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Pericles
Pericles (British Museum, London)
Pericles (c.495-429): Athenian politician, leader of the radical democrats.
After the Persian Wars, the Athenian naval victory at Salamis, and the creation of Delian League, the
Athenians were sole masters of the Greek world, but they had not decided what kind of foreign policy
they were to conduct. Miltiades' son Cimon wanted to cooperate with Sparta, but he was unpopular
with the masses.
In 462, the radical democrat Pericles, who was a member of the noble family of the Alcmeonids, accused
Cimon and he had to leave Athens. After 451, Pericles was the leading politician in Athens. Almost every
year, he was reelected as general, and controlled the people's assembly. He is usually portrayed as a
general, with a helmet.
The democracy was developed, the war against Persia continued, and when it was finally over, Pericles
started a full-scale building program. The anti-Persian Delian League increasingly became an Athenian
empire. Towns that wanted to leave the alliance were forced to remain (e.g., Samos).
In the late 430's, several friends of Pericles were accused of impiety, probably to create problems for the
powerful politician himself. His friend Anaxagoras, a philosopher, had to flee from the city; there were
whispers about Pericles' wife Aspasia; and the sculptor Phidias had to explain how he had spent money
that was meant for the statue of Athena in the Parthenon. It was rumored that, when Pericles could not
steer clear of the accusations, he made the Assembly accept the Megarian Decree, which he knew
would result in war with Sparta's Peloponnesian League. This is probably untrue, but it is also clear that
the accusations were a serious problem for Pericles.
An ostrakon against "Pericles, the son of Xanthippus" (Agora Museum, Athens)
In 431, the Peloponnesian War broke out. Pericles' strategy to wear out Sparta by evacuating the
countryside, retreat behind the unassailable Long walls, and attack Sparta's allies by sea, turned out to
be a financial disaster (although the historian Thucydides believed otherwise).
Pericles was deposed in the autumn of 430 but almost immediately rehabilitated. However, his death in
429 saved Athens, because it prepared the way for a better strategist, Cleon. He was able to improve
Athens' finances, which were running dangerously low.
Pericles' wife was Aspasia of Miletus. Their son was also called Pericles. The elder Pericles was a
personal friend of the sculptor Phidias and the playwright Sophocles. Alcibiades was a nephew of
Pericles.
Literature
Plutarch's Life of Pericles is available at LacusCurtius.
Common Errors (22): Pericles' Preparations of the Peloponnesian War