- was a skillful politician, an inspiring speaker, and a respected general
- dominated the life of Athens from 461 to 429 B.C.
- this period is called the Age of Pericles
- he had 3 goals:
1. to straighten Athenian Democracy
2. to hold and strengthen the empire
3. to glorify Athens
- 1) increased the number of public officials
- more citizens could now engage in democracy making Athens one of the most democratic governments in history
- Direct Democracy is a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives
- 2) helped organize the Delian League
- used the money from the Delian League to make the Athenian Navy the strongest in the Mediterranean
- 3) he also used money from the Delian League to beautify Athens
- they bought huge amounts of gold, ivory, and marble
- more money went to architects, artists, and workers who used those materials
Glorious Art and Architecture
- The Parthenon was a masterpiece of architectural design and craftsmanship
- it was built to honor Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the protector of Athens
- it was built mostly by Phidias, and Phidias also built a 30 foot statue of Athena made out of only ivory and gold
- him and other sculptors during this golden age aimed to create figures that were graceful, strong, and perfectly formed
- they wanted to portray ideal beauty, not realism
- their values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion became the standard of Classical Art
Drama and History
- Athenians built the first ever theaters in the West
- expressions of civic pride and tributes to their Gods
- the Greeks wrote 2 types of drama, Tragedy and Comedy
- Tragedy was a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal
1. Aeschylus wrote more than 80 plays
2. Sophocles wrote more than 100 plays
- Comedy contained slapstick situations and crude humor that would be based of politics and respected people at the time
1. Aristophanes wrote the first great comedies for the stage
- History- Herodotus, a Greek who lived in Athens for a time, created the first book of history based off the Persian Wars
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