Pericles

Pericles initially married one of his closest relatives with whom he had two sons, Paralus and Xanthippus. Around 445 B.C., he separated from his wife and gave her to another man in marriage.

Eventually, he grew close to Aspasia of Miletus. They lived together and their relationship was rebuked by many, including his son, Xanthippus.

He was deeply troubled by the untimely death of his sister and both his legitimate sons because of the plague. He could never recover from the blow.

Pericles was born in 495 B.C. in Athens, Greece. His father, Xanthippus, was a politician and a hero of the Persian War while his mother, Agariste, was the niece of famous statesman and reformer, Cleisthenes, and belonged to the powerful Alcmaeonidae family.

Since he belonged to a noble and wealthy family, he could spend most of his youth studying. He grew up in the company of prominent artists and philosophers like Protagoras, Zeno, and Anaxagoras.

He also learnt music from the leading musicians of the time. As a young man, he avoided public appearances as he was introvert and calm by nature.

At the age of 17, he inherited huge wealth and became a patron of art. He funded a staging of Aeschylus’ play ‘The Persians’ in 472 B.C which echoed the young politician’s support for Athens’ besieged populist leader Themistocles over his political opponent, the aristocrat Cimon.

In 461 B.C. Pericles got Cimon banished for supposedly betraying Athens and emerged as the leader of Athens’ democratic party.

His earliest military venture was during the First Peloponnesian War. In 454 B.C., he attacked Sicyon and Acarnania, following which he tried to conquer Oeniadea, but in vain. He also funded the establishment of Athenian colonies in Thrace and on the Black Sea coast.

During the Second Sacred War, he led the Athenian army against Delphi and reinstated Phocis in its sovereign rights on the oracle. In 447 B.C. he evicted the barbarians from the Thracian peninsula of Gallipoli, and established Athenian colonies in the region. He was elected Strategos (one of Athens’ leading generals) in 443 B.C.

From 449 B.C. to 431 B.C., he funded several cultural developments in Athens, especially famous structures on the hilltop Acropolis: the temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheum, and the gigantic Parthenon.

He also made efforts to modernize the Athenian society. He popularised fine arts by making theatre admission free for poor citizens and facilitated public participation in civil service.

Athens prospered under Pericles; during his era, Athens experienced political supremacy, economic growth and cultural flourishing.

Part of the golden age of Athenian culture, from 449 to 431 B.C., is attributed to Pericles. Apart from supporting art and culture, he funded the construction of the Acropolis and the Parthenon in Athens.

He led several military missions for more than 20 years. Some of them were Athens' recapture of Delphi from the Spartans in 448 B.C., Athens’ siege on Samos during the Samian War in 440 B.C., and the ill-fated attack on Megara in 431 B.C., which resulted in Athens' defeat and finally downfall.