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Pericles
495 BCE – 429 BCE
Athenian statesman who led Athens during its Golden Age and championed democracy.
statesmanancient greecedemocracy
Pericles was the most influential leader of Athens during its Golden Age (roughly 461-429 BCE). Under his leadership, Athens became the cultural and political center of the ancient Greek world. He strengthened Athenian democracy by allowing more citizens to participate in government and by paying public officials so that even poorer citizens could serve. Pericles commissioned the construction of the Parthenon and other magnificent buildings on the Acropolis. He was a gifted orator whose funeral oration for fallen soldiers (recorded by Thucydides) remains one of the greatest speeches about democracy ever given. He died during the plague that struck Athens during the Peloponnesian War.