Why did Pericles describe Athens as the school of Greece?

In his famous funeral oration, as recorded by the historian Thucydides, Pericles characterized Athens as an "education to Greece" to highlight the city's role as a model of democracy and institutional strength for other Greek states to emulate.12

It is important to clarify that while this phrase is widely attributed to Pericles, the speech is primarily the work of Thucydides. In its original context, the statement was not necessarily an expression of Athenian cultural superiority, but rather an assertion that other Greeks would benefit from adopting the political example set by Athens. Pericles used this rhetoric to honor the fallen and to emphasize the city's status as the political and cultural focus of Greece during the height of its power.123