Omar Bennett
Pericles was an Athenian statesman and general who played a crucial role in the development of Athenian democracy and the Athenian empire. Pericles' reforms brought Athens to its classical form of democracy, where all adult male citizens, regardless of wealth or class, could actively participate in the decision-making process. Pericles' vision of democracy challenged the aristocratic ideals of the time, where variety in skills and achievements was scorned. Instead, he promoted a society where merit was rewarded with victory, glory, and immortality. Pericles' Funeral Oration, delivered during the Peloponnesian War, praised the culture of Athens, democracy, and freedom, glorifying the sacrifices of those who died for their city. Pericles' Athens valued individual and familial virtues, with an emphasis on duty, courage, and devotion to the city-state.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Democracy | Rule by the many, not the few |
| Equality | Full and active participation in every decision of the state without regard to wealth or class |
| Variety | Encouragement of a variety of skills |
| Meritocracy | Reward of victory, glory, and immortality |
| Open society | Use of the popular vote against the old power of family politics |
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What You'll Learn
- Pericles' Athenian democracy encouraged merit and rewarded victory, glory, and immortality
- Pericles' reforms brought advantages to all citizens, not just the well-born few
- Athenian citizenship was granted without regard to wealth or class
- Pericles' leadership brought prosperity to the Athenian empire, making Athens the political and cultural focus of Greece
- Pericles' empire was built by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do it
Pericles' Athenian democracy encouraged merit and rewarded victory, glory, and immortality
Pericles is known for his influence on Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War. He was responsible for the full development of Athenian democracy and the Athenian empire, making Athens the political and cultural focus of Greece. Pericles' Athenian democracy encouraged merit and rewarded victory, glory, and immortality.
Pericles was born into the Athenian aristocracy and was the first generation to utilise the new weapon of the popular vote against the old power of family politics. He inherited wealth and a leaning toward the people from his father, Xanthippus. Pericles himself remained devoted to the individual and familial values sung by Homer, which remained vital and attractive to Athenians.
Pericles' Funeral Oration is a famous and influential passage in Thucydides' work, offering a tribute to Athenian culture, democracy, and freedom. It celebrates those who are willing to die for their city and commemorates those who have died in war. Pericles praises Athens so that people will continue fighting and lauds the sacrifices of the dead so that others will emulate them. He encourages merit by emphasising the greatness of Athens and the courage of its citizens, stating that their virtues are the foundation of the city's glory.
Pericles' Athenian democracy encouraged merit by rewarding victory, glory, and immortality to those who served the city with valour and virtue. It promoted equality and active participation in decision-making, challenging the traditional power structures of family politics and creating a system where all citizens could strive for greatness, power, honour, and fame.
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Pericles' reforms brought advantages to all citizens, not just the well-born few
Pericles was a prominent Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was responsible for the full development of Athenian democracy and the Athenian empire, making Athens the political and cultural focus of Greece. Pericles' reforms brought advantages to all citizens, not just the well-born few.
Athenian democracy, established in the decade before 500 B.C., was carried to its classical form by the reforms of Pericles a half-century later. While the rest of the world was characterised by monarchical, rigidly hierarchical command societies, democracy in Athens was taken as far as it would go before modern times. Athenian citizenship granted full and active participation in every decision of the state without regard to wealth or class.
However, it is important to note that the Athenians excluded women, children, resident aliens, and slaves from political life. Nonetheless, the principle of equality within the political community that they invented was the seed of the modern idea of universal egalitarianism. Pericles, born into the Athenian aristocracy, may have inherited a leaning towards the people from his father, Xanthippus. Pericles himself was wealthy by Athenian standards due to the landed property he inherited, which was located just north of Athens.
Pericles met the challenge of the heroic tradition by demonstrating that democracy would bring to all Athenian citizens the advantages previously reserved for the aristocracy. Athens was called a democracy because the many ruled, not the few, as was the case in Sparta, where a small minority dominated the vast majority. Pericles needed to confront the aura of virtue and excellence surrounding Sparta, which inspired admiration in many Greeks, including aristocrats.
Pericles' Funeral Oration, delivered in 431 BCE, became one of the most famous and influential passages in Thucydides' work. It offers a stirring tribute to the culture of Athens, democracy, freedom, and the men willing to die for their city. Pericles praised Athens so that people would continue fighting, and he commended the sacrifices of the dead so that others would emulate them. Pericles' oration also emphasised the greatness of Athens, encouraging listeners to fix their eyes upon the city's glory and reflect on the courage of those who built the empire.
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Athenian citizenship was granted without regard to wealth or class
Pericles, a prominent Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens, played a crucial role in the development of Athenian democracy and the Athenian empire. Pericles was born into the Athenian aristocracy, inheriting wealth and a political legacy from his father, Xanthippus. However, he leveraged the power of the popular vote to rise in politics, challenging the traditional influence of family dynamics.
Pericles' reforms furthered the democratic ideals of Athens, ensuring that all citizens, regardless of wealth or class, had full and active participation in every decision of the state. This stood in stark contrast to the Spartan system, which was admired by many, including philosophers like Plato, for its discipline and devotion to the public good. However, Sparta was dominated by a small minority, and its constitution was seen as a rebuke to Athenian democracy.
Pericles' vision of Athenian democracy was one where merit was encouraged and rewarded with victory, glory, and immortality. In his famous Funeral Oration, Pericles celebrated the culture of Athens, democracy, and freedom, and praised the men who were willing to die for their city. He emphasised the greatness of Athens, encouraging citizens to strive for greatness, power, honour, and fame.
Pericles' Athenian democracy represented a significant shift towards universal egalitarianism, where the collective achievement of the citizens was valued above individual status or wealth. This virtue of equality and participation in decision-making became a cornerstone of Athenian society and a lasting legacy of Pericles' leadership.
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![Life in Athens, in the time of Pericles, illustrative of ancient and modern democracy. From the Germ. of T.H. von Wessenberg [sic]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91j-+5MAsaL._AC_UY218_.jpg)
Pericles' leadership brought prosperity to the Athenian empire, making Athens the political and cultural focus of Greece
Pericles was an Athenian statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War. Pericles' leadership brought prosperity to the Athenian empire, making Athens the political and cultural focus of Greece.
Pericles was responsible for the full development of Athenian democracy and the Athenian empire. He promoted the arts and literature, and it was through his efforts that Athens acquired the reputation of being the educational and cultural centre of the ancient Greek world. Pericles' reforms brought Athenian democracy to its classical form. Athenian citizenship granted full and active participation in every decision of the state without regard to wealth or class. However, the Athenians excluded women, children, resident aliens, and slaves from political life.
Pericles' leadership was based on his continual reelection to the generalship and on his prestige, based, according to Thucydides, on his intelligence and incorruptibility. Pericles' father, Xanthippus, was also a politician, and it is likely that Pericles inherited his father's leaning toward the people. Pericles was also wealthy by Athenian standards due to the landed property he inherited from his father.
Pericles met the challenge of the heroic tradition by arguing that democracy would bring to all the citizens of Athens the advantages previously reserved for a select few. He promoted merit in its traditional form and rewarded it with victory, glory, and immortality. Pericles' leadership was also marked by his military campaigns. He led the Athenian army during the Peloponnesian War and led a naval expedition to plunder the coasts of the Peloponnese.
Pericles' Funeral Oration, recorded by Thucydides, is considered a rhetorical masterpiece and a stirring tribute to the culture of Athens, democracy, and freedom. In his oration, Pericles praises Athens and the sacrifices of the dead to inspire his listeners to keep fighting and imitate the dead. Pericles' oration also includes a comparison with Sparta, highlighting Athens as a democracy ruled by the many, not the few.
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Pericles' empire was built by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do it
Pericles was an Athenian statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was responsible for the development of Athenian democracy and the Athenian empire, making Athens the political and cultural focus of Greece. Pericles' empire was built by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do it.
Pericles' empire was built on the foundation of Athenian democracy, which granted full and active participation in every decision of the state to all adult male citizens, regardless of wealth or class. This was a radical departure from the monarchical and hierarchical command societies that characterized the rest of the world at the time. By empowering its citizens and encouraging merit, Pericles' Athens flourished and became a centre of education and culture in the ancient Greek world.
Pericles himself was a product of this democratic society, born into the first generation able to utilise the popular vote to challenge the old power of family politics. He inherited a leaning toward the people from his father, Xanthippus, who had also embarked on a political career through a dynastic marriage into the influential Alcmaeonid family. Pericles' wealth and prestige, combined with his intelligence and incorruptibility, solidified his position as a respected leader in Athenian democracy.
The empire that Pericles built was not just a political entity but a reflection of Athenian values and virtues. In his famous Funeral Oration, Pericles praised the men who had died in war, arguing that their deaths were a true measure of their worth and a revelation of their virtues. He encouraged the living to emulate their heroic spirit and to fix their eyes upon the greatness of Athens, which had been achieved through the courage and duty of its citizens.
Pericles' empire was built by men who understood their responsibilities and possessed the bravery to fulfil them. Their commitment to Athens and their fear of dishonour drove them to success, and their virtues were celebrated and commemorated by Pericles and future generations. The impact of his empire extended beyond politics, shaping the cultural and intellectual landscape of Athens and solidifying its legacy in the ancient world.
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Frequently asked questions
Pericles found that the Athenian constitution, the world's first democratic constitution, brought the advantages of victory, glory, and immortality to all citizens of Athens, not just the well-born few.
Pericles reformed the Athenian constitution, bringing it to its classical form. He promoted the arts and literature, and his efforts made Athens the educational and cultural centre of the ancient Greek world.
The Athenian constitution was characterised by democracy, where the many rule, not the few. Athenian citizenship granted full and active participation in every decision of the state without regard to wealth or class, although it excluded women, children, resident aliens, and slaves from political life.
Pericles admired the Spartan way of life for its military power, tradition of leadership, and the discipline and devotion to the public good displayed by its citizens. However, he recognised that the Spartan system was demanding and perverse and did not suit the open, democratic society of Athens.
