Periclean Athens

Description

Book abstract: In the second and third quarters of the fifth century BC, when Athens became both politically and culturally dominant in the Greek world, Pericles became the leading figure in the city's public life. This concise and accessible introduction guides students through the key aspects of this most-studied period of ancient Greek history, focusing on the major developments, political and cultural, that took place under Pericles Although a member of the group of families which had been most prominent for the past century or more, Pericles was a supporter of the democracy which was brought to completion in the 460s and 450s. At the same time Athens developed an empire of a kind which no Greek city had had before. The resulting political changes inspired religious developments and a new form of secularism, while the sophists revolutionised philosophy. This was also the period when Athenian tragedy became the principal Greek poetic form, when a series of temples and other buildings, on Athens' acropolis and elsewhere, attracted architects, builders and sculptors to Athens, and when Athenian red-figure pottery reached new heights of skill in the scenes painted on it. Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Illustrations Maps Figures Preface References to Ancient Texts Authors and Works Collections of Texts Principal Dates Chapter 1 Pericles and His City Pericles and Athens Chapter 2 Democracy Formal mechanisms Political life and the role of Pericles Chapter 3 Empire The growth of the Delian League The Delian League as an Athenian empire The Peloponnesian War Chapter 4 Religion and Philosophy Philosophy Chapter 5 Literature, Art, Architecture Art Chapter 6 After Pericles Empire Religion and philosophy Literature, Art, Architecture Envoi Further Reading Index