The Impact of Pericles in the City of Athens

940 Words2 Pages

Imagine a general of immense wealth, integrity, and great perverseness. This description fits a certain person well: Pericles. Pericles was a brave man, and he did things to the best of his abilities. He was born a wealthy child, and of course used this to his advantage. He honestly thought that he could have a big impact on the city of Athens and maybe even the entire world. He have thought this way because, “His father Xanthippus had himself been a military commander for Athens at the battle of Mycale in 479 B.C. Pericles name in Greek means 'Surrounded by Glory' and as is evident that was certainly to come true for Pericles was he became an influential statesman for Athens during The Peloponnesian War until his death in 429B.C.” (Rodney) From this, people assume that Pericles was a commander at heart and a fantastic man in general. Pericles was a great man because he was a risk-taker, a leader, and possessed extreme intelligence in battle. These are all incredible attributes to being an marvelous person and Pericles definitely fit all of them, making him a prodigious general to have in a city.

Being a risk-taker has always been a problem for most, and it was no different with Pericles. Pericles was very witty, and again used this to his advantage. His background drove his risk-taking and his will to succeed. In his early twenties, “he decided to take a risk and run for one of the statesmen positions”(Nardo 30). He ended

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up being very influential, which is probably why he was so popular. His popularity pushed him to the top where later he became the general that most people know him as today. But he did not become this big as quickly as people might think. In fact, it was quite the process that he went...

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Imagining a general with great wealth, integrity, and great perverseness can only begin the learning of Pericles and his ways of being a leader of Athens. His risk-taking, leadership, and his intelligence truly show what type of person he was. Although there were people that thought he was not worthy of his position, he had many supporters and people that idolized, admired, and trusted him, making him one of the most brilliant people ever to step foot in Athens.

Works Cited

Gasher, Ronald. "The Greeks -- Pericles." Pbs.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. .

Nardo, Don. Pericles: Great Leader of Ancient Athens. Berkeley Heights: Enslow, 2006. Print.

Rodney, Sydney. "Pericles." Ancient Greece. University Inc., 11 May 2003. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. .

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