The most well-known panegyric in ancient times is the funeral oration over the honored warriors of the Pelopennesian War, as delivered by Pericles and recorded by the historian Thucydides. Its tone and mood suggest a patriotic extreme, and an overpowering need to devote oneself to one's country; it is an appeal for democracy in addition to being an occasion for praise of brave fighters. Pericles honors, in turn, his ancestors, the Greek way of life and the soldiers who fell, and he ends telling the living to likewise act honorably.
Numerous historical figures have delivered panegyric poetry, usually in free verse or oration form; the central idea behind the work remains that of turning the eulogy into a call for action among the living. Christ in the Gospels delivers a panegyric for John the Baptist in Matthew 11:11, which turns into a call to seek Heaven; Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address ends with a call to unite the nation; even John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, made famous with the phrase "ask what you can do for your country," begins by honoring departed Revolutionary War heroes.
Actual panegyric poems are scarce, but two notable examples come from Renaissance and Colonial authors. Ben Jonson wrote an astounding panegyric poem for his late playwright colleague in "To the Memory of My Beloved the Author, Mr. William Shakespeare," which many call, ironically enough, a better work than any of Jonson's plays written to rival Shakespeare. Also, Colonial poet Anne Bradstreet composed "In Honour of that High and Mighty Princess, Queen Elizabeth," a lengthy work that reveals Bradstreet's overflowing emotions at the time: in unconfined reverence, she adds two epitaphs.
Panegyric festivals live on in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the Panegyri Greek Festival is celebrated annually at the end of June, a hundred-thousand-patron recreation of the Greek events. What began as a gathering to celebrate the honored dead is now a communal celebration of Hellenistic culture. There are no scheduled democratic speeches to be found, but doubtless the patrons feel drawn in and sustained by all things Greek.