Download Ch. 4 Section 4- The Age of Pericles

Ch. 4 Section 4- The Age of
Pericles
For over 20 years, at Athens' height, the city
was dominated by the aloof, 'Olympian' figure
of Pericles. A magnificent orator with a
reputation for scrupulous honesty, Pericles
deepened and extended the reforms that
Cleisthenes had set in motion some 50 years
before.
A keen patron of learning and the arts, he
masterminded the construction of the
Parthenon. However, in glorifying Athens, he
set it upon a collision course with Sparta that
would ultimately lead to its ruin.
Pericles
Section 4 Overview
• This section explores how
Athens blossomed under
Pericles and the reasons Athens
and Sparta went to war.
• Athens was named for its patron
goddess, Athena
The Athenian Empire
• Athens joined forces
with other city-states
to form the Delian
League.
• The league promised
to defend its members
against the Persians.
• Athens eventually
gained control of the
Delian League. They
moved the capital
from Delos to Athens.
Athens
• Had a direct democracy,
people vote firsthand on
laws and policies.
• This worked because
Athens had a small
population.
Sen. Richard Shelby
• The United States has a
representative democracy,
people elect smaller groups
to vote on behalf of the
people.
Cong. Mike Rogers
Sen. Jeff Sessions
Athens
• Pericles was a general who led Athens for more than 30
years
• He promoted democracy by including more people in
the government.
• The Age of Pericles was a time of creativity and
learning.
• He built temples and statues in the city after the
destruction of the Persian Wars.
• He also supported artists, writers, architects, and
philosophers.
• Philosophers are people who ponder questions about
life.
Pericles’ buildings
Parthenon
•
The jewel in the crown of Pericles' Building Project is certainly the Parthenon, the most
glorious - and enduring - of all Pericles' imperishable monuments to Athens' greatness.
The Parthenon is dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the Virgin Goddess of war, wisdom
and weaving, and patron goddess of the city (the pedimental sculptures tell the stories
of her birth and her victorious contest with Poseidon to be patron god of Athens).
Inside the temple stood her 40 foot tall gold and ivory (chryselephantine) cult statue
made by Pheidias, friend of Pericles.
Daily Life in Athens
• 400’s B.C., Athens had a population of 285,000. It
was largest of all Greek city-states.
• Most Athenian homes had at least one slave
• Farmers grew grain, vegetables, fruit, olives, and
grapes.
• Athens had to import most of its grain due to lack
of farmland
• Herders raised sheep and goats for wool, milk,
and cheese.
Daily Life in Athens
• Athens became trading center of the Greek world.
• Merchants traded pottery, jewelry, leather goods, and
other products.
• Athenian men worked in the morning and exercised or
attended assembly meetings in the evening.
• Women were responsible for caring for their children
and their households.
• Poor women might work in the fields.
• Athenian women had no political rights and could not
own property.
The Peloponnesian War
• City states along with Sparta became
suspicious of Athens.
• They joined together against Athens. This war
that broke out is called the Peloponnesian
War.
• War lasted from 431 B.C. -404 B.C.