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Pericles 495-429 BC
Pericles was a very powerful politician in ancient Athens.
Because of his leaning towards an
alliance with Sparta,
Cimon the Younger
was not a friend of Pericles. In fact, Pericles attempted to
prosecute Cimon for having failed to conquer Macedonia. But Pericles
was unsuccessful and Cimon went into exile.
The year? 463 BC.
Under Pericles, construction of the
Acropolis
begun.
The year? 447 BC.
By the year 440 BC, Pericles had managed
to become the sole director of the Athenian councils.
Pericles' Funeral Oration
In 431 BC, the
Peloponnesian War broke
out. After the initial battles were fought that year, and according
to tradition, Pericles delivered a
Funeral Oration to honor the dead soldiers that had been
killed so early in this war.
Ancient Greek historian
Thucydides recorded
this speech and might or might not have edited it.
This Funeral Oration was Athens
Gettysburg Address.
In fact, historians compared these two speeches many times. One
similarity between them is the democratic ideal of both men,
Lincoln and Pericles. Both
speeches were funeral orations. Both speeches were designed to
inspire democracy. See for yourself.
Pericles' Family
Pericles' father was Xanthippus.
Pericles' mother was
Agariste.
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