ipl-logo

The Impact Of Pericles On Athens

1251 Words6 Pages

Pericles was an Athenian Statesman born in 495 BC in a small town named Holoros, north of Athens. He came from a family of rich Aristocrats, and was deeply involved with changing the structure of Greek government. In 461 BC, Pericles was pronounced the leader of Athens. He created laws that allowed every citizen to be a part of the government, and laws that balanced the rich and the poor. Pericles strengthened Athens by creating and introducing direct democracy to them, and also by valuing their arts and literature. He was a loved and a powerful leader. Under his command, Athens won many wars and also came to be the richest and most powerful city-state in all Greece. Unfortunately, in 429 BC, a horrible plague struck Greece which resulted in the death of Pericles. After this, the Greek government and democracy was never the same again. The death of Pericles affected Greece in a negative way because it became weaker and more vulnerable to other richer and more powerful city-states. Without his leadership, Greece suffered a depression for 30 years, wars were lost, and most important of all, Pericles glory was never regained again. The years that Pericles was leader of Athens has two titles; “The Golden Age of Athens” and “The Age of Pericles”. These titles are used because during these 32 years, Athens had tremendous economic growth and cultural flourishing. Pericles introduced direct democracy, made Athens the “Intellectual Center of the Ancient World”, led Athens through

Show More
Related

  • A Primary Text Analysis: The Funeral Oration Of Pericles

    664 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Funeral Oration of Pericles: A Primary Text Analysis In Pericles’ Funeral Oration, the famous and influential text in 430 B.C was given by Pericles to traditionally honor the death of the soldiers that fought in war and serviced in the Athenian military. This interpretation of the oration is written by Thucydides, as it is a manuscript of what Pericles said to the Athenian public. Through this text, Pericles focuses on honoring the fallen soldiers, but he also emphases the values of Athenian society and the social structure of the invention of democracy, as it is introduced for the first time ever in history. The Funeral Oration of Pericles expresses the distinct values of strong moral standards for social structure and introduces democracy, as it reinforces laws and the need for equal justice.

    Read More

  • Was Pericles A Good Leader

    301 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 443 he was made strategos, a leading general. However, later in his career, he was not so lucky. Due to rising conflicts, in 431 war had broke out between Athens and Sparta. Pericles original strategy, playing to Athens advantage on the seas, and using their large navy to

    Read More

  • Classical Athens Vs Han China Dbq Essay

    1000 Words  | 4 Pages

    Pericles, who was Greek, can be biased in his statement because as a leader, he needs to win the people’s support. Therefore, he can only say the glories of Athens. Document 5 supports Document 4’s statement. Document 5 talks about the details of the Athenian government. It tells the reader “No one remained in power long enough to entrench himself”

    Read More

  • How Did Rome Influence America

    1112 Words  | 5 Pages

    First, Pericles strongly promoted the benefits of an organized democracy at a funeral orientation for fallen Roman soldiers. He cried, “While every citizen has an equal opportunity to serve the public, we rewarded our most distinguished citizens by asking them to make our political decisions” (2). This encouraged citizens to work hard. They elected people to office similarly to how Americans elect people for office today. The Greek democracy heavily impacted the modern day American democracy because every citizen has an equal opportunity to serve the public and make important political decisions.

    Read More

  • Philosopher Pericles Research Paper

    342 Words  | 2 Pages

    He funded several building projects, such as the Parthenon started in 447, but also set laws allowing poorer people to be paid for jury duty and other important civil services. However, other laws and rules were set by Pericles that helped make Athens more imperialistic and a more powerful leader- such as the coinage decree that forced all city-states within the Delian league to use the same money and measurements, the enforcement of garrisons within unruly members and the loss of autonomy in places such as Aegina because they wished to leave the league. However, Sparta became concerned of Athens actions and behaviour under Pericles, (especially towards her ally Corinth, as they drew their enemy Megara into the league) and Pericles’ policies, especially his exclusion of Margarian trade, Led to the first Peloponnesian war in 431 BC.

    Read More

  • The Three Most Important Parts Of The Athenian Political System

    379 Words  | 2 Pages

    Controled by Alexander the Great, the Greeks tried to regain their government but failed. Some parts of the original democratic system remained functioning throughout the the years. But it was no longer the "Demos" or the Assembly that made the political decisions. In my opinion, the end of democracy for Athens was coming.

    Read More

  • Classical Greece Research Paper

    636 Words  | 3 Pages

    The period between 500 B.C.E to 338 B.C.E is referred to as “Classical Greece” due to the many achievements taken place, as well as the blossoming democracy in Athens, under the leadership of Pericles. One of the major confrontations during this period was between the Greek states and the Persian Empire. By the beginning of the 5th century BCE, Persia conquered Ionia, Thrace, and Macedonia while under the rule of Darius, and continued to expand his empire westward into mainland Europe.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Pericles What Were The Goals Of Athens

    378 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thesis: Pericles achieved all three goals that he had set through the use of democracy and help from the Delian League. Although he reached his goals, they didn’t last for very long because the soon-to-be conquerors, the Spartans, would soon leave Athens in Ruins. Pericles’ first goal was to strengthen the democracy. He increased the number of public officials that an income. Before this act, most public officials didn’t receive a salary, and only the most wealthy citizens could become an official.

    Read More

  • Differences And Similarities Between Antigone And Creon

    2027 Words  | 9 Pages

    The ancient Athenian Greek era was a time where democracy and order were highly praised and venerated by the upper echelons of society. The court and government ruling was a concept that the Athenians took much pride in. Also, during that time drama and entertainment was the order of the day. Athenians seemed to decompress from their daily hectic lives by attending dramatic and fantasy based plays. One of the most respected writers of ancient Greece was Sophocles.

    Read More

  • Pericles Goals Leading To The Peloponnesian War

    467 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pericles started paying the government officials a salary. He also passed legislation granting the lower classes access to the political system and public offices, which they had previously been banned. This made Sparta and the other-city states feel alarmed because Athens was rising and they were worried about losing their land or not being able to stand up. All of these factors could lead to the point where war will

    Read More

  • Ap World History Dbq Questions And Answers

    548 Words  | 3 Pages

    He was not for the democracy. Even though he was about to be killed, he refused to admit he was wrong. His death claimed the experiment of democracy was a failure. Also, Protagoras, who said he didn’t know if gods exist or not. Many Sophists were in Greek at that time.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Arete In Ancient Greece

    1134 Words  | 5 Pages

    While some, like Plato in his The Republic, thought it weak to give government into the hands of the common people, Pericles countered this argument with a compelling argument of greatness. By putting government into the hands of the people, the people are united and more devoted to their country. Democracy bonds the people together in a way that no other government can understand. Pericles confidently states, “Athenians advance unsupported into the territory of a neighbor, and fighting upon a foreign soil usually vanquish with ease men who are defending their homes.”

    Read More

  • Why Was Athens Successful

    875 Words  | 4 Pages

    Athens organized a group of Greek city states into the Delian League and eventually lead and dominated all of the city states in the League. Athens’s military prowess allowed them to look down on the other members of the League and treat them as members of an empire instead of equals. This caused some to view them with hostility which sparked the conflicts between Athens and Sparta that lead to the Peloponnesian War. The direct democracy of Athens wasn’t actually as inclusive and steady as the statement at Pericles 's funeral state, “Our Constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people (Doc C).” In fact, of the 450,000 citizens of Athens in 430 BC, only about 40,000 people had the power to vote.

    Read More

  • Polis In Ancient Greek Life

    1255 Words  | 6 Pages

    Each Polis had a patron deity and was named after their patron deity, Athens’s deity being the Goddess of Wisdom and of War, Athena. Athens was one of the largest city-states in Greece, the city-state that came second to Athens being Sparta, but it is one of the most well-known city-states due to having features of its own that were not seen in any other city-states and one other feature that it gave us that is still present today, known as Democracy. An example of one of these distinctive features, according to Polis, was introduced during the classical period, “In about 508-507 B.C., Cleisthenes prevented Athenian aristocrats from controlling the assembly by limiting citizenship” (“Polis”, 1998). By doing this, citizenship was no longer controlled by the rich, making it easier to become a part of Athenian society. But Cleisthenes did not stop there, proposing even more reforms, as according to Polis, “He also instituted the Council of 500, whose members were chosen by lot from male citizens 30 years of age or older” (“Polis”, 1998).

    Read More

  • Political Role In Persepolis

    1614 Words  | 7 Pages

    The role of politics in Marjane Satrapi 's life is a critical one, as seen in her graphic novel Persepolis, which narrates her experiences as a young girl raised by revolutionaries during turbulent times in Iran. Particularly, Satrapi uses juxtaposition between her parents and children to highlight the hypocrisy and myopia of the upper class revolutionaries when it comes to the interpretation and implementation of their political ideology. Satrapi builds the foundation of her criticism through the superficial comprehension her child self exhibits regarding her parents '—and, by extension, upper class communists '—ideals, then warns about the dangers that such lack of understanding presents through child soldiers who are fed ideologies and then sent to war. However, while pointing out the shortcomings of the movement, Satrapi 's use of children as the vessels for comparison entails that there is room for the communist community to develop, like Marji does as she matures from child to teen, and encourage equality through the removal of social barriers created through binaristic thinking to truly promote communist ideals. The first point of juxtaposition is Marji herself, particularly her initial myopic thinking as a child.

    Read More

More about The Impact Of Pericles On Athens

Open Document