HIST1421 2D - Greek and Roman Civilization week 2 PDF

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Greek and Roman Civilization week 2...

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Pericles impact on Athens is so great that the period is referred to as the Age of Pericle 449 to 429 BCE (NBC News Learn, 2020). Pericles was a statesman, politician, and an orator, he was also a general and a benefactor of the arts, all this lead him to be revered as “the first citizen” by Thucydides referring to his contribution to Athens and his place in its democracy (Who was Pericles?, 2020). Before the age of 30 Pericles reached the rank of Stategos or general during the Persians wars, this position would allow him to take control of Athens as its leader and reshape its history as a democracy (NBC News Learn, 2020). Pericles was involved with the formation and incorporation of the Delian League as satellite states. This strengthened the Athenian Navy and also generated the wealth needed for public works and to support Athenian styled democracy which directly relied on slave labor. Pericles greatest achievements were the democratic reforms he put into effect. Going from a classful society among citizens to a classless one among citizens. This classful society graded citizenship by wealth and only the richest men could take senior office politically or militarily. Pericles replaced the aristocratic council with a citizen majority vote based Assembly, he weakened the executive branch and strengthened the legislative branch. He allowed all citizens to serve as civil servants, including payment for jurors. Awarded all citizens the right to equal justice and imposed more freedoms on the people, they were afforded the right to free speech, political opinion, and political action. Pericles supported and funded Athenian culture and arts, he funded the construction of the Acropolis, the temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheum and the Parthenon. These infrastructure projects lead to the employing of Athenians and Athenian owned slave labor which contributed to the economic prosperity of the time. Infrastructure projects also focused on city and empire defenses. His cultural agenda was not limited to infrastructure projects but also sought to create unity by providing the people with a common identity and distractions, theaters were free to all including the poor. During Pericles political career he was either a Strategos or Politician but always had the ear of the people and could always speak at the assembly and sway public opinion, which was a rare privilege. Pericles lead a very successful career which blinded him to Sparta's strength. He predicted the Peloponnesian wars would last 2 years. Thanks to Pericles civil service Athens had the largest navy, a large annual silver tribute and large reserves of gold and silver. He collected the people behind Athens’ walls. The Peloponnesian War lasted from 431 to 405 BCE, Pericles died 429BCE of the plague that swept Athens 2 years into the war. The very freedoms Pericles gave the Athenians were used as seeds of their own downfall. Without his leadership political extremism took hold, freedom was too great a burden for the Athenians, the political sphere fractured into separate units who bitterly fought each other. Going as far as allowing democracy to be suppressed by Sparta for periods. Finally, Athens defeated Sparta but enough damage was done. Athens was no match for Macedon and democracy fell when Philip II conquered the region.

Word Count: 540 References

NBC News Learn. (2020, May 1). Pericles, the Golden Age of Athens. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoZfCO42nhA

Who was Pericles? Everything You Need to Know. Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline. (n.d.). The Famous People. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/pericles-2547.php.

Banned books Construction of the Parthenon started in 447BCE, the structure was completed and dedicated to Athena in 438BCE, and decorated to completion in 432 BCE (History.com Editors (2018). Temple of Athena Nike 420BCE, Pericles was born in 494 BCE and witnessed the effects of the Greco-Persian Wars or the Persians wars from 492 to 449 BCE during his formative years his father Xanthippus was also a citizen soldier as an aristocrat. Like Pericles for a period Xanthippus was a prominent politician of his time (Wikimedia Foundation, 2018). In many ways Pericles was born into his role, with wealth and a family name in politics and war, while these justification don’t explain his success, they did put him in the position to be successful. History.com Editors. (2018, February 2). Parthenon. History.com. https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/parthenon. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020, May 8). Greco-Persian Wars. Britannica . https://www.britannica.com/event/Greco-Persian-Wars. Wikimedia Foundation. (2018, January 18). Xanthippus. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthippus....