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Pericles
Periclean Age (Golden Age of Pericles)
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Classical Greek 5th Century BC – after the Persian wars when Athens
assumed power through the Delian league and established an empire
Democracy – period of great political change
Cultural prosperity
“Golden Age” – established by Pericles
460BC – time of importance/prominence
Pericles was a popular & persuasive man
Successful – elected as strategos numerous times
Influential – what did he do?
‘Good’ politician – skilful
o Promises, giving something in return
Used the empire for political benefits
o Build the great buildings of Greece
Embarked on policies that made Athens successful – Pericles received
credit for it
Rowers benefitted most – they got paid for their rowing and protecting
the empire
Cimon = rivalry leading to violence
o Conservative to Sparta (pro-Sparta)
o Believed in dual hegemony (Athens on the sea, Sparta on land)
Military policy led to war
Plutarch (biographies) & Thucydides = primary sources
Supported the power of the Demos or the common people
o Could be argued he was a traitor to his class
All disputes were to be held in Athens therefore Athens gained more fine
gatherings
464BC  Turning point of 5th Century Greece
 Political and foreign policy turns
 The island of Thasos rebelled
o Economic dispute with Athens
o Appealed for help from Sparta against Athens
 Thucydides says that they (Sparta) promised to invade Attica and to
attack Athens
o Never happened as there was an earthquake in Sparta that lead to
an uprising from the slave population (the helots – the majority of
the population of Sparta)
 Cimon went and helped put down the rebellion in Sparta
o Athenian hoplites march to Sparta but are told to go home
o Athenian people got angry at Cimon; leading to his ostracism
 Cimon’s credibility was gone; enabling Pericles and his political
opponents to be brought into court
Cimon
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The growth of radicalism within Sparta and within Athens. Up till 464Bc,
things were calm between Athens and Sparta; they were at peace.
Cimon is politically a dove who wants peace with Sparta. However, within
Athens there is a growth of radicalism.
o Pericles was the hawk with a more aggressive policy
 Embarked on a radical and democratic policy
Cimon sends troops to Sparta but he is rebuffed to Athens
Background:
 Died from the plague  city became a breeding ground for disease
 Came from one of the leading families
o Aristocratic family
 Based his opinion on the greatness of Athens from the outcome of the
battles of Plataea and Salamis
The Persians:
- About the Battle of Salamis
- Appealed to the Athenian demos who rode on the ships as the rowers
- Enabled Pericles to step out and show where his allegiances lay
Achievements:
- What he did
- Implemented
- Reforms
- Actions
Democratic reforms:
1. Payment of the jurors to be part of the Heleia  incentive to achieve
participatory democracy, gave opportunity for citizens to take a voice in
the state
a. Paid 2 oboals a day to attend the jury
b. Aristophanes; satirical comedy, ‘the wasps’  set in the period
around or just after Pericles (Proclean and Anticleon)
2. Citizenship law  regarded as an important element which created
exclusivity and privilege to be a citizen
a. They became xenoi (xenophobia)
b. Foreigners in Athens as it was the hub of the Aegean trade world
3. Admission of the Zeugitae into the Archonship
a. Diminished the power of the aristocratic families
Military Achievements
- Role as strategos
o Battle, conquest
- Made an alliance with Argos
- Policy (Hawk)
o Anti-Spartan policy
 Led to the first Peloponnesian war  30 years peace treaty
with Sparta – restoration of the dual hegemony
 Pericles learns not to engage Sparta in a land battle
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Strengthened Athenian control over the empire  Imperialistic policies
o Cleruchies
o Forced states to form a constitution
o Introduced a coinage decree, Athenian coins and weights
Steps of the Peloponnesian War
- Pericles policies
o Immediate causes
 Corcyra
 Potidaea
 Megarian decree
- “The real cause was the growth of Athenian power and the fear this
inspired” – Thucydides
o Periclean policy (aggressive & hawkish) of consolidation of the
empire resulted in fear and precipitated specific causes of the
Peloponnesian war in 431BC
Building Program
- Parthenon
- Odeon Theatre
o Built to foster the arts and make Athens the cultural centre of the
Greek world
- Saw Athens as an island  free from the land and directly linked to the
sea
o Athens could never be starved out and was able to fight a long war
Evaluate:
Success?
Outcomes & Legacy
How was it achieved?
Rise to Prominence:
Important points:
1. Political career and reforms
a. What positions does he hold within Athenian society? A strategos for
15 years (shared with other stregoi, voted or elected in/out as
opposed to selected)
b. 3 reforms
2. Military career – General of the army
a. What are his military decisions/achievements? The consequences of
these achievements, benefits of military success (power & political
success)
b. War with Sparta in 431BC – 30 year war and the downfall of
Athens + Athenian power
i. What is his legacy?
c. Role in the Peloponnesian War
3. Cultural policies
a. Outline the building program embarked upon by Pericles.
Parthenon, initiated the building program had the wealth from the
Delian league and architect friends
i. What was his vision?
4. Relationship with prominent individuals
a. Asses the relationship of Pericles with 2 leading figures in his time
i. Aspasia – his mistress, a hetaerae (prostitute/courtesan),
schooled & educated, a philosopher, able to engage in
conversation. Accompanied Pericles in public  went to
parties with her (particularly Symposiums – intellectual
discussion party). Became a source of attack by his political
enemies to get at Pericles
ii. Ephialtes – political figure
iii. Pheidias – an architect, designer and sculpture who
designed many of the buildings (Parthenon & Odeon
theatre – on the way up to the Parthenon)
5. The manner/impact of his death
a. Planning the war but never got to finish it
Funeral Oration
- Encapsulates Athenian democracy
- Links the achievements of the present generation to the forefathers 
Cleisthenes
- Honours the dead and what made Athens great
- The democracy does not aim to copy others
- Value excellence, poverty is not an obstacle to achieving office
Exam:
Part A: Outline Pericles’ rise to prominence
Outline the family background of Pericles
- Family background & education
- Influences
- Early political positions up to 460BC
Part B: Evaluate/Asses the significance of Pericles career
Account for Pericles’ political success
- Legacy  what does he leave behind?
o Building program – Parthenon
o Athens as a symbol of humanities achievements in the Classical
Age
o Completion of democracy
- Ancient/modern images + interpretations
o Positive and critical views
 Mainly critical as it threatened the elite of society (wealthy
+ educated)
 Positive modern interpretations as he stood for Democracy
o Historiography
o Busts
 Helmet
What aspects of Pericles’ political upbringing make him a suitable
strategos?  Paragraph (500w)
Outline and give details of the democratic reforms of Pericles
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How was Pericles able to dominate Athenian politics?
o Used the strategos position to maintain power and dominance
Pericles was educated to a very high standard in the ways of music, poetry and
gymnastics. He was under the influence of leading thinkers at the time, people
from outside of Athens such as Anaxagoras, who is regarded as the most
important influence on Pericles (Plutarch). He had access to these people as he
came from an important and open family, enabling him extra education as a
young boy. Anaxagoras taught Pericles the art of public speaking, the way to
dress and act in a composed manner, a dignity of spirit and a firm and evenly
modulated voice “free from the vulgar and unscrupulous buffooneries of mob
oratory”. This was important as it gave him the skills and mannerisms in which
he could address the public confidently and persuasively.
Zeno the Eleatic influenced Pericles by providing him the skill to get to the centre
of an argument, the technique cross-examination. This enabled him to corner his
opponent with the method of question and answer and used his tongue “like a
double-edged weapon” (Plutarch).
His music teacher, Damon, was another powerful influence in forming the gifted
young person Pericles turned out to be.
Pericles was a man of a new age and came under the influence of a school of
thinking, a school called Sophists, which was a way of looking at the world
through debunking illogical mythical and religious beliefs.
What made it possible for Pericles to be in power for 15 years?
Specific reforms he brought in had earnt him great popularity with the demos,
particularly in the jury court and the citizenship reforms. It was possible the
citizenship law was brought about, as people were scared of the idea that Athens
would be swarmed with foreigners. These reforms were beneficial to the demos
Lack of powerful political opponent, Cimon had been ostracised and later died
and Thucydides, son of Melesias, was ostracised in the 450s. The conservatives
were very critical of Pericles, because they didn’t like their money being spent on
building public buildings, as this diminished their power. They were afraid of
seeing the demos rise to power.
The building program serves a cultural purpose, but also a political purpose as
he built new buildings for people of Athens but it also provided jobs and created
demand, bringing people to Athens and reflected a period of prosperity for
Athens.
Pericles’ success was aided by the tribute paid to Athens, enabling Pericles to
build triremes, walls that surrounded Athens and other public buildings such as
the Parthenon. This fuelled Pericles’ political position and generated popularity
Criticism: “Deck out Athens like a vein hussy”
Thucydides: “He led them rather than be led by them”  made suggestions and
convinced the audience of these policies. Core of Thucydides admiration of
Pericles, a conservative but wasn’t fond of democracy. He liked Pericles because
he wasn’t ruled by the mob, he wasn’t a demagogue.
Thucydides regards as the fundamental reason for success was…
Legacy:
Periclean Athens was the pinnacle of the Classical Age of Greece. Periclean
Athens is the Greece that people refer to when talking about Ancient Greece.
The greatness he had done was undone, Athens never rose to a great position of
prominence again.