Page 20 - All About History - Issue 09-14

Democracy

PERICLES
Greek, 495 BCE-429 BCE
At once a general,
Brief statesman, orator
and scholar, Pericles’
Bio rule saw Athens’
Golden Age, where
democracy flourished and
the arts blossomed. Pericles
led Athens from around 461
BCE until his death. A brilliant
politician, he embodied Greek
democratic ideals and was the
city’s longest-serving ruler until
he died from plague in 429 BCE.

Top 5 facts

PERICLES

A ‘FOUNDER OF DEMOCRACY’

ANCIENT GREECE, 495-429 BCE

He created an
04 Athenian empire
01 PARTHENON During Pericles’ rule, Athens became
the foremost member of the Delian
COMMISSIONER He secured Athenian League, a group of hundreds of Greek
city-states formed to oppose Persia’s
One of the most iconic 02 democracy invading forces. This became an Athenian
Pericles is remembered as a great orator empire, establishing colonies in Italy and
buildings of Ancient Greece, and is famed for his speeches espousing expanding into the Mediterranean.
the Parthenon temple on the value of democracy. In an address
during the Peloponnesian War he He ruled almost
Acropolis was commissioned declared: “[The Athenian] constitution 05 unchallenged
by Pericles, as were many of the favours the many instead of the few; Pericles’ popularity with the citizens
this is why it is called a democracy.” made it easy for him to remove political
surrounding buildings of the opponents, many of which, such as
site. It symbolises the height Early theatre patron his predecessor Cimon, were exiled by
03 From early on in his career, Pericles patronised the popular vote or ostracism. Though he
of Athenian power as well as theatre, including the tragedian Aeschylus. Later, in his attempts suffered accusations of corruption and
that of the great leader who to promote Athenian culture, Pericles used state funds so poorer tyranny himself, his political influence
citizens could attend the theatre, subsidising their entry fee. He was such that he was only deposed
championed its construction. was also a friend of the playwright Sophocles. once, briefly, during his entire rule.
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