DERIVATION AND PROCESS OF DEMOCRACY, IDEAS "PERICLES"

DERIVATION AND PROCESS OF DEMOCRACY, IDEAS "PERICLES"
(490 - 429 BC )




INTRODUCTION :

Pericles "surrounded by glory"; 495 – 429 BC was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. He was descended, through his mother, from the powerful and historically influential Alcmaeonid family.

Early years :

Pericles was born in 495 BC, in the deme of Cholargos just north of Athens. He was the son of the politician Xanthippus, who, although ostracized in 485–484 BC, returned to Athens to command the Athenian contingent in the Greek victory at Mycale just five years later. Pericles' mother, Agariste, a scion of the powerful and controversial noble family of the Alcmaeonidae, and her familial connections played a crucial role in starting Xanthippe' political career. Agariste was the great-granddaughter of the tyrant of Sicyon, Cleisthenes, and the niece of the supreme Athenian reformer Cleisthenes, another Alcmaeonid. According to Herodotus and Plutarch, Agariste dreamed, a few nights before Pericles' birth, that she had borne a lion. One interpretation of the anecdote treats the lion as a traditional symbol of greatness, but the story may also allude to the unusual size of Pericles' skull, which became a popular target of contemporary comedians after the Squill or Sea-Onion).

Leading Athens :

Ephialtes' murder in 461 BC paved the way for Pericles to consolidate his authority. Lacking any robust opposition after the expulsion of Cimon, the unchallengeable leader of the democratic party became the unchallengeable ruler of Athens. He remained in power almost uninterruptedly until his death in 429 BC.

DESCRIPTION :

Athenian statesman had been dominating the ancient city of Athens. In Greece, there is a splendid temple called the Parthenon. It stands on a hill called the Acropolis, a permanent memorial to the man who built it. He was Pericles, the greatest of all ancient Greek statesmen.

This much-loved man, reputedly handsome, kind, firm when necessary, courageous in battle and generous in victory, rose to power as leader of the popular party in Athens in about 460 BC. He had been elected a member of the board of commoners, which governed the state in those days. Very soon he established a reputation for high political skill, for total honesty. Nobody could, under any circumstances, bribe Pericles, Within two years he was the leading man in the government. Thus he remained for the next thirty years. Even his rivals admitted that Pericles was impartial, fair and incorruptible.

Pericles' rule was noted for its peaceful achievements. However to maintain peace, he had to wage war from time to time. The Greeks had of course been experimenting with variations of democratic government for a long time. Pericles tried to make it work still better. Elected members of the governing councils had to have their backgrounds examined to see if they were qualified to serve. All those dealing with public money were carefully watched, so that the temptation to steal or to 'fiddle' the accounts was cut down Pericles really believed that all men were good at heart, and only needed guidance.

At that time, Pericles was determined to make his age a splendid one. He adorned Athens with beautiful buildings like the Parthenon. He encouraged arts of all kinds and among his many friends were the sculptor Pheidias and the playwrights Aristophanes and Sophocles. He encouraged philosophers to speak their minds, however controversial they might want to be, like Socrates, whose troubles only began after Pericles death.

After the death of Pericles, misfortune fell upon the right thinking men, in particular, the philosophers who fought for the right causes of the people.