Person
Pericles
History & Civilizations
Society & PoliticsWho is Pericles in the Agency editorial?
Pericles was an Athenian statesman and general of the 5th century BCE, who led Athens in the period often called its Golden Age. Issue.7 opens its trip to Ancient Athens with him speaking in the Agora and says the city reached its Golden Age under his leadership.
In short
Pericles was the Athenian statesman who led the city in the 5th century BCE. Issue.7 takes the reader to Ancient Athens and pictures him in the Agora, giving a public speech to his citizens. The edition says Athens reached its Golden Age between 480 and 404 BCE under his leadership, calls him one of the foremost democratic leaders of Greece and the greatest political personality of the 5th century BC, and says the foundations of Western Civilization were laid in Athens during his time. The passage ends with the line Thank you Pericles! and a quotation credited to Thucydides, Pericles' Third Oration.
Key facts
- Which edition names Pericles?
- Issue.7, Economy in Crisis Pt.1, in the author's passage about the golden age of Athens and in the credit of a quotation from Thucydides.
- How does the edition describe him?
- As one of the foremost democratic leaders of Greece and the greatest political personality of the 5th century BC, under whose leadership Athens reached its Golden Age.
- What does the edition say happened in Athens during his time?
- That the foundations were laid for what would later be called Western Civilization, and that the respect earned by his Athens continued long after its political and military systems fell.
Who is Pericles?
Pericles was an Athenian statesman and general who led Athens for several decades of the 5th century BCE, the period in which the Parthenon was built. He died in 429 BCE, in the early years of the Peloponnesian War. The historian Thucydides recorded speeches attributed to him. These facts come from outside the edition and are marked for verification.
How does Pericles appear in Issue.7?
Issue.7 sets the scene in Ancient Athens: Pericles stands in the Agora, surrounded by his citizens, wearing a chiton and a himation while he gives a public speech. The author then defines a golden age and says Athens reached its own between 480 and 404 BCE under the leadership of Pericles.
The edition says that it was in Athens during the time of Pericles that the foundations were laid for what would later be called Western Civilization, and that Pericles' Athens earned a respect that continued long after the defeat in the Peloponnesian War. After listing what the author considers time-proof, ending in culture, the passage closes with Thank you Pericles! and a quotation credited to Thucydides, Pericles' Third Oration.
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.