How Did Pericles Influence Greek Government

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Pericles (493-429BC)
By Elexa Tobel Pericles was famous for the establishment of the first democracy, as well as having the Parthenon built. In ancient times, Pericles was well known for his knowledge of the arts and sciences, his, diminishing the power of the rich, and for raising illegitimate children with his foreign wife, Aspasia. In spite of the public’s disapproval of his domestic life, Pericles still did well in politics, due to his public speaking skills and support the desires and rights of the commoner, and is now considered to be one of the most famous rulers of ancient Greece. Pericles was born in Athens, 493BC, into a wealthy, upper class family. His father, Alchmaeonids, was the general of the Athenian army in 479BC, and his …show more content…

He also made peace with Persian and introduced the idea of payment for jury service, allowing the poor to take time off of work to become involved in politics. In 451 Pericles established a law that prevented the son of an Athenian father and non-Athenian mother from becoming a full citizen. The main effect of this law was to lessen the power of the aristocrats by preventing them from forming alliances with other aristocrats from different city-states. Soon after, Pericles divorced his wife and lived with a foreign woman named Aspasia, who was described by Socrates as one of the most intelligent women of her time. This relationship was considered a scandal because they were not married and Pericles treated Aspasia as an equal, which was an unusual act in ancient Greece. Pericles began the construction of the Parthenon in 447, partially funded by the Delian League. It cost him five thousand talents in the first year of its construction, which is equivalent to three billion American dollars today, and took less than fifteen years to …show more content…

Because of the plague, the council offered a peace treaty with Sparta, and Pericles was impeached. Soon after, Pericles was reinstated, but did not live for long after that. He tried to make his son he had with Aspasia his heir, but the law that he had established prevented him from doing this. In 421BC, Pericles died.
Sources:
“Pericles (493-429BC)”, pbs.org, Web, Sept 6, 2014.
“Pericles Biography General (c. 495 BCE-429BCE)”, biography.com, Web, Oct. 8, 2014.
Plutarch. “Pericles (legendary, died 429 B.C.E.)”, classics.mit.edu, 75 A.C.E. Web. Oct. 8, 2014.
Gill, N.S. “Pericles (c. 495-429 B.C.)”, ancienthistory.about.com. Web. Oct. 8, 2014.
Lendering, Jona. “Pericles”, www.livius.org, 2005 modified Aug. 28, 2014. Web. Oct. 8, 2014.
Halsal, Paul. “Ancient History Sourcebook: 11th Brittanica: Pericles”, www.fordham.edu, Jan 1999, Fordham University. Web. Oct. 8, 2014.
History.com Staff. “Pericles”, History.com, 2009. Web. Oct. 8, 2014.
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