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Glory, War, and Decline
Chapter 9.4
Rule of Pericles
Golden Age
Following the end of the Persian Wars, Athens
rose to power.
From 461 B.C. to 429 B.C. Pericles ruled over
Athens.
He encouraged citizens to participate in
government.
Athens became the economic and cultural central
of Greece.
Pericles in Charge
• Pericles was a general who became an
important leader in Athens.
• Promoted democracy and believed
government jobs should be based on
ability and not social class.
• Built temples and monuments in the city.
• Supported artists, writers, and
philosophers.
• Athens – “school of Greece”
Democracy in Athens
• Athenians practiced direct democracy.
• There was a manageable number of citizens so
all of them could vote.
• Meetings were held every 10 days. Citizens
passed laws, elected officials, and made
policies.
• Each person’s decision directly affected the
outcome of a vote.
Representative Democracy
• The United States has too many citizens
for a direct democracy.
• The U.S. has a representative democracy
or republic.
• Citizens elect others to represent them
and pass the laws.
Athenian Life
Men
Farmers, artisans, merchants
Work in morning, exercise in
afternoon, meet in evenings
Participate in government
Women
Focus on home and family, marry young
Poor women had to help on farm
Aristocrats could not leave home except
for funerals and festivals
Could not own land or vote
Slaves
Some were prisoners captured in battle
Worked on farms and in the home
Most homes had at least 1 slave
Economy
Grew grains, vegetables, and fruits
Not enough to support the number of
people
Led the Greek world in trade in 400s B.C.
Delain League
War Between Athens and Sparta
• 478 B.C. Athens and other city-states
joined together to defend themselves
against Persia.
• Formed Delian League
• Athens provided sailors and soldiers.
• Others provided $
• Protected from Persia and Greece
prospered.
Athenian Empire
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Athens became strongest member of the
league because of the strength of their navy.
They began treating the other city-states as
their own subjects.
Demanded $ from other city-states
War Breaks Out
• Sparta led other city-states against Athens.
• Peloponnesian League formed in southern
Greece.
• Sparta declared war on Athens in 431 B.C.
• Continued until 404 B.C. with truce in between
for a few years
Pericles’ Funeral Oration
• During a public funeral to honor the dead,
Pericles spoke of the greatness of Athens.
• Encouraged citizens to fight and protect
democracy.
Athens loses the war
• Sparta had Athens surrounded.
• Pericles kept the people within the city and
had the navy bring in supplies.
• Disease broke out in Athens, killing
Pericles and 1/3 of the population.
• The war continued for 25 years with each
side winning some battles.
Athens loses the war
• Sparta made a deal with the Persians.
• Sparta gave up land in return for gold to
build a navy.
• The new navy destroyed the weakened
navy of Athens.
• Sparta blockaded Athens so that no food
or supplies could get in.
• Starving, Athens surrendered a year later.
Effects of the war
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•
•
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Peloponnesian War left city-states weak.
Farms destroyed and many died.
Thousands left Greece and joined the Persian army.
Sparta was the most powerful city-state for about 30
years.
Other city-states did not like Sparta’s cruel treatment.
Thebes seized Sparta.
Fighting between city-states left them open for outside
attack.
Thebes falls after 10 years and Macedonia takes over
Greece.