What makes the Golden Age
“golden?”
“We along regard a
man who takes no
interest in public affairs
not as harmless, but as
a useless character.”
-Pericles funeral
oration 431 B.C.
www.newgenevacenter.org/ reference/greece2.htm
The Golden Age lasted
from…
460 - 429 B.C.
…and how many
years is that???
31 Years
Three goals of Pericles:
• Protection
• Beautification
• Democracy
Three goals of Pericles:
• Main goal: protect Athens from foreign
invasion
• Built up a very powerful navy
• Construction of “Long Walls”
– Stretched five miles from Athens to its
harbor
– Built in 458 B.C.E.
– Constructed to ensure food supply to
Athens would not be cut off
• Encouraged building projects, the arts
and literature
• Rebuilt temples on the Acropolis (using
the Delian League’s money)
• Tried to make Athens a model city
- Pericles
http://go.hrw.com/hrw.nd/gohrw_rls1/pKeywordResults?keyword=st9%20walls%20of%20athens
http://www.eurovacations.com/community/greece/official.html
• Citizens who served in government
were now paid
• Spread power more evenly between the
rich and the poor
• During the Golden Age as many as
20,000 citizens were paid for their
service