Pericles and the Golden Age of Athens

In this episode of Ancient Greece: Philosophy, Democracy, and Endless War, we explore the pinnacle of Athenian power under Pericles. From his rise to prominence in the 450s BCE to his death from plague in 429 BCE, Pericles transformed Athens into a cultural and imperial giant. We discuss his citizenship law of 451 BCE, which tightened the definition of who was Athenian; his use of Delian League funds to build the Parthenon and other monuments; his strategy of walling Athens to the sea; and the tensions that led to the Peloponnesian War. Along the way, we meet his contemporaries like the sculptor Phidias, the playwright Sophocles, and the historian Thucydides, whose account of Pericles' Funeral Oration remains one of history's most famous speeches. We also grapple with the contradictions: Athenian democracy was a direct democracy for citizens, but women had no political rights, and the empire was brutally maintained. This episode offers a nuanced look at a man and an era that shaped the Western imagination. #Pericles #GoldenAgeOfAthens #AthenianDemocracy #Parthenon #DelianLeague #PeloponnesianWar #AncientGreece #Phidias #Sophocles #Thucydides #FuneralOration #CitizenshipLaw #Acropolis #DirectDemocracy #ClassicalGreece #History #FexingoHistory #AncientHistory #Athens #Sparta Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo