The Development of Athenian Democracy, Essay Example

The Age of Pericles

There is good reason why the time period of Pericles’ dominance of Athenian life has come to be known as the “Age of Pericles”.  Pericles was an incredibly influential leader who in many ways shaped what later came to be known as Greece’s “Golden Age” and his reign has left a long-lasting legacy to Greek culture – indeed, to Western culture as a whole. This paper explores the three ways in which Pericles shaped the age he lived: through art and culture, through architecture, and through development of democracy.

The Arts and Culture

The Athens of the Age of Pericles was arguably one of the culturally richest in Western history and philosophy and art of all kinds flourished under this leader. Philosophy of the day was dominated by sophists like Anaxagoras, and more famously by the likes of Socrates and Plato; this was also the age when the dramas of Aristophanes, Euripides and Sophocles were being written. [1] The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Pericles notes that “Athens attracted intellectuals from all over Hellas in this period, and Pericles regularly befriended such individuals” [2]  Plato’s dialogue Protagoras notes that Pericles’ two sons, Xanthippus and Paral, actually studied under Plato’s master, Socrates. [3] and Pericles was known to have shared a generalship with the famous poet/playwright Sophocles [4].  The great Greek historian Herodotus was known to be a member of the “Periclean circle” and he was also known to (and a rival of) the historian Thucydides, from which we get a rich and detailed account of Athenian life at this time period’ Samons notes “the intellectual hotbed Athens became under Pericles’ leadership, and the embattled – and ultimately defeated and demoralized – city she became after his death”[5]

Architecture

Perhaps his most enduring contribution in the area of arts and architecture is the building projects issued during this period.  Pericles, who was elected to the office of strategoi multiple times in his political career, was able to address the Athenian Assembly by using that office as his platform.  Pericles was apparently a brilliant orator and was able to successfully promote policies which he saw as important: one of the most noteworthy of the projects came to be known as the Periclean Building Program. [6] It was under Pericles’ leadership that this extraordinarily ambitious program was put underway, the most famous product of this program being the Acropolis complex, built as a monument to the gods of Athens. [7]

This program was originally begun, at Pericles’ instigation, as a means of reconstructing sacred places which had been destroyed or damaged by the Persians in recent conflicts with the Greeks.  The major works of this program include the construction of the Parthenon, the gold-and-ivory Athena Parthenos (constructed by the sculptor Pheidias), and the Propylaia. [8]. However, Hurwit goes on to note that Pericles was involved in a number of other building projects both sacred and secular, which included the Telesterion at Eleusis, the middle Long Walk, the Odeion, remodeling of the Athena Nike Sanctuary, and a grain warehouse, springhouse and gymnasium in Athens. [9]

Democracy

Pericles’ power was not wrested from the democratic system by force: rather, he worked within and strengthened the democratic system of his time.  During his long career as a strategoi – a term referring to a group of military leaders who were elected each year and who had responsibilities both on and off the field; Rothchild notes that they “are considered to have been the most influential of the magistrates”[10].  It was in his role of strategoi that he was able to address the Assembly and persuade – but not coerce them – into acting on the ideas and projects he thought were important.  The Assembly itself, for its time, was highly democratic: it was open to any adult male Athenian citizen and was “the ultimate body of legislative authority”[11].  Pericles, a repeatedly elected public official, worked within the democratic structures of his day to shape the course of Athenian society.  Notably, it was Pericles who began the system of pay for participants in councils, assemblies and jurors and encouraged a high degree of political participation in Athens, going so far as to note that “Athens alone regards the uninvolved not as leisured but as useless”. [12]

Conclusion

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about the Age of Pericles is that he did not only shaped the age he lived in, he left a legacy for Western culture that survives to this very day. Even in the busy sprawl of modern Athens, the Acropolis can be seen from different vantage points from all over the city and stands as a lasting monument to Greece’s Golden Age. Plays like Medea, Oedipus Rex, and Lysistrata are performed, with hundreds of variations and modernizations, even to this day.  And though many of the aspects of 5^th century Athenian democracy would seem odd in comparison to 21^st century America, there is no doubt that the basic democratic principles held then have shaped our country as we know it today.  In many ways, then, we are still in an “Age of Pericles”.

Bibliography

Blackwell, Christopher.  “The Development of Athenian Democracy”.  Demos: Classical Athenian Democracy as part of Stoa: A Consortium for Electronic Publications In the Humanities.  35 (2003) 1-16

Hurwit, Jeffrey.  The Acropolis in the Age of Pericles.  Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.  2010. 1-546

Rothchild, John.  “Introduction to Athenian Democracy in the 4^th and 5^th Centures BCE”. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.  1-48

Samons, Loren.  The Cambridge Comapanion to the Age of Pericles.  Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.  2010. 1-438

Stadton, Phillip.  “Pericles Among the Intellectuals”. Illinois Classical Studies.  16 (2012) 114-124

[1] Rothchild, John. “Introduction to Athenian Democracy of the Fifth and Fourth Centuries BCE”. Wayne State University Press. 2012: 4

[2] Samons, Loren.  The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Pericles. Cambridge University Press (2010):6

[3] Stadton, Phillip. “Pericles Among the Intellectuals”. Illinois Classical Studies. 16 (2012): 114

[4] Stadton, “Pericles Among the Intellectuals”, 116

[5] Samons, “Cambridge Companion to the Age of Pericles”, 12

[6] Blackwell, Christopher.  “The Development of Athenian Democracy”. Demos: Classical Athenian Democracy published as part of Stoa: A Consortium for Electronic Publications in the Humanities.  35 (2003): 6

[7] Stadton, “Pericles Among the Intellectuals”, 118

[8] Hurwit, Jeffrey.  “The Acropolis in the Age of Pericles”. Cambridge University Press. (2010): 10

[9] Hurwit, “The Acropolis in the Age of Pericles”, 16

[10] Rothchild, “Introduction to the Athenian Democracy of the Fourth and Fifth Centuries BCE”, 34

[11] Rothchild, “Introduction to Athenian Democracy of the Fourth and Fifth Centuries BCE”, 18

[12] Samons, The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Pericles, 87