Pericles’ role in the development of the Golden Age of Athens.
Worth 10 marks
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Pericles was one of the most influential statesmen in the history of Athens
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Pericles did not rule directly over the people as a dictator, he used his
eloquent speaking ability and keen sense of judgment to gain support for
his plans and programs in the city of Athens.
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Pericles made use of his words to bring about change and encourage
prosperity of Athens.
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Meanwhile, Pericles was already experiencing great success, having gained
the position of statesmen around 460 B.C.
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He made a bold move by shifting his loyalties from the noble families who
ruled Athens to the common citizens of Athens, urging the participation of
all citizens in the government.
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In 450 B.C., he successfully oversaw the ostracism, or elected exile, of his
main political rival, General Cimon.
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Several years later, Athens made peace with the Persians and various
other rival Greek cities.
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Having dealt with enemies both within and without, Pericles could bring
about many changes to the Athenian government and improvements to the
city of Athens.
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The city had suffered great damage during the Persian Wars, much of
Pericles’s work involved rebuilding of the city.
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Pericles gave the task of rebuilding to many of the poorer citizens of
Athens; while he favoured helping the poor, he sought to do so by giving
them occupations rather than merely granting them charity.
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Many of the beautiful structures of Athens were built during this time, but
most of the work focused on the rebuilding and repairing of temples,
including the Acropolis.
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One of the more splendid temples built during this time was the Parthenon,
a beautiful piece of architecture that served as the jewel of Athens for
many years.
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While the city of Athens flourished greatly under Pericles in a material
sense, Pericles also brought about change to the flow of Athenian
government.
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One of his early reforms was a new standard for citizenship; in order to
become a citizen, one had to have two parents of Athenian birth as a
requirement.
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This new policy favoured the common citizens, seeing as how the welltravelled aristocrats and merchants tended to marry foreigners more often.
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Another measure Pericles took, this time through the popular vote of the
city, was the practice of paying members of a jury for their time served. This
benefited the lower classes, who could now afford to take time off from
their other occupations to serve in the Athenian judicial system.
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Overall, the Golden Age of Pericles was a period of time in which the city
became more and more of a democracy.
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Owing to the vast expenses of Pericles’s projects, Athens was compelled
to rely on tribute money from its weaker Greek allies.
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This caused a great deal of annoyance on the part of the allies, who were
paying the tribute to Athens for military purposes, not for domestic affairs.
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The allies of Athens grew ever more resentful of Athens’ prosperity at
their expense.
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While Pericles effectively used diplomatic channels to stave off massive war
for thirty years, conflict still loomed on the horizon.
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Occasionally, an ally would revolt against Athens, such as the city of
Samos in 440, and although Athens’ superior navy managed to crush such
efforts, tensions still were on the rise.
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While Athens may have had a superior navy, its army could not compare to
the well-disciplined Spartan soldiers.
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As a result, many of the rural citizens of Athenian territory were forced to
flee into the city, and when a plague struck the city, the crowded conditions
made the disease have a disastrous effect.
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Pericles himself received much of the blame for the war and its
accompanying problems, and was eventually removed from office around
429 B.C.
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Though he soon managed to regain his position as statesman, he would not
live to make any further reforms. Soon after his re-election, he died of the
plague that had struck the city.