY) (London 1997) 123-127.