PER'ICLES (Lat., from Gk. Ilepac2ijc, Peri kles (?111.C. 429). The greatest statesman of ancient Greece. His father was Xanthippus, vic tor over the Persians at Alycale in B.C. 479. His mother was Agariste, the niece of Clisthenes, the lawgiver. He received a careful education and was especially influenced hy his two teachers, Damon, a famous sophist and master of music, and the philosopher Anaxagoras of Clazomeme. to whose teaching he undoubtedly owed the independence of thought and freedom from superstition which raised hint above the multitude. Throughout his life Pericles was conspicuous for his singular dignity and aloofness. He avoided convivial gatherings and seldom walked abroad among his fellow citizens. But his eloquence. sagacity. up rightness. and patriotism won recognition front a large part of the Athenians. and for more than thirty years he was the most influential leader in Athens. When he entered on public life, Aristides had only recently died. Themistocles was an exile, and Cimon was engaged in fighting abroad. Pericles front the first attached himself to the democratic party. and under his leader ship the complete democratization of Athens accomplished. Hitherto only the nobler and richer elements in the State had had access to the higher offices, but under his direction all offices were eventually opened to the entire of citizens. The first step in this new course was the limitation of the functions of the Areopagus. at that time the chief court at Athens. Through the agency of his associate Ephialtes in the year 462-461 measures were passed which deprived the Areopagus of all its important political powers. To it were left jurisdiction only in cases of homicide, the care of the sacred olive trees of Athena. and a share in the supervision of the land sacred to the Eleusinian divinities. lts former functions passed to the Athenian Senate of 500. the popular assembly and the law courts. Pay for archons was introduced, and later all officials received a salary for their services. About 458 the third class of citizens, the Zeugi ta., were made eligible to the archonship, and it cannot have been many years before this office was open to all. even the lowest citizens. Fur thermore, the members of the Senate were now chosen absolutely by lot from the entire body of Athenians. Thus in the few years after Peri cles became prominent most important constitu tional changes were carried through at Athens. The opposition of Ch11011 had been avoided by his ostracism. Pericles's foreign policy seems to have been based on a desire to extend the power and influence of Athens as widely as possible over the Greek States. and he confidently hoped to consummate an Hellenic League which should embraee.all Greek States. His attempt to hold a congress for this latter purpose in 448 was un fortunately defeated.
The Athenian:, elated by their victories over the Persians and fired by the splendid empire es tablished under the name of the Confederacy of Delos, were eager for foreign conquest. As their naval empire grew. and their trade increased. they came into rivalry with Corinth and .Egina. In 460 they had seized \legara. which led to war with the Spartans. and during the next four years Athens successfully resisted the attacks of Corinthians and Spartans. and in 450-456 re duced _Egina, which was made a tributary mem ber of the Confederacy of Delos. Athens had seized Naupactus also, which gave her a naval station by which she could command the Corin thian Gulf. She also extended her conquest to the north, and by the battle of (Enophyta (457) gained the greater part of &coda. only to lose
it again ten years later by the battle of Coronea. The war with Persia had continued in the East under the direction of Chum. who had been re called at Pericles's suggestion. After Cimon's death in 449. Pericles seems to have thought the struggle against Persia too severe a tax on Athens if she was to continue her efforts against her rivals in Greece. and so in 448 a peace was concluded with the Persians. Athens was now free to attend to her cares at home. She had gradually extended her territory so that, aside from her allies on the mainland, she embraced. under the Confederacy of Delos, as equal or subject allies, nearly all the larger islands of the .Fgean. and she furthermore possessed impor tant cities in the north and in the Thracian Chersonese. In 446-445 a thirty years' peace.was concluded between Athens and her allies on the one side and the Peloponnesians and their allies on the other. There was, however. strong opposi tion to Perieles's policy. The party opposed to him was led by Thmedides. whose ostracism in 444 left Pericles the Undisputed leader. He ap i.arently had the power to persuade the people to do whatever he thought good. and for fifteen years after his opponent's ostracism he was, an nually elected to the office of general. l'ilder his direction Athens had be(qi made supreme within her naval empire. and his purpose ors to ag grandize .Athens even at the expense of her sub ject States. With the great wealth which came to her treasury Pericles restored the temples de stroyed by the Persians and erected new monu ments which made Athens the most magnificent city of the ancient world. Most prominent among these monuments were the bronze statue of Athena Promachos, which was erected about 448 at the west end of the Acropolis. and a new tem ple to Athena Polias. The Partin: was also built on au enlarged and more magnificent settle and was completed about 436. At the west en trance to the Acropolis a new propyla•a was erected and near it the Temple of Athena Nike. The city was also adorned with many other tem ples and monuments. In the period of Pericles's leadership Athens became a great centre of litera ture as well as of the fine arts, and philosophy was also transplanted from Ionia and Itaij to the soil of Athens, which was destined to be it home for a thousand years. Pericles Wa.; 1:::tly great political leader, but was s also able in the field, as was shown by his successful reduction of the revolt of Samos in 439.
Athens's prominence at length made her an ob ject of jealousy. In 433 she formed an alliance with Coreyra, a recalcitrant colony of Corinth, and in the winter of 432-431 the Peloponnesian, under the leadership of Sparta decided on war against Athens. Pericles summoned the country iesidents of Attica within the walls of Athens, and allowed the Peloponnesian army to harry the country at will during the summers of 431 and 430. in the latter year the plague broke out in the city and caused many deaths and great de jection. Pericles was deposed from his office. tried, and fined, but soon reinstated through a revulsion of feeling. In the following year he died after a lingering sickness. While Pericles undoubtedly contributed greatly to Athenian brilliancy, his imperialistic schemes made the Peloponnesian War inevitable. (See AseAst.t.) Consult the histories of 1w Grote. Abbott, Holm, Busolt, and Meyer; Filleril, a sieele de Plrieles (Paris, 18731; A. Schmidt. Des Perikleische Zcitaltcr (Jena, 1577-;9): and Evelyn Abbott. Pericles and the Golden Jar of .1 thesis (New York, 1891).