Western Civ Blog 29

Pericles was a wise and able statesman who lead Athens during much of its golden age. He was honest and fair. He held onto popular support for 32 years. He was a skillful politician, an inspiring speaker, and a respected general. He dominated the life of the Athens from 461 to 429 BC, this period of time is often called the age of Pericles. His goals for the Athens were to strengthen Athenian democracy, to hold and strength the empire, and to glorify the Athens. In a direct democracy, the decisions are not taken by representatives. All decisions are voted on by the people. When a budget or law needs to be passed, then the idea goes to the people. Large governments rarely make decisions this way. Athens helped organize the Delian League. In time the Athenians took over leadership of the league and dominated all city-states. Pericles used the money from the league to make the strongest navy. The military allowed Pericles to treat other members of the delian league as party of an empire.