In 447 B.C.E. The reason for Sparta’s dismissal of the Athenian force is unknown but it has been suggested that Sparta did not trust Athens to remain loyal and feared they would switch sides during the conflict. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. he attacked Sicyon and Acarnania. Constantine Paparrigopoulos, a major modern Greek historian, argues that Pericles sought for the expansion and stabilization of all democratic institutions. Pericles, though moribund, heard them and interrupted them, pointing out that they forgot to mention his fairest and greatest title to their admiration; "for," said he, "no living Athenian ever put on mourning because of me. Pericles, Prince of Tyre, became a voluntary exile from his dominions, to avert the dreadful calamities which Antiochus, the wicked emperor of Greece, threatened to bring upon his subjects and city of Tyre, in revenge for a discovery which the prince had made of a shocking deed which the emperor had done in secret; as commonly it proves dangerous to pry into the hidden crimes of great ones. 3, July, 1982, pp. Ephialtes' murder in 461 B.C.E. License. in, D. Knight, "Thucydides and the War Strategy of Pericles.". Anthony J. Podlecki argues, however, that Pericles' alleged change of position was invented by ancient writers to support "a tendentious view of Pericles' shiftiness". Greek Primary Sources Biblical Worldview Questions Name: _____ 2 5. [62] In response, Pericles passed a decree dispatching an expedition to Samos, "alleging against its people that, though they were ordered to break off their war against the Milesians, they were not complying".ε[›] In a naval battle the Athenians led by Pericles and the other nine generals defeated the forces of Samos and imposed on the island an administration pleasing to them. Bereft of his leadership, the Athenians made mistake after mistake in their military decisions leading eventually to their defeat by the Spartans in 404 BCE, the destruction of their city’s walls, and their occupation and rule by Sparta. [67] Just before the eruption of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles and two of his closest associates, Phidias and his companion, Aspasia, faced a series of personal and judicial attacks. α[›] He was the son of the politician Xanthippus, who, although ostracized in 485–484 BC, returned to Athens to command the Athenian contingent in the Greek victory at Mycale just five years later. __________. During the Age of Pericles, Athens blossomed as a center of education, art, culture, and democracy. He was still actively engaged in political life when he died of the plague in 429 BCE. [140] Nonetheless, other analysts maintain an Athenian humanism illustrated in the Golden Age. Tracy compiles and translates the scattered, elusive primary sources relating to Pericles. Mark, J. J. We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. Early accounts simply state that the Spartans did not like the look of Cimon’s soldiers. In exchange for retracting the Megarian Decree, the Athenians demanded from Sparta to abandon their practice of periodic expulsion of foreigners from their territory (xenelasia) and to recognize the autonomy of its allied cities, a request implying that Sparta's hegemony was also ruthless. Artists and sculptors, playwrights and poets, architects and philosophers all found Athens an exciting and enlivening atmosphere for their work. Sources for Pericles In constructing Pericles, Shakespeare relied upon Apollonius of Tyre, an ancient tale, lost forever in its original Greek, translated into Latin around the 5th century, into Old English in the 11th century, and into English by John Gower in the late 14th century.It is the version translated by Gower that Shakespeare used as his primary source for Pericles. He brings Athens's political atmosphere to life with archaeological evidence and the accounts of those close to Pericles, including Thucydides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, … Other Ancient History. Anaxagoras, in fact, is said to have influenced Pericles’ public demeanor and acceptance of fate, especially after the death of Pericles’ sons from plague. ), who said he was quoting Pericles himself. The truce allowed Pericles to focus his attention on other areas. Agariste was the great-granddaughter of the tyrant of Sicyon, Cleisthenes, and the niece of the Supreme Athenian reformer Cleisthenes, another Alcmaeonid.β[›][4] According to Herodotus and Plutarch, Agariste dreamed, a few nights before Pericles' birth, that she had borne a lion. Tracy compiles and translates the scattered, elusive primary sources relating to Pericles. Pericles Funeral Oration Primary Source. [109] Pericles was the leading prosecutor of Cimon, the leader of the conservative faction, who was accused of neglecting Athens' vital interests in Macedon. [97] The exact identity of the disease is uncertain, and has been the source of much debate.η[›] The city's plight, caused by the epidemic, triggered a new wave of public uproar, and Pericles was forced to defend himself in an emotional final speech, a rendition of which is presented by Thucydides. This deputation was not allowed to enter Athens, as Pericles had already passed a resolution according to which no Spartan deputation would be welcomed if the Spartans had previously initiated any hostile military actions. His mother was the Always cautious, he never undertook of his own accord a battle involving much uncertainty and peril and he did not accede to the "vain impulses of the citizens. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. Charles W. Fornara and Loren J. Samons, II. eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'newworldencyclopedia_org-medrectangle-4','ezslot_2',162,'0','0'])); Pericles was born around 495 B.C.E., in the deme of Cholargos just north of Athens.α[›] He was the son of the politician Xanthippus, who, although ostracized in 485–4 B.C.E., returned to Athens to command the Athenian contingent in the Greek victory at Mycale just five years later. The first source glorifies the city, the second shows their impe. "The Peloponnesian War". [114], During the Peloponnesian War, Pericles initiated a defensive "grand strategy" whose aim was the exhaustion of the enemy and the preservation of the status quo. He was able to improve Athens' finances, which were running dangerously low. ". [9] In matters of character, Pericles was above reproach in the eyes of the ancient historians, since "he kept himself untainted by corruption, although he was not altogether indifferent to money-making". ", "These glories may incur the censure of the slow and unambitious; but in the breast of energy they will awake emulation, and in those who must remain without them an envious regret. This ban strangled the Megarian economy and strained the fragile peace between Athens and Sparta, which was allied with Megara. Although certainly an idealized vision of Athens, Pericles’ speech continues to resonate in its advocacy for a free and democratic state and the benefits such a system offers. Pompey and Agesilaus1 • Poplicola and Solon1 • Pyrrhus and Gaius Marius • Romulus and Theseus1 • Sertorius and Eumenes1 But all this case in our private relations does not make us lawless as citizens. According to Plutarch, after assuming the leadership of Athens, "he was no longer the same man as before, nor alike submissive to the people and ready to yield and give in to the desires of the multitude as a steersman to the breezes". "[21], Thucydides argues that Pericles "was not carried away by the people, but he was the one guiding the people". However, his death in 429 saved Athens, because it prepared the way for a better strategist, Cleon. [32], In the mid-450s the Athenians launched an unsuccessful attempt to aid an Egyptian revolt against Persia, which led to a prolonged siege of a Persian fortress in the Nile River Delta. Shakespeare chose to rename his hero from Apollonius to Pericles, and the change was likely inspired by the character Pyrocles in Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia , one of the play’s minor sources. Greece was not a united country at this time but a confederacy of city-states bound together through “shared blood, shared language, shared religion, and shared customs” (Herodotus as cited in Boardman, 127). [24] His most controversial measure, however, was a law of 451 B.C.E. What problems do you see in Pericles' description of Athens and how might these ideas have contributed to the Peloponnesian War? [15] If this was so, Pericles must have taken up a position of leadership by the early 460s B.C.E. In Pericles: A Sourcebook and Reader, Stephen V. Tracy visits the fifth century B.C. [9] He enjoyed the company of the philosophers Protagoras, Zeno of Elea and Anaxagoras. Pericles had such a profound influence on Athenian society that Thucydides, his contemporary historian, acclaimed him as "the first citizen of Athens." [37] If it was actually made, this bargain would constitute a concession on Pericles' part that he was not a great strategist. ", "For heroes have the whole earth for their tomb; and in lands far from their own, where the column with its epitaph declares it, there is enshrined in every breast a record unwritten with no tablet to preserve it, except that of the heart. Pericles led Athens' fleet in Pontus and established friendly relations with the Greek cities of the region. [21] He first proposed a decree that permitted the poor to watch theatrical plays without paying, with the state covering the cost of their admission. In Pericles: A Sourcebook and Reader, Stephen V. Tracy visits the fifth century B.C. Ancient History Encyclopedia. The temptation to acquire still more power proved as always irresistible. [78] The Athenians' justification was that the Megarians had cultivated the sacred land consecrated to Demeter and had given refuge to runaway slaves, a behavior which the Athenians considered to be impious.[79]. Greek Sources About Pericles . History bears out Thucydides’ view in that, with the death of Pericles, Athens fell into an intellectual, cultural, and spiritual darkness which the Athenians would struggle with over the next 30 years, culminating in the execution of Socrates in 399 BCE. [101] With these bitter comments, Thucydides not only laments the loss of a man he admired, but he also heralds the flickering of Athens' unique glory and grandeur. That is to say, Thucydides could simply have used two different writing styles for two different purposes. He was a fierce proponent of democracy, although the form this took differed from the modern day as only male citizens of Athens could participate in politics. Aspasia of Miletus was a scholar and philosopher whose intellectual influence distinguished her in Athenian culture, which treated women as second-class citizens during the 5th century B.C.E. limiting Athenian citizenship to those of Athenian parentage on both sides. [61] When the Athenians ordered the two sides to stop fighting and submit the case to arbitration at Athens, the Samians refused. Grades: 9 th, 10 th, 11 th, 12 th. Paparrigopoulos, Konstantinos (-Karolidis, Pavlos)(1925). Worsted in the war, the Milesians came to Athens to plead their case against the Samians. City-states preferred to simply pay Athens to defend them rather than send troops and supplies for the common cause and this penchant – which Athens welcomed - made the city rich and powerful. [58], It was from the alliance's treasury that Pericles drew the funds necessary to enable his ambitious building plan, centered on the "Periclean Acropolis," which included the Propylaea, the Parthenon and the golden statue of Athena, sculpted by Pericles’ friend, Phidias. Even so, his reforms would lay the groundwork for the development of later democratic political systems. [45] According to the historian Terry Buckley the objective of the Congress Decree was a new mandate for the Delian League and for the collection of "phoros" (taxes). The Delian League, a confederation of the city-states, was formed in 478 BCE to provide defense against further Persian aggression and Cimon was instrumental in persuading various city-states to join. [135] According to Quintilian, Pericles would always prepare assiduously for his orations and, before going on the rostrum, he would always pray to the gods, so as not to utter any improper word. Is the worst thing in governing to "rush into action before the consequences have been debated?" Cimon, son of Miltiades (the hero of Marathon, l. c. 555 - 489 BCE), was acquitted but this may have been due more to his political connections and influence than any failing on Pericles’ part to prosecute the case. Later in life, this initial shyness would encourage the claims of his detractors that his consort Aspasia of Miletus (c. 470 - 410 BCE) taught him how to speak and wrote his speeches for him because, they said, there was no evidence of him learning oratory in his youth. Pericles, as commander-in-chief, led the Athenian forces in a number of battles but neither side could gain a significant advantage. Jan M. Libourel, "The Athenian Disaster in Egypt,", H. T. Wade-Grey, "The Question of Tribute in 449/8, Fornara-Samons, "Pericles' Political Career," in, Nicole Loraux, "Aspasie, l'étrangère, l'intellectuelle," in. Pericles 495–429 B.C. eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'newworldencyclopedia_org-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_4',167,'0','0']));eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'newworldencyclopedia_org-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_5',167,'0','1']));eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'newworldencyclopedia_org-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_6',167,'0','2'])); Between 438 B.C.E.-436 B.C.E. [9] In that year, however, Pericles witnessed the death of both his legitimate sons from his first wife, Xanthippus and his beloved Paralus, in the epidemic. The primary sources give little information about Aspasia. [22], In 461 B.C.E., Pericles achieved the political elimination of this formidable opponent using the weapon of ostracism. Plutarch mentions other criticism of Pericles' leadership: "many others say that the people were first led on by him into allotments of public lands, festival-grants, and distributions of fees for public services, thereby falling into bad habits, and becoming luxurious and wanton under the influence of his public measures, instead of frugal and self-sufficing. Tracy compiles and translates the scattered, elusive primary sources relating to Pericles. "National Ideology and Strategic Defense of the Population, from Athens to Star Wars". Mark, Joshua J. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if to social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his conditio… In his History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides makes clear what a disaster Pericles’ death was for Athens in that those who came after him desired to be popular rather than effective and, in so doing, doomed the city to ruin: The reason [Pericles was such a superior statesman was that he was] strong in both repute and intellect and was conspicuously incorruptible, held the masses on a light rein, and led them rather than let them lead him. [90] As meetings of the assembly were called at the discretion of its rotating presidents, the "prytanies," Pericles had no formal control over their scheduling; rather, the respect in which Pericles was held by the prytanies was apparently sufficient to persuade them to do as he wished. This relationship aroused many reactions and even Pericles' own son, Xanthippus, who had political ambitions, did not hesitate to slander his father. With other decrees he lowered the property requirement for the archonship in 458–457 B.C.E. Pericles is said to have initiated both expeditions in Egypt and Cyprus,[39] although some researchers, such as Karl Julius Beloch, argue that the dispatch of such a great fleet conforms with the spirit of Cimon's policy. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here: The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia: Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed. The conservative party supported the aristocratic political assembly of the areopagus while the democratic faction in Athens encouraged reforms in the popular assembly known as ekklesia. She used her status to open a school of philosophy and rhetoric, and she is known to have had enormous influence over such prominent leaders and philosophers as Pericles, Plato, and Socrates. [4][48] It includes an excerpt from the primary sources Pericles Funeral Oration and the Melian Debate to investigate the true nature of Athens during its Golden Age. Herodotus on the Kings of Sparta Primary Source. Ancient History Primary Sources [124] Kagan estimates Pericles' expenditure on his military strategy in the Peloponnesian War to be about 2000 talents annually, and based on this figure concludes that he would only have enough money to keep the war going for three years. [43], In the spring of 449 B.C.E., Pericles proposed the Congress Decree, which led to a meeting ("Congress") of all Greek states in order to consider the question of rebuilding the temples destroyed by the Persians. He asserts that since Pericles must have known about these limitations he probably planned for a much shorter war. [132] In Menexenus, however, Socrates casts aspersions on Pericles' rhetorical fame, claiming ironically that, since Pericles was educated by Aspasia, a trainer of many orators, he would be superior in rhetoric to someone educated by Antiphon. Pericles crossed over to Euboea with his troops, but was forced to return when the Spartan army invaded Attica. Ostrakon for Periclesby Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA). Athens under Pericles saw the construction of the Acropolis and the glory of the Parthenon, begun in 447 BCE. Pericles was born c. 495 BC, in the deme of Cholargos just north of Athens.α[›] He was the son of the politician Xanthippus, who, although ostracized in 485–484 BC, returned to Athens to command the Athenian contingent in the Greek victory at Mycale just five years later. [1] Furthermore, Pericles fostered Athenian democracy to such an extent that critics call him a populist. In 431 B.C., Pericles, a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars, gave a funeral oration honoring soldiers who died in battle. [42] John Fine, on the other hand, suggests that the first peace between Athens and Persia was concluded in 450–449 B.C.E., as a result of Pericles' strategic calculation that ongoing conflict with Persia was undermining Athens' ability to spread its influence in Greece and the Aegean. Mark, Joshua J. The earliest is known as the Funeral Oration of Pericles.It was written by the Greek philosopher Thucydides (460-395 B.C.E. In his Funeral Oration, Pericles said that, “Grief is felt not so much for the want of what we have never known as for the loss of that to which we have been long accustomed” (History, II.43). 64-65). During the Peloponnesian War, Pericles' dependence on popular support to govern was obvious. The period during which he led Athens, roughly from 461 to 429 B.C.E., is sometimes known as the "Age of Pericles," though the period thus denoted can include times as early as the Greco-Persian Wars, or as late as the next century. He started an ambitious project that built most of the surviving structures on the Acropolis (including the Parthenon). "[100] Pericles lived during the first two and a half years of the Peloponnesian War and, according to Thucydides, his death was a disaster for Athens, since his successors were inferior to him; they preferred to incite all the bad habits of the rabble and followed an unstable policy, endeavoring to be popular rather than useful. [73][74] The accusations against her were probably nothing more than unproven slanders, but the whole experience was very bitter for Pericles. Greek Sources About Pericles . Our editors update and regularly refine this enormous body of … Pericles made his first military excursions during the First Peloponnesian War, which was caused in part by Athens' alliance with Megara and Argos and the subsequent reaction of Sparta. the leadership of the democratic party decided it was time to take aim at the Areopagus, a traditional council controlled by the Athenian aristocracy, which had once been the most powerful body in the state. First written in about the third century C.E. It compiles and translates the scattered, elusive primary sources relating to Pericles. The period of Greek history in which he lived and reigned is rightly known as the Age of Pericles because his initiatives allowed that era to flourish. He read widely, showing an especial interest in philosophy, and is recognized as the first Athenian politician to attribute importance to philosophy as a practical discipline which could help guide and direct one’s thought and actions rather than a mere speculative past-time or the trade of the Sophists. 3-19. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if to social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition. Triremes Inquiry Unit “Pericles' Funeral Oration,” in Thucydides (c.460/455-c.399 BCE), Peloponnesian War (Book 2.34-46) Triremes Inquiry Unit “This famous speech was given by the Athenian leader Pericles after… Learn more Throughout these years he endeavored to protect his privacy and tried to present himself as a model for his fellow citizens. [70] According to Plutarch, Pericles was so afraid of the oncoming trial that he did not let the Athenians yield to the Lacedaemonians. He remained in power almost uninterruptedly until his death in 429 B.C.E. [9], His family's nobility and wealth allowed him to fully pursue his inclination toward education. The great philosophers Protagoras (c. 485 - c. 415 BCE) Zeno of Elea (c. 465 BCE), and Anaxagoras (c. 500 - c. 428 BCE) were all personal friends of Pericles. [52] His stance was greeted with applause, and Thucydides suffered an unexpected defeat. 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