PERIKLES - THE GREAT PERSON OF HELLAS (495-429 BC)

Abstract

The period of the highest prosperity and power of Athens remained associated with the name of Pericles; contemporaries called these years the “age of Pericles”. And they recognized that Pericles, like no one else, combined moderation of character with a high sense of self-worth and the majesty of appearance with kindness of heart. Summing up the reign of Pericles, Thucydides wrote: “Pericles, strong in respect and intelligence, undoubtedly the most incorruptible of citizens, knew how to restrain the crowd, and not so much she led him as he led her. Due to the fact that Pericles exerted influence without the help of any unseemly means. He never flattered the crowd and could not angrily object to her, while maintaining universal respect. He was also one of the few rulers in history who knew how to exercise his individual will in a democracy without undermining the foundations of democracy.