Pericles' Plan For Athens

Pericles’ Plan for Athens
A wise and able statesman named Pericles led Athens during much of its golden age. Honest and fair,
Pericles held onto popular support for 32 years. He was a skillful politician, an inspiring speaker, and a
respected general. He so dominated the life of Athens from 461 to 429 B.C. that this period often is
called the Age of Pericles. He had three goals: (1) to strengthen Athenian democracy, (2) to hold and
strengthen the empire, and (3) to glorify Athens.
Stronger Democracy
To strengthen democracy, Pericles increased the number of public officials who were paid salaries.
Earlier in Athens, most positions in public office were unpaid. Thus, only wealthier Athenian citizens
could afford to hold public office. Now even the poorest citizen could serve if elected or chosen by lot.
Consequently, Athens had more citizens engaged in self-government than any other city-state in
Greece. This reform made Athens one of the most democratic governments in history. The introduction
of direct democracy, a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through
representatives, was an important legacy of Periclean Athens. Few other city-states practiced this style
of government. In Athens, male citizens who served in the assembly established all the important
government policies that affected the polis. In a speech honoring the Athenian war dead, Pericles
expressed his great pride in Athenian democracy:
Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole
people. When it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law; when it is a
question of putting one person before another in positions of public responsibility, what counts is not
membership in a particular class, but the actual ability which the man possesses. No one, so long as he
has it in him to be of service to the state, is kept in political obscurity because of poverty.
PERICLES, “The Funeral Oration,” from Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War
Athenian Empire
After the defeat of the Persians, Athens helped organize the Delian League. In time, Athens took over
leadership of the league and dominated all the city states in it. Pericles used the money from the
league’s treasury to make the Athenian navy the strongest in the Mediterranean. A strong navy was
important because it helped Athens strengthen the safety of its empire. Prosperity depended on gaining
access to the surrounding waterways. Athens needed overseas trade to obtain supplies of grain and
other raw materials. Athenian military might allowed Pericles to treat other members of the Delian
League as part of the empire. Some cities in the Peloponnesus, however, resisted Athens and formed
their own alliances. As you will read later in this section, Sparta in particular was at odds with Athens.
Glorifying Athens
Pericles also used money from the Delian League to beautify Athens. Without the league’s approval, he
persuaded the Athenian assembly to vote huge sums of the league’s money to buy gold, ivory, and
marble. Still more money went to pay the artists, architects, and workers who used these materials.
Glorious Art and Architecture
Pericles’ goal was to have the greatest Greek artists and architects create magnificent sculptures and
buildings to glorify Athens. At the center of his plan was one of architecture’s noblest works—the
Parthenon.
Athenians and Spartans Go to War
As Athens grew in wealth, prestige, and power, other city-states began to view it with hostility. Ill will
was especially strong between Sparta and Athens. Many people thought that war between the two was
inevitable. Instead of trying to avoid conflict, leaders in Athens and Sparta pressed for a war to begin,
as both groups of leaders believed their own city had the advantage. Eventually, Sparta declared war
on Athens in 431 B.C.
Peloponnesian War
When the Peloponnesian War between the two city-states began, Athens had the stronger navy. Sparta
had the stronger army, and its location inland meant that it could not easily be attacked by sea. Pericles’
strategy was to avoid land battles with the Spartan army and wait for an opportunity to strike Sparta and
its allies from the sea. Eventually, the Spartans marched into Athenian territory. They swept over the
countryside, burning the Athenian food supply. Pericles responded by bringing residents from the
surrounding region inside the city walls. The city was safe from hunger as long as ships could sail into
port with supplies from Athenian colonies and foreign states. In the second year of the war, however,
disaster struck Athens. A frightful plague swept through the city, killing perhaps one-third of the
population, including Pericles. Although weakened, Athens continued to fight for several years. Then, in
421 B.C., the two sides, worn down by the war, signed a truce.

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Pericles’ Plan for Athens

PERICLES, “The Funeral Oration,” from Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War

Athenians and Spartans Go to War

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