The Influence Of Pericles On The Cities Of Athens

The Classical Era of Greece, 500 -338 BCE, made way to many different changes in Athenian history. The Athenian government changed from a tyranny to a democracy, and after the Persian war in 499 BCE, Athens’ started to became a military superpower, as well. Due to Themistocles advocating to build a stronger navy, their military power grew, causing Athens’ economy to rise becoming the richest city-states. The Peloponnesian War brought out the importance of politicians and leaders, because now the government is run by the people. This war brought two of the most prominent and influential individuals to lead Athens through the war and shaped Athens’ future. The two leaders are cousins, Pericles and Alcibiades. They have multiple similarities, like their lineage and education, while also utilizing their unique personalities in their leadership skills.

What qualities of Athenian life does Pericles mention? How do these contrast with those that Archidamus points out for Sparta? The qualities of the Athenian life that Pericles mentions are that they are far from practicing a jealous surveillance over each other because they do not feel like they should be angry with there neighbors for doing what they like, but all there private relations does not make them lawless as citizens. He also say’s that they provide plenty of means for there mind to refresh itself from the business, that they celebrate games and sacrifices all the year round. On the other hand Sparta is war-like, because they have self control and they honor bravery. They are also educated with the laws and with a self-control to

Pride is an emotion in each human being possesses. The Athenian's and American people's prides plays a powerful part in their country for we are proud of the country that we live in. An individual is patriotic to its country for it is the place where we are born, raised, and hopefully be the place where we can make a difference before we die. It is the country our ancestors built and we value it in our history. A country's history can represent many different aspects of their culture and civilization. The Athenian, Pericles thought precisely just that. Pericles states the military might of the Athenian navy, the adaptability of the Athenian people, the Athenian government and the roles of its individual citizens, art appreciation, and how they are compared to their neighboring countries. His views that bias Athens was profound and in depth which put the city and its people on a pedestal.

Pericles was born in 495 B.C. E in Cholargos north of Athens. Pericles was an influential orator, leader and general during Athens golden age between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. Pericles popularized arts and literature and was the main reason Athens holds the reputation of being the educational and cultural center of the ancient Greek world. During Pericles rule, Athens developed its Acropolis, the elevated citadel that held the most important buildings and temples. These building where so architecturally

Pericles (C. 495-429 BC) was a very influential politician and general in Athens. He is said to have brought about a very important time in Athenian history known as ‘The Golden Age of Athens’ where he brought about or placed focus on certain things like art, which gave Athens the reputation as the cultural and educational centre of Ancient Greece, architecture, where he created a project to beautify the city and provide work for Athenians with most of its products like the Parthenon still surviving and giving us an idea of the glory of Athens. He also made valuable contributions to drama, the bringing about of democracy and the establishment of the Greek empire.

Between 449 BC and 431 BC, the Golden Age of Athens flourished mainly under the rule of Pericles. Pericles funded the cultural projects in Athens, including building new city landmarks like Parthenon and the Acropolis. He also influenced writers, promoting literature, arts, and writing. A center of numerous fine arts including education and democracy grew because of the willpower of Pericles. He came from a wealthy and prestigious family that improved his education. This pushed him to advance philosophy in

The construction of the Acropolis of Athens wasconstructed under the general Pericles. More than two years of detailed planning went into the Parthenon alone, and the first stone was laid on 28 July 447 BCE, during the Panathenaic festival. Pericles had no limit on how much the Acropolis could cast because he wanted to create a lasting monument which would both honour the goddess Athena (who presided over Athens) and proclaim the glory of the city to the world. Mnesikles, and Iktinos and the sculptor Phidias helped create the designs on the buildings. Hundreds of artisans, metal workers, craftspeople, painters, woodcarvers, and literally thousands of unskilled labourers worked on the Acropolis. Phidias created a gold and ivory statue of Athena

The ruler of Athens, Pericles (495-429 BCE) convinced the Athenians to rebuild the Acropolis instead of leaving it in ruin as a reminder of the price of war. (Sayre 58) From the rebuilding of Acropolis came the Golden Age. Pericles thought that by rebuilding the Acropolis, it could stand as a memorial to the Persian War and to Athena, the patron of the Athenian people. Phidias was a sculptor whom Pericles placed in charge of the sculptural program for the new buildings of Acropolis. Pericles very much wanted Athens to be the leading example for Greece. He was very proud of the men who had fallen in their battles of the Peloponnesian War, even writing a speech for them.

Purposefully, he was constantly ‘beautifying’ Athens. As stated by Plutarch, Pericles “constantly provided public pageants, banquets, and processions in the city, entertaining the people like children with elegant pleasures.” He made sure he kept the public happy. Along with elaborate public displays, Pericles, expanded territories. According to Plutarch, “he dispatched 1,000 settlers to the Chersonese, 500 to Naxos, 250 to Andros, 1,000 to Thrace to make their homes with the Bisaltae, and others to the new colony named Thurii.” This expansion allowed the city to rid itself of ‘idlers’ and ‘agitators’ and “raise the standards of the poorest classes”.

Athens is a major Greek city-state in European history. It was a great center of cultural and intellectual development, and thus home to philosophers. Socrates and Pericles, two of these philosophers, had polarizing opinions about the city-state and its citizens. While Pericles chooses to praise the Athenian citizen, Socrates criticizes Athens’ people. Pericles gave his opinion at a funeral during the first battles of the Peloponnesian War, while Socrates gave his during the trial that ultimately led to his death. The Athenian city-state has become a model for today’s systems of government and a hearth for western philosophy, so Pericles’ opinion seems to be the one that is more accurate.

Because Pericles knew that people would not accept his proposition for the reason that the people put their work into the structure of the buildings, he was able to convince Athenians to let him use the public money even more. Further, whoever criticized

With the rise of Alexander “The Great” begins the Hellenistic Age which is used to describe a time which Greek culture spread to places like Egypt and Asia. Due to this Greek culture had changed from what it was during Classical Greece as they were able to achieve much more with this new diverse culture. The Classical Age of Greece is known for its work in philosophy and the arts. The work of Greek philosophers of this time such Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle cannot go unnoticed in these contexts as their accomplishments still have lasting effects on our world today. Along with the great work of these philosophers, came other great works in architecture and drama. Beginning in 448 B.C. Pericles began the construction of the Acropolis,

Throughout Pericles’s childhood, he interacted with artist, philosophers, and musicians. This interaction took a huge role in his character, and he became a leader of Athens and a huge supporter of the arts. After the Persian invasion in 480, most Athenians refused to rebuild Acropolis which was in a state of ruin and served as a reminder of the price of the previous war. Regardless of their refusal, Pericles convinced them to rebuild Acropolis. The centerpiece of Acropolis was a temple of

The laws changed during and after the war with Iraq and after the revolution. The new regime eventually considered everything that was westernized was against the Islamic state’s beliefs, therefore, everything related with the western culture was prohibited. The universities were closed for months and when reopened, lots of western culture topics were not taught anymore. As an example, like stated in Persepolis: “The educational system and what is written in school books, at all levels, are decadent. Everything needs to be revised to ensure that our children are not led astray from the true path of Islam.” (Satrapi, 73). This affected the young generation who expected to study hard succeed in their country. Also the people’s rights and privacy

Agreeably, Kagan states his first appearance as a distinct figure was through the interaction with the arts by sponsoring the play “Persians” by Aeschylus as a choregus, which gained Pericles popularity and won first prize. Throughout his career he was known as the “Patron of the Arts” by promoting art and architecture through his second democratic reform (461) which passed an allowance for Athenians to attend public festivals and subsidizing theatre admission for poorer classes to watch plays; validates the importance of art by allowing all classes to participate and Pericles efforts in establishing the Golden Age of culture. Through his support of the Arts, tragic dramas would reach the culmination of popularity and appeal to mass audiences, also maintained the tradition in which theatre served as moral and intellectual education for the people, depicting legends, wars and real-life events. However, the most significant initiative by Pericles was the Building Program likewise both ancient and modern historians (Williams, Ehrenburg and Plutarch) collectively agree to its symbolism of Athens glory and the pinnacle of Athens culture, “the grandeur of buildings was unprecedented and brought Athens much admiration and prestige in the Greek world,” (Williams) asserts Pericles’ role in the formation of Athens’ Golden Age of Culture. One of highest acclaim would be the Parthenon (as described by Kagan) on the Acropolis embodies the perfection and innovation of Classical Period Art; built on a 4:9 ratio made entirely of Pentelic marble and features no straight lines but curved forms to combat optical distortion. Plutarch adds the buildings “untouched by time” had a soul of “unfading youth” credits only Pericles in leaving a legacy in Athenian Golden Age of Culture and the world.