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Pericles

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Bust of Pericles bearing the inscription "Pericles, son of Xanthippe, Athenian". Marble, Roman copy after an original Greek Kresilas ( 430 BC. ) Pio-Clementino Museum.

Pericles (in Greek / literally "surrounded by glory"), born in Athens around 495 BC. AD and died in that city in 429 BC. AD , is a prominent and influential strategist , orator and statesman of Athens during the golden age of the city, more precisely between the Median wars and the Peloponnesian War. Member of the tribe acamantide and edema of Cholargos , he is the son of Xanthippe and Agarista itself niece of Cleisthenes. Through his mother he descends from the powerful and historically influential family Alcmaeonidae.

Pericles had such a profound influence on Athenian society that Thucydides , a contemporary historian, calls it "the first citizen of Athens." Pericles made the Delian League Athenian empire and led his countrymen during the first two years of the Peloponnesian War. The influence of this character is such that his time is sometimes called the " age of Pericles. "

Pericles was also shown in the promotion of arts, which was a major reason why Athens holds the reputation of being the educational and cultural center of the ancient Greek world. He initiated an ambitious project to build the most surviving structures on the Acropolis of Athens with the Parthenon. This project beautified the city, is its glory and provides employment for the population .

Summary

Biography

Children

Pericles was born around 495 BC. AD , in the deme of Cholargos just north of Athens . He is the son of Xanthippe , a notable politician who opposed Miltiades and, although qu'ostracis in 485-484 BC. BC, returned to Athens to command the Athenian contingent in the Greek victories at Cape Mycale and Sestos five years later . The mother of Pericles, Agarista , is a descendant of the powerful noble family and controversial Alcmaeonidae and family ties have played a crucial role in starting the political career of Xanthippe. Agar is the great-grand-daughter of the tyrant of Sicyon , Cleisthenes , and the niece of the Athenian reformer Cleisthenes , another Alcmaeonidae , . According to Herodotus and Plutarch , Hagar had a dream a few nights before the birth of Pericles, she wears a lion , , . One interpretation of this story sees the lion as a traditional symbol of greatness, but the story may also allude to the unusual size of the skull of Pericles, who became a target of ridicule by contemporary actors , and the origin of the nickname of "onion head" . Plutarch, however, that this malformation is why Pericles is always wearing a helmet , although it is still not the reason, the helmet is the symbol of his official rank as strategist , this function particularly including the military command.

Pericles is part of the local tribe of Acamantis. He has a brother, Ariphron named as the father of Xanthippe . Although it is destined to go into politics, his early years are calm and the young Pericles, introverted, take care to avoid public appearances, preferring to devote his time to his studies . The nobility and wealth of his family allow him to fully pursue his love for education. He learned music teachers of his time ( Damon or Pythocleides could have been her teacher) and would be the first politician to attribute great importance to philosophy . He enjoys the company of the philosophers Protagoras , Zeno of Elea and Anaxagoras. Anaxagoras in particular became a close friend and a great influence . The thinking and rhetoric of Pericles charisma may have been produced as part of the focus of Anaxagoras the quiet face of emotional difficulties and the skepticism about divine phenomena . The proverbial calm and self-control of Pericles are the results of the influence of Anaxagoras .

Political career until 431 BC. AD

Entry into politics

A modern 20 room drachmas from Greece showing Pericles.

In the spring of 472 BC. BC, Pericles presented the Greek tragedy The Persians by Aeschylus in the Great Dionysia as a liturgy , demonstrating as he is one of the richest men in Athens . The historian Simon Hornblower has argued that Pericles' selection of this tragedy, which has a nostalgic image of the famous victory of Themistocles at the battle of Salamis , shows that the young politician supported Themistocles against his political opponent Cimon , whose faction succeeded in having Themistocles ostracized shortly afterwards .

Plutarch says that Pericles is the "first of the Athenians for forty years . If this is so, Pericles must have taken an important position in the early 460 BC. AD Throughout this period, he tried to protect his privacy and tried to present himself as a model for his fellow citizens. For example, he often avoids banquets, trying to be frugal , .

In 463 BC. BC, Pericles is the lead prosecutor against Cimon, the leader of the conservative faction accused of neglecting the vital interests of Athens in Macedonia . Although Cimon was acquitted, this confrontation shows that the major political opponent of Pericles is vulnerable .

Ostracism of Cimon

Around 461 BC. BC, the Democratic party officials decide it's time to access the Areopagus , a traditional council controlled by the Athenian aristocracy and formerly the most powerful body in the State . The party leader and mentor of Pericles, Ephialtes , proposed a sharp reduction in the powers of the Areopagus. The ecclesia (the Athenian Assembly) adopted Ephialtes's proposal without a strong opposition . This reform marks the beginning of a new era of "radical democracy" . The democratic party gradually became dominant in Athenian politics and Pericles seemed willing to follow a populist policy in order to pamper the public. According to Aristotle, the attitude of Pericles can be explained by the fact that his main political opponent, Cimon , was rich and generous and was able to obtain public favor by wasting his considerable personal fortune . The historian Loren J. Samon II, however, argues that Pericles has enough resources to make a political career with private means, if he had chosen .

In 461 BC. BC, Pericles achieved the political elimination of this formidable opponent by using the "weapon" of the ostracism. The main charge relates to the fact that Cimon betrayed his city by acting as a friend of Sparta . Even after the ostracism of Cimon, Pericles adopt and promote a populist social policy . He first proposed a decree that allows the poor to watch plays without paying the state the cost of admission. With other decrees he lowered the property requirement for the rulers in 458-457 BC. AD and pay generous compensation (misthos), just after 454 BC. AD , to all citizens who serve as jurors in the Hlie (the supreme court of Athens) since they lose the benefits of a full working day. His most controversial measure is a law in 451 BC. AD, limiting Athenian citizenship to persons with Athenian parentage of his two ancestries, instead of the father previously .

These measures build critics to regard Pericles as responsible for the progressive degeneration of the Athenian democracy. Paparrigopoulos Constantine , a modern Greek historian, has argued that Pericles sought the expansion and stabilization of all democratic institutions . Therefore, it adopted a law granting access of the lower classes into political and public offices, then they were previously prohibited due to limited means or humble birth considered low . According Samon, Pericles believed that it was necessary to increase the demos, in which he saw an untapped source of Athenian power and the crucial element of military domination of Athens . For example, the positions of the fleet, backbone of Athenian power since the days of Themistocles, are occupied almost entirely by members of the lower classes .

Cimon, on the other hand, believes that there is no space for democratic development, that democracy has reached its peak and Pericles' reforms that led to the stalemate of populism. According Paparrigopoulos, history vindicated Cimon, Athens because, after the death of Pericles, the abyss of political turmoil and demagogy. Paparrigopoulos argues that regression unprecedented hit the city, whose glory is lost because of the populist policies of Pericles . According to another historian, Justin Daniel King, radical democracy benefited the people, but has undermined the rule . On the other hand, historian Donald Kagan asserts that the democratic measures implemented by Pericles are the basis of a political force indisputable . Indeed, Cimon finally accepted the new democracy and did not oppose the citizenship law, after his return from exile in 451 BC. AD

Leader of Athens

The assassination of Ephialtes in 461 BC. BC opens the way for Pericles to consolidate his authority . In the absence of strong opposition after the ostracism of Cimon, Pericles, indisputable leader of the Democratic Party, became the undisputed ruler of Athens equally. He remained in power almost uninterruptedly until his death in 429 BC. AD

First Peloponnesian War
Main article: Peloponnesian War.
Phidias shows her friends the frieze of the Parthenon. Socrates and Alcibiades are left, while Pericles and Aspasia are right. Table of Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1868).

Pericles made his first military maneuvers during the Peloponnesian War , caused in part by the alliance of Athens with Megara and Argos and the subsequent reaction of Sparta. In 454 BC. BC he attacked Sicyon and Acarnania . He then tries unsuccessfully to take niad on the Gulf of Corinth , before returning to Athens . In 451 BC. BC, Cimon would return from exile and negotiated a five-year truce with Sparta after a proposal of Pericles, an event that indicates a change in political strategy of Pericles . Pericles may have realized the importance of Cimon's contribution during the ongoing conflicts against the Peloponnesians and the Persians. Anthony J. Podlecki however, argues that the alleged change of position of Pericles is an invention of ancient writers to "give a biased view of the deviousness of Pericles" .

Plutarch Cimon statue that has an agreement to share power with his opponents, that Pericles handles internal affairs while Cimon is the head of the Athenian army, campaigning abroad . If he has really been concluded, this market represents a concession on the part of Pericles, questioning his qualities as strategists. Donald Kagan believes that Cimon adapted itself to new conditions and has promoted a political marriage between Liberals and conservatives Pericles Cimon .

In the mid-450 BC. BC, the Athenians supported an unsuccessful revolt of Egypt against Persia, which led to a long siege of a Persian fortress in the Nile Delta. The campaign ends in disaster with the defeat and destruction of the Athenian force . In 451-450 BC. BC, the Athenians sent troops to Cyprus. Cimon defeated the Persians at Salamis in Cyprus but died of illness in 449 BC. BC Pericles had sent two expeditions to Egypt and Cyprus , although some researchers such as Karl Julius Beloch , argue that sending a large fleet is consistent with the intent of the policy Cimon .

In this complex period, the existence of the peace of Callias , a treaty that would put an end to hostilities between Greeks and Persians, are strongly contested and its details and negotiation are equally ambiguous . The historian Ernst Badian writes that a peace between Athens and Persia was ratified in 463 BC. AD (making Athenian interventions in Egypt and Cyprus violations of the peace) and was renegotiated at the end of the campaign in Cyprus, taking force again by 449-448 BC. AD Historian John Fine, on the other hand, suggests that the first peace between Athens and Persia was concluded in 450-449 BC. AD following the strategic calculation of Pericles that the ongoing conflict with Persia undermines the ability of Athens to extend its influence in Greece and Aegean Sea . Kagan believes that Pericles used Callias , half-brother Cimon, as a symbol of unity and used it several times to negotiate important agreements .

Bust of Pericles after a copy of one of Kresilas. Altes Museum , Berlin.

In the spring of 449 BC. BC, Pericles proposed a decree that led to a meeting ("Congress") of all Greek states to examine the question of reconstruction of temples destroyed by the Persians. Congress fails because the position of Sparta but the real intentions remain unclear Pericles . Some historians believe that he wanted to quickly implement a sort of confederation of all the Greek cities, others that he wanted to assert the preeminence of Athens . According to historian Terry Buckley the objective of the decree is a new mandate for the Delian League and for the collection of phoros (taxes) .

During the second Sacred War Pericles led the Athenian army against Delphi and reinstated the Phocis in its sovereign rights on the oracle . In 447 BC. BC, Pericles embarks on its most successful military maneuver, the expulsion of barbarians from the Thracian peninsula of Gallipoli , in order to establish Athenian colonists in the region , . At that time, however, Athens was seriously challenged by a number of revolts among its allies (or, more precisely, of his subjects). In 447 BC. BC, the oligarchs of Thebes conspired against the democratic faction. The Athenians immediately requested their extradition, but after the battle of Coronea , Pericles was forced to admit the loss of Boeotia in order to recover the prisoners taken during the battle . Boeotia in hostile hands, the Phocis and Locris became untenable and quickly fall under the control of hostile oligarchs . In 446 BC. AD, an uprising broke out more dangerous: Euboea and Megara revolted. Pericles goes Euboea with his troops but is forced to return when the Spartan army invades Attica. Thanks to corruption and negotiations, Pericles defused the imminent threat and the Spartans return home . When the management of public funds of Pericles is checked, an expenditure of 10 talents was not sufficiently justified, since the official documents state that the money was spent in "very serious purpose." Nevertheless, the "very serious purpose", namely corruption , are also obvious to the auditors who approved the expenditure without official interference and without even investigating the mystery . Spartan threat disappeared, Pericles returns to Euboea to crush the revolt. Second, it imposes severe punishment landowners Chalcis who lost their properties. The inhabitants of Istiaia who massacred the crew of a trireme Athens, are replaced by 2000 Athenian colonists . The crisis has officially ended the Thirty Years' Peace (winter of 446-445 BC.) for which Athens gave up the most goods and interest on the "mainland" Greek since it acquired 460 av. AD, with Athens and Sparta have agreed not to attack the allies of the other .

Final battle against the Conservatives

In 444 BC. BC, the conservative and democratic factions clash in a fierce struggle. The ambitious leader of the conservatives, Thucydides , accuses Pericles of debauchery, criticizing the way he spent the money for the construction plan in progress. Thucydides first succeeded in having the ecclesia in his favor, but when Pericles, the leader of the Democrats, took the floor, he puts the Conservatives in the shade. Pericles responds strongly proposing to reimburse the city for all costs of his private property, making entries in his own name . His position was greeted with applause and Thucydides suffer an unexpected defeat. In 442 BC. BC, the Athenians ostracized Thucydides and Pericles for ten years is once again the unchallenged suzerain of the Athenian political arena .

Athens grip on its alliance
The Parthenon , the centerpiece of the Acropolis in Athens in 2008

Pericles to stabilize the dominance of Athens over its alliance and to enforce its rule in Greece. The process by which the League of Delos turns into an Athenian empire is generally considered to have begun well before the time of Pericles as various allies in the league chose to pay tribute to Athens instead of sending crews for the ships of the fleet in the league. However, this transformation is accelerated and completed by measures implemented by Pericles . The final stages of the evolution of the empire may have been triggered by the defeat of Athens in Egypt , which has challenged the domination of the city in the Aegean and led to the revolt of several allies, such as Miletus and Eritrea . Either because of genuine fear for his safety after the defeat in Egypt and the revolts of his allies, or as a pretext to take control of the finances of the alliance, Athens transferred the treasury of the League City Delos to Athens in 454-453 BC. AD In 450-449 BC. BC, the revolt of Miletus and Eritrea have been repressed and Athens has reestablished its dominance over its allies . Around 447 BC. BC, a decree appears to have placed the silver coinage, weights and measures to all the Athenian allies , indicating that the excess of an operation to mint coins in a will special fund , .

That's treasury that Pericles alliance draws funds for its ambitious building plan centered on " Pericles' Acropolis 'plan that includes the Propylaea , the Parthenon to celebrate the Median wars and the statue of Athena , sculpted by Pericles' friend, Phidias . In 449 BC. BC, Pericles proposed a decree authorizing the use of 9,000 talents to finance the reconstruction of the temples of Athens . Angelos Vlachos, a Greek Academician, points out that the use of cash to the alliance, initiated and executed by Pericles, is one of the largest embezzlements in human history. This diversion, however, supported some of the most beautiful artistic creations of the ancient world . Thus Pericles managed to pursue a policy of prestige frighteningly effective.

Revolt of Samos
Main article: Revolt of Samos.

The revolt of Samos is one of the last major military events before the Peloponnesian War. After the ostracism of Thucydides, Pericles was reelected annually to generalship, the only position he held officially, although its influence is so great that it made him the de facto ruler of the state. In 440 BC. BC, Samos was at war with Miletus over control of Priene , an ancient city of Ionia at the foot of Mount Mycale. The Milesians came to Athens to plead their case against Samos . When the Athenians ordered the two sides to cease fighting and to submit the case to arbitration in Athens, Samos refuse . In response, Pericles passed a decree which sends an expedition to Samos to stop the war against the Milesians . After a naval battle led by Pericles and nine other generals, the Athenians defeated the forces of Samos island and impose an administration favorable to Athens . When the Samian revolt against the domination of Athens, Pericles compelled the rebels to capitulate after a siege of eight difficult months, which led to discontent among the Athenian sailors . Pericles then suppresses a revolt in Byzantium and, when it returns to Athens, gave a eulogy to honor the fallen soldiers in the expedition .

Between 438-436 BC. BC, Pericles led the Athenian fleet in the region of the Bridge and established friendly relations with the Greek cities of the region . Pericles is also responsible for internal projects, such as enrichment of Athens and the creation of new cleruchies as Andros , Naxos and Thurii (444 BC.) and Amphipolis (437-436 BC. J .- C) .

Attacks against Pericles
Related Articles: Aspasia and Phidias.
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Statue of Aspasia of Miletus (circa 469 BC. - circa 406 BC.) companion of Pericles

Pericles and his friends are never safe from attacks, since the rule of democracy in Athens is not equivalent to the absolute rule . The enemies of Pericles also found a false witness against Phidias.

Aspasia, notable for having the conversation and as a consultant, is accused of corrupting the women of Athens to satisfy the perversions of Pericles , . The charges against her are probably slander, although in connection with his trade - Aspasia is a former courtesan became pimp - but the experience was very bitter for Pericles. Although Aspasia was acquitted thanks to an "explosion" of rare emotional Pericles, his friend Phidias died in prison and another friend of his, Anaxagoras , was attacked by the ecclesia for his religious beliefs .

Beyond these initial prosecutions, the ecclesia attacked Pericles asking him to justify his conspicuous spending and mismanagement of public funds . According to Plutarch , Pericles was so afraid of the subsequent trial he did not let the Athenians to go to Sparta . Beloch also believes that Pericles deliberately brought to war to protect his political position . Thus, at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War , Athens found itself in the awkward position of entrusting its future to a leader whose rule has been seriously shaken for the first time in over a decade .

Peloponnesian War

Main article: Peloponnesian War.

The causes of the Peloponnesian War have been much debated, but many ancient historians put the blame on Pericles and Athens. Plutarch seems to believe that Pericles and the Athenians incite war, implementing tactics "with a kind . Thucydides thought the same thing, saying that the reason for war was the fear of Sparta vis--vis the Athenian power and growth. However, as it is generally regarded as an admirer of Pericles, Thucydides has been criticized for its bias towards Sparta .

Prelude to War

Map of the Aegean world in 431 BC. BC, on the eve of the Peloponnesian War.

When war broke out in 431 BC. BC, Pericles in Athens imposed a policy that would neutralize the superiority of the Spartan land, but it involves considerable difficulties for the people of Attica. However, its strategy of encirclement and sea blockade around the Peloponnese, made possible by the unchallenged supremacy of the Athenian fleet, is a resounding success.

Pericles was convinced that the war against Sparta, which can not hide his jealousy of the rule of Athens, is inevitable . Therefore, it has not hesitated to send troops to Corcyra ( Corfu ) to strengthen the local fleet fighting against Corinth . In 433 BC. BC, the enemy fleets clash at the Battle of Sybota and a year later the Athenians fought the Corinthian colonists at the Battle of Potidaea , there are two events that contribute greatly to the lasting hatred Corinth to Athens. During the same period, Pericles proposed the decree Megarian resembling an embargo modern shopping. Under the provisions of the decree, the merchants of Megara are excluded from the market of Athens and the port of his empire. This prohibition asphyxiation economy weakens further and Megara peace between Athens and Sparta's ally, Megara. According to historian George Cawkwell, with this decree Pericles breached the Thirty Years' Peace , 'but perhaps not without some semblance of excuse " . According to the Athenians, were grown Megarians sacred lands devoted to Demeter and gave refuge to runaway slaves, a behavior that Athenians consider impious .

After consultations with its allies, Sparta sent a deputation to Athens demanding certain concessions, such as the immediate expulsion of the family Alcmaeonidae , including Pericles, and the withdrawal of the decree Megarian, threatening war if these demands are not met. The aim of these proposals is the instigation of a confrontation between Pericles and his people (which happens a few years later) . At that time, the Athenians do not hesitate to follow the instructions of Pericles. In the first prayer that Thucydides attributes to Pericles, he advised the Athenians not to yield to the demands of their opponents because they are militarily stronger . Pericles is not ready to make unilateral concessions, believing that "if Athens conceded this point, Sparta then find new applications" . Consequently, Pericles asked the Spartans to offer a quid pro quo. In exchange for the retraction of Megarian decree, asking the Athenians to Sparta to abandon its practice of periodic expulsion of foreigners from its territory ( Xnlasie ) and recognize the autonomy of its allied cities, a demand which implies that hegemony Sparta is ruthless . These terms were rejected by the Spartans, and neither side being willing to back down, both sides are preparing for war. According to Athanasios G. Platia and Constantinos Koliopoulos, professors of strategic studies and international politics, "rather than submitting to requests coercive, Pericles chose war" . Another consideration that may influence the position of Pericles is the concern vis--vis the revolts in the empire might spread if Athens showed low .

First year of the war (431 BC.)

In 431 BC, while peace is precarious, Archidamus II , king of Sparta, send a new delegation to Athens, demanding that the Athenians to submit requests for Sparta. This deputation was not allowed to enter Athens, as Pericles had already passed a resolution that no Spartan deputation is welcomed if the Spartans have already made hostile military actions. The Spartan army at that time gathered at Corinth, and, citing this as a "hostile action", the Athenians refused to admit the envoys of the latter . Seeing his last attempt at negotiation rejected Archidamus invades Attica and there is no Athenian. Pericles, aware that Sparta's strategy would be to invade and ravage the territory of Athens, had already evacuated the entire population of the region inside the Long Walls .

Pericles in his funeral oration.

No records exist on exactly how Pericles managed to convince the inhabitants of Attica to agree to move in densely populated urban areas. For most, this movement forces the abandonment of their ancestral lands and sanctuaries in completely changing their lifestyle . Therefore, although they agreed to leave, many rural residents are dissatisfied with the decision of Pericles . The latter also gave advice to his countrymen on pending cases and was reassured that if the enemy did not plunder their own land, he would offer his property to the city. This promise is motivated by his fear Archidamus, who was a friend of his, could avoid touching their land, either by a gesture of friendship or a political gesture designed to alienate Pericles from his constituents . Pericles therefore defuses potential jealousies and disputes on behalf of his fellow citizens.

Seeing the looting of their farms, the Athenians are outraged and are quick to express their dissatisfaction indirectly their leader, whom many of them see as having dragged into the war. Although faced with increasing pressure, Pericles assign or the requirements of immediate military action against the enemy nor revise his initial strategy. He also avoided convening the ecclsie, fearing that the people, outraged by the ravaging of their farms, might rashly decide to challenge the famous Spartan army . As the Assembly meetings are called at the discretion of its rotating presidents ( prytany ), Pericles has no formal control over their programming, but still respect them for Pericles is apparently enough to persuade them to do what he wants . While the Spartan army remained in Attica, Pericles sent a fleet of 100 ships to plunder the coasts of the Peloponnese and charged the cavalry to keep the ravaged farms close to the Long Walls . When the enemy withdraws and looting ends, Pericles proposed a decree that the city authorities will set aside 1,000 talents and 100 ships under attack in Athens by naval forces. According to the strictest provisions of the decree, even proposing a different use of money or ships would entail the death penalty. During the autumn of 431 BC. BC, Pericles led forces who invaded the Athens Megara and a few months later (winter of 431-430 BC.), he delivered his most famous funeral oration, honoring the Athenians who are died for their city .

Recent military operations and death

In 430 BC. BC, the Spartan army plundered the Attic for the second time, but Pericles is still not discouraged and refused to revise his initial strategy . Refusing to engage the Spartan army in battle, he again led a naval expedition to plunder the coasts of the Peloponnese, this time taking 100 Athenian ships with him . According to Plutarch, just before the departure of vessels, a solar eclipse frightened the crews, but Pericles used the astronomical knowledge he had acquired from Anaxagoras to calm them . In the summer of that year, an epidemic broke out and decimated the population of Athens . The exact disease is uncertain and has been the source of many exchanges between historians . This additional problem triggers a new wave of public protests, and Pericles was forced to defend himself in a speech, an interpretation which is presented by Thucydides . This is considered a monumental speech, revealing the under Pericles, but also his bitterness towards his compatriots for their ingratitude . Temporarily, he managed to subdue the resentment of the people and weather the storm, but his enemies have the Athenian again oppose him. They have managed to deprive him of the generalship and to impose a fine of an amount estimated between 15 and 50 talents . He was also stripped of his civil rights (atimia). Ancient sources mention Cleon , a protagonist amount of the Athenian political scene during the war, as the prosecutor in the trial of Pericles .

Anaxagoras and Pericles by Augustin-Louis Belle (1757-1841).

However, in the year, in 429 BC. BC, the Athenians not only forgave Pericles but also re-elected as strategist . He was reinstated in command of the Athenian army and led all its military operations during the year 429 BC. BC, having once more under his control the levers of power . In that year, however, Pericles witnessed the death of his two legitimate son by his first wife, Xanthippe Paralus and, following the epidemic. His morale undermined, he burst into tears and even the company of Aspasia can not console him. He died of plague in the autumn of 429 BC. AD

Just before his death, friends of Pericles gathered around his bed, listing its virtues in times of peace and emphasizing his nine war trophies. Pericles, though moribund, heard them and interrupted, noting that they forgot to mention that his greatest and most honorable way to earn their admiration, is "never having to mourn any Athenian" . Pericles lived the first two and half years of the Peloponnesian War and, according to Thucydides , his death was a disaster for Athens, since his successors were inferior to him. They prefer to encourage all the bad habits of the population and promoting political instability, seeking to be popular rather than useful . With these bitter comments, Thucydides not only laments the loss of a man he admires, but it also heralds the flickering of the unique glory and grandeur of Athens.

Life

Pericles, following the custom of Athens, was first married to one of his close relatives (maternal cousin probably ), with whom he has two son, and Xanthippe Paralus . This marriage, however, is not happy, and to 445 BC. BC, Pericles divorced his wife who is available to another, with his consent as well as men of his own family . The name of his first wife is unknown and the only information about her is that she is the wife of wealthy Hipponicus family Krykes before being married to Pericles and the mother of Callias from this first marriage .

The woman he really loved is Aspasia , metic as originating Miletus . She becomes the mistress of Pericles and live together as if they were married. This relationship raises many reactions, even Xanthippe, a son of Pericles, who has political ambitions, who does not hesitate to slander his father . Nonetheless, these persecutions did not undermine Pericles' morale, although he is deeply moved when he must protect Aspasia at his trial for corruption of Athenian society. His greatest personal tragedy is the death of his sister and his two legitimate son, and Xanthippe Paralus, affected by the epidemic. The disaster, he never managed to overcome it. Just before his death, the Athenians allow a change in the law of 451 BC. BC makes his son with Aspasia, Pericles the Younger , half-Athenian (nothos), a citizen of the city and heir , a decision all the more striking as Pericles himself proposed the law limiting citizenship to those of Athenian parentage on both parents . Pericles the Younger strategist and will also participate in the battle of Arginusae in 406 BC. AD

Historiographical assessment

Pericles marked a whole era and inspired conflicting judgments over important decisions, however, normal thing for a political personality of his magnitude. The fact that it is simultaneously an important statesman, general and orator makes more complex the objective assessment of his actions.

Political charisma

A ostracon with the name written on Pericles (c. 444-443 BC.) Museum of Ancient Agora of Athens.

Pericles has retained his position as strategist for fifteen years and ruled the Athenian political life for thirty years. Some contemporary scholars, like Sarah Ruden, call Pericles a populist, a demagogue and Falcon , while other scholars admire his charisma. According to Plutarch, after assuming the leadership of Athens, "he was no longer the same man, nor more accommodating towards the people, nor attempted to give in to the passions of the crowd, but sailing with the wind" " . It is said that when his political rival Thucydides was invited by the King of Sparta Archidamus II and interrogated on the question of which he or Pericles was the better fighter, Thucydides answered without any hesitation that Pericles is the best, because even when he is beaten, he managed to convince the public that he won . In terms of character, Pericles was above reproach in the eyes of ancient historians, because his reputation is not tainted by any corruption scandal, although he did not disdain enriched .

Thucydides, an admirer of Pericles, maintains that Athens was " . Through this comment, the historian illustrates what he perceives Pericles capacity to control, persuade and sometimes manipulated. Although Thucydides mentions Pericles's fine, it does not mention the accusations against Pericles but instead focuses on its integrity , . On the other hand, in one of his dialogues, Plato rejects the glorification of Pericles: "I know, Pericles made the Athenians slothful, garrulous and avaricious, initiating the system of public fees" . Plutarch mentions of Other criticisms of Pericles: "According to several others, Pericles, who introduced the custom of the people to participate in any distribution of conquered lands, and give the money to attend shows and to perform his civic duties ; which spoiled him, inspired him a taste for spending, pushed him to insubordination, and made him lose the love of wisdom and work " .

Thucydides says that Pericles "was not carried away by the people, it was he who guided the people" . This assessment is not considered indisputable by all and some historians of the twentieth century, such as Malcolm F. McGregor and John S. Morrison, suggested he could be charismatic in both public and acting as an advocate of proposals from advisors or the people themselves , . According to King, making people's growing power, the Athenians were themselves deprived of an authoritarian leader. During the Peloponnesian War, to govern, Pericles' dependence vis--vis the popular support is evident .

Military achievements

Over twenty years, Pericles led many military expeditions, mainly naval. Always cautious, he never undertook of his own accord a battle involving much uncertainty and it has not acceded to the "vain impulses of the citizens" . He based his military policy on the principle of Themistocles that the predominance of Athens depend on its superior naval power and believed that the Peloponnesians were near-invincible on land . Pericles also tried to minimize the qualities of Sparta by rebuilding the Long Walls. According to Josiah Ober, professor at Princeton University , the strategy of rebuilding the walls has radically changed the use of force in Greek international relations .

During the Peloponnesian War , Pericles initiated a "grand strategy" whose goal is defensive exhaustion of the enemy and the preservation of the status quo . According Platia Koliopoulos and Athens, as the strongest member of his alliance, did not have to beat Sparta in military terms and "chose to foil the Spartan plan to . The two basic principles of the "Grand Strategy of Pericles" was the rejection of appeasement (under which he urged the Athenians not to revoke the decree Megarian) seeking to prevent the spread of the conflict . According to Donald Kagan, Pericles' vehement insistence on the fact that there should be no diversion of shipping may have resulted from the bitter memory of the Egyptian campaign, which he was censured . His strategy is said to have been "inherently unpopular", but Pericles managed to persuade the Athenian public to follow . For this reason, the historian Hans Delbrck considers him one of the greatest statesmen and military leaders in history . While his compatriots are engaged in several aggressive actions soon after his death , and Platia Koliopoulos argue that the Athenians remained true to the wider strategy of Pericles in seeking to preserve, not expand the empire and not to depart until the Sicilian expedition . For his part, Ben X. Wet concludes that the strategy would have succeeded if Pericles had lived longer .

Critics of the strategy of Pericles, however, are as numerous as its supporters. A common criticism is that Pericles has always been a better politician and orator than strategist . Donald Kagan calls the strategy of Pericles, "a form of wishful thinking that failed", Barry S. Strauss and Josiah Ober have stated "that as a strategist, he has been a failure and deserves a share of the blame for the great defeat of Athens" and Victor Davis Hanson believes that Pericles had not developed a clear strategy for effective offensive action that makes it possible to stop the war by Sparta and Thebes , , . Kagan criticizes the strategy of Pericles on four points: (1) because in rejecting minor concessions it has led to war, (2) because it is not enough known by the enemy and he lack of credibility, (3) because he is too weak to exploit all the possibilities and (4) because it depends for Pericles to complete and can therefore only be abandoned after his death . Kagan estimates the spending on its military strategy in the Peloponnesian War to about 2000 talents a year, and on that basis, Pericles would have only enough money to keep for three years. He says that as Pericles must have been aware of these limitations, it was probably planned a much shorter war , . Others, like Donald W. Knight concluded that the strategy was too defensive to be successful .

On the other hand, Platia Koliopoulos and reject these criticisms and argue that "the Athenians lost the war when they dramatically reversed the strategy of Pericles that explicitly disdained further conquests" . Hanson stressed that the strategy of Pericles was not innovative, but could lead to stagnation in favor of Athens . Finally, a popular conclusion is that those who succeeded Pericles lacked his abilities and his character

Rhetorical competence

Pericles and Aspasia in the studio of Phidias , fabric Louis Hector Leroux.

Modern historians have different views on the reported speech of Pericles by Thucydides , including the number of words actually spoken by Pericles and freedom of creative writing of Thucydides . Since Pericles never wrote his speeches Historians are not able to answer that question with certainty. Thucydides recreated three of them from memory and, therefore, there can be no assurance that it has not added his own ideas and thoughts . Although Pericles was a main source of inspiration, some historians have noted that the passionate and idealistic literary style of the speeches reported by Thucydides is completely at odds with the cold and analytical style of writings of the latter . However, this could be the result of the incorporation of rhetoric in historiography. Concretely, this means that Thucydides could simply use two writing styles for two different reasons.

Kagan believes that Pericles adopted "an elevated style of speech, without the vulgar and knavish tricks of speakers of crowds" and, according to Diodorus of Sicily , "he surpassed all his fellow citizens in the skills of eloquence" , . According to Plutarch, he avoided using gadgets in his speeches, unlike the passionate Demosthenes , and always spoke in a calm and quiet . The biographer points out, however, that the poet Ion of Chios said the oratorical style of Pericles is "a way a bit presumptuous and arrogant talk, and in his pride he came in much disdain and contempt for others " . Gorgias , in Plato's homonymous dialogue, uses Pericles as an example of powerful oratory . However, Socrates casts aspersions on Pericles' rhetorical fame, claiming ironically that, since Pericles was educated by Aspasia , a trainer of many speakers, it would be superior in rhetoric to someone educated by Antiphon . He also attributes authorship of the funeral oration at the Aspasia and criticizes his contemporaries for veneration of Pericles . Richard Claverhouse Jebb concludes: "unique as a man of Athenian statesman Pericles was also in two respects as a speaker, first because he had a personal influence that no one had been before him and then because his thinking and his moral strength have earned him a reputation for eloquence as no one had obtained the part of the Athenians before " .

The ancient Greek writers call Pericles of "Olympian" and praise his talents, referring to her "amazing, enlightening and exciting Greece" and carrying the weapons of Zeus when he discourses . According to Quintilian , Pericles has always diligently prepared his speech and before going to the rostrum, he always prayed the Gods, so as not to utter a word unfit .

Posterity

Bust of Pericles at the Palais des Arts in Marseilles.

The most visible legacy of Pericles is in the literary and artistic works from the golden age of Athens , most of which survive to this day. The Acropolis of Athens , although in ruins, is still a symbol of modern Athens. Paparrigopoulos wrote that these masterpieces are "sufficient to make the name of Greece immortal in our world" .

In politics, Victor L. Ehrenberg argues that a basic element of Pericles' legacy is Athenian imperialism, which denies true democracy and freedom to the people, except a dominant state . The promotion of such an arrogant imperialism would have ruined Athens . Pericles and his policies "expansionist" have been central to arguments for promoting democracy in oppressed countries .

Other analysts maintain an Athenian humanism illustrated in the golden age . Freedom of expression is seen as the enduring legacy from this period . Pericles is hailed as "the ideal type of the perfect statesman in ancient Greece "and his funeral is today synonymous with the struggle for participatory democracy and civic pride , .

See also

Bibliography

Primary Sources


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