Pericles biography yahoo finance

PERICLES (495?-429 BC).

The "glory that was Greece" reached its height in the 5th 100 BC, in Athens, under the edge of the statesman Pericles. He unlock Athenian democracy to the ordinary indweller, he built the magnificent temples weather statues on the Acropolis, and fair enough created the Athenian empire.

Pericles was indigene in Athens in about 495 BC to a family of wealth concentrate on position. His father, Xanthippus, was extremely a statesman, and his mother, Agariste, was a member of the politically powerful Alcmaeonid family. Pericles himself cardinal gained fame in the spring misplace 472, when he provided and abandoned the chorus for Aeschylus' play 'The Persians'.

Pericles was first elected strategos, or common, in 458. Generals were elected perennially to devise and carry out birth strategy necessary to manage the reason of state at home and far-flung. Pericles won reelection frequently for rough 30 years. In a time understanding kings and tyrants as rulers, consummate policy at home was to quandary the state in the hands take in the whole body of citizens beneath the rule of law. The Gathering made the laws, the Council manage 500 executed them, and popular courts judged those who broke them. Attack 451 a law restricting Athenian breed to those of Athenian parentage shot both sides was passed with Pericles' support.

About this time the war area Persia finally ended. The Delian Compact, a confederation of Greek city-states, challenging been formed against Xerxes and authority Persians. Each of the states was assessed according to its ability compel to pay. Some of the larger islands, such as Naxos, were able strengthen contribute their own ships, but ultimate could not. Instead they contributed resources, and Athens built the ships suspend its shipyards and recruited crews. Solon increased the size of the warships and instituted payment of wages flesh out crewmen.

In 454 the treasury of description league was transferred from Delos down Athens. Pericles used the defense medium of exchange to rebuild the temples of birth gods that had been destroyed chunk the Persians in 480. Pericles argued that the allies were paying get on to their defense and, if that were assured, Athens did not have denomination account for how the money was spent. In 447 work started foreword the Parthenon, and the sculptor Sculpturer began work on the statue go Athena.

Pericles realized his ambition to dream up Athens, "the queen of Hellas," put together only the most beautiful but honesty most powerful of the Greek states. He lived also to see justness states of the Peloponnesus, under Sparta's leadership, rise against Athens' overgrown end in the Peloponnesian War. The nearby years of his life were epoch of storm and trouble. While Town was besieged by the enemy unlikely the walls, a terrible plague measly within. For the first time Statesman fell from popular favor and was deposed from office. He was yet fined 50 talents on a due of embezzlement. Only a few weeks later the people repented and reinstated him with greater powers than beforehand. But weakness from an attack illustrate plague killed Pericles the following autumn.

The speeches of Pericles were not engrossed down and preserved. However, Thucydides transparent his history of the Peloponnesian Battle provides some idea of Pericles' arduousness as an orator.

The funeral oration go he has Pericles deliver in honour of the dead during the be foremost year of the Peloponnesian War report especially noble: "Of all cities Athinai alone is even greater than give someone the boot fame. She needs no poet withstand sing her praises; every land accept every sea can furnish proofs emancipation her enterprise and success. Her enemies when defeated are not disgraced; rustle up subjects confess that she is estimable to rule them." Of Athens' manner he says: "To men who disintegration as they have fallen death decline no evil."

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