Pericles

Statue of Pericles. Handmade of alabaster,and painted in museum patina.

Pericles (l. 495–429 BCE) was a prominent Greek statesman, orator, and general during the Golden Age of Athens. The period in which he led Athens, in fact, has been called the Age of Pericles due to his influence, not only on his city’s fortunes, but on the whole of Greek history during the 5th century BCE and even after his death. He was a fierce proponent of democracy. Even so, his reforms would lay the groundwork for the development of later democratic political systems.

Pericles’ name means “surrounded by glory” .  And he would live up to his name through his efforts to make Athens the greatest of the Greek city-states.  His influence on Athenian society, politics, and culture was so great that Thucydides (l. 460/455 – 399/398 BCE), his contemporary, admirer, and historian, called him “the first citizen of Athens” (History, II.65). Pericles promoted the arts, literature, & philosophy & gave free reign to some of the most inspired writers, artists, & thinkers of his time.

Pericles promoted the arts, literature, and philosophy and gave free reign to some of the most inspired writers, artists, and thinkers of his time. He increased Athens’ power through his use of the Delian League to form the Athenian empire and led his city through the First Peloponnesian War (460-446 BCE) and the first two years of the Second Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE). He was still actively engaged in political life when he died of the plague in 429 BCE.

Cultural Achievements of Pericles

During the Age of Pericles, Athens blossomed as a center of education, art, culture, and democracy. Artists and sculptors, playwrights and poets, architects and philosophers all found Athens an exciting and enlivening atmosphere for their work. Athens under Pericles saw the construction of the Acropolis and the glory of the Parthenon, begun in 447 BCE.