The Star of the Athenian Democracy. Born c.495 B.C., Pericles was Athens' most prominent politician and general during the city's Glory Days(which of course, was named after him)note .
He came from an aristocratic family: his mother, Agariste, was descendant of the Alcmeonide family, one of the most powerful ones in Ancient Athens, and was also niece of Cleisthenes, whose reforms transformed the city into a democracy. His father, Xanthippus, was a war hero at The Battle of Mycale, one of the most decisive against the Persians. A popular legend about him is that while his mother was pregnant, she dreamed that she gave birth to a lion, which many priests saw it as an omen that she was gonna give birth to a leader.
It's practically difficult to report his moves in the first years of his life, but we do know for sure that he was taught by the philosopher Anaxagoras and made a name for himself during his 20s as a wealthy aristocratic patron of arts, by sponsoring the "Persians", a play written by the tragic playwright Aeschylus at the Dionysia Festival in 472 B.C.
He rose into prominence in 461 B.C., when he had his major political rival, Cimon, ostracised (this means "cast at least 6,000 votes to exile someone for 10 years") from Athens and joined the Democratic party (as opposed to the Oligarchic party) led by the reformer Ephialtes in organizing a vote in the popular assembly that stripped all remaining powers from the Areopagus, the old noble council. Many historians consider that event to have marked the birth of Athenian democracy, as well as being a great political victory for Pericles, for Cimon was greatly supported by both the aristocrats and the common people. After Ephialtes' assassination in 461 B.C., Pericles emerged as Athens’s foremost politician, and he would lead the popular assembly and the city until his death three decades later, mostly by ostracising his political opponents.
In 451/450 B.C., he elected a controversial rule forbidding the sons of non-Athenians -including sons who had an Athenian father, but a non-Athenian mother- from receiving political rights. This law is debated till this day for its true motives, with the most popular theory being that he wanted to limit the aristocrats' influence by prohibiting them from attaining foreign ties. Of course, this rule would come to bite him in the ass a few years later, when he met and fell in love with Aspasia, an educated courtesan originated from Miletus, a rich city-state in Asia Minor. Though the circumstances of their meeting are unknown, Pericles instantly fell in love with her and it was said he held her words in great esteem, always listened to her before he made a move and showed huge affection towards her, by kissing her publicly before he headed to the Pnyx, much to the dismay of many Athenians. He divorced his first wife for her and they even had a baby together, named after himself, Pericles the Younger.
In fact, it was believed that so grand was her influence over him, that she convinced him to take the Miletians' part against the Samians in the Samian War, where the Samians lost and were forced to destroy their walls and pay a huge fine.
Speaking of which, now it's a good time to talk about his external policy. In 454 B.C. he removed the treasury from Delos and transferred it to Athens, believing that Delos wasn't a safe place to guard it, essentially turning the Delian League into Athenian Hegemony.
Perhaps, his most ambitious - and most famous - project was the rebuilding of the Acropolis, which generated most of its surviving structures including the Parthenon. That's right, folks! All these marvelous structures that attract million of tourists every year were all commissioned under Pericles' rule. Pericles promoted the arts and literature, and it is principally through his efforts that Athens acquired the reputation of being the educational and cultural center of the ancient Greek world. And also thanks to the money from the Delian treasury, but we don't talk about that... Apart from the Acropolis, Pericles was also responsible for the commission of the Long Walls, which protected the Athenians during the Peloponnesian War.
Regarding The Peloponnesian War, it should be mentioned, as it started while Pericles was still alive and he was largely responsible for the whole thing. It's worth mentioning his policy during the first two years of the war, which was pretty defensive (the Athenians basically hid behind the Long Walls and attacked the Peloponnesian shores via their ships) as well as "The Funeral Oration" he delivered at the end of the first year, which praises Athenian values and Athenians' love for freedom and their land. It was recorded by the historian Thucydides, a huge admirer of him (and the main reason why Pericles has a positive image in this age) and it's unclear which parts where actually said by Pericles and which were created by Thucydides.
Unfortunately, a terrible plague struck Athens in the second year of the war and resulted in 1/4 of its population dying. Victims included Pericles himself and some historians believe that his death marked the end of the Golden Age, as the leaders who came after him proved inferior and couldn't handle properly the situation.
For many Greeks, Pericles is what Abraham Lincoln is for many Americans: everybody knows that they were both great leaders, yet very few possess extensive knowledge about the details of their lives. Among scholars however, they are highly divided, with some viewing Pericles as a charismatic Reasonable Authority Figure and admire his unquestionable influence, while others accuse him of being a corrupt demagogue, who led Athens to its downfall from his imperialistic mindset.
He's the Trope Namer of Just the First Citizen (as Thycidides described him as such), and three pages in TV Tropes are "blessed" to include his quotes. And no, William Shakespeare's play has nothing to do with him.
Recommended reading: Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy by Donald Kagan and Pericles of Athens by Vincent Azoulay.
Works featuring him:
Comic Book
- He's a recurring character in the Orion trilogy, a Franco-Belgian Comic written and illustrated by Jacques Martin (most famous for Alix), where he send the titular protagonist as a spy in Spartan territory.
Literature
- He's a minor character in The Athenian Mysteries by Gary Corby, where he hires Kid Hero Nikolaos as a detective to solve the murder of Ephialtes.
- In Conn Iggulden's The Golden Age, he's the main character, as the series details his life.
- He was also frequently used in the aforementioned author's previous series, "Athenian", which starred his father, Xanthippus.
- As Karen Essex' Stealing Athena focuses on the life of Aspasia, Pericles is a major character there.
- He made a couple of appearances in Creation as well.
- In Plutarch's "Parallel Lives" he is paired with Roman General Fabius Maximus.
Live Action TV
- Though he never appeared at any episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, in Star Trek S3 E10 "Plato's Stepchildren", Philana awards Captain Kirk with Pericles' shield, symbol of great leadership.
- One episode of the Greek series Seven Deadly Mothers-in-law, "The Ancient Mother-in-law" narrates his life with his mother, Agariste, as the protagonist.
Music
- ''"Son Pa Atenas"''
: The band retells the history of Athens and Pericles is mentioned as The Hero who led the city into its Golden Age.
- Given that Concept Album "The Rise and Fall of Athens" presents a time-line of the titular city through nine of its most prominent individuals, Pericles is one of said individuals.
Video Games
- The Civilization series has Pericles as a recurring leader for Greece. His "Surrounded by Glory" bonus magnifies Greek culture output based on how many city-states it is suzerain of and he focuses on building a new Delian League.
- The Assassin's Creed: Odyssey has him as a minor character, though his death by the hands of Deimos is fictional.
Web Video
- Crash Course briefly mentions him in the Lysistrata episode.
- Overly Sarcastic Productions: in the first episode that Blue appears, he talks about "The Athenian Empire" and Pericles is frequently mentioned.
Western Animation
- He's the main focus of one of Il Était Une Fois...' sixth episode Il Etait Une Fois Man E 06 The Age Of Pericles, which also features other famous Ancient Greeks, like Socrates, Sophocles etc.
- He was featured as an one-shot character in one of Hercules: The Animated Series' episode, Hercules and The Assasin.
