Hey there everyone, I’m here with Pericles today and we’re gonna ask him some questions.
Q: Can you give a brief description of yourself?
A: I was born 495 BC into an aristocratic Athenian family. My father, Xanthippus was an Athenian politician and a great general in the Persian Wars. My mother’s name was Agariste. And she was the neice of Cleisthenes of Athens, a former leader of the Athens who gave citizens more opportunites to participate in government. I grew up being well educated, which was necessary since I was interested in politics. I died in 429 from a plague:(
Q: How’d you gain power?
A: In 463, there was conflict between Cimon and Ephialtes for a while. Cimon was a general who was the most powerful politican at the time and an aristocrat who watned peace with Sparta. Ephialtes was the leader of a group known as the democrates. I sided with Ephialtles. Ephialtes was assassinated and Cimon exiled. The democrats were left in power, and I soon became their new leader.
Q: I heard about how there was a golden age in Greece and the Athens under your power. Can you explain?
A: Oh yes, there was a direct democracy. The citizens could participate directly in everyday affairs of government. I believed anyone, no matter what kind of money they have, should be able to being involved in government. So I created this thing called stipend where Athens paid a fixed salary to men who participated in the Assembly ad its governing council. This allowed poor men to serve in government. Athenians also served on juries. There was this other thing called ostracism where a person that seemed a threat to our democracy could be banished by vote for about 10 years. Culture was great too! I directed the rebuilding of the Acropolis (which the Persians destroyed during the Persian Wars, darn those Persians) Athens became the cultural center of Greece from all the arts, dramatic competitions, and building projects we had. From those building projects, jobs opened up for Athenian artists, sculptors, architects, and laborers. There was also great science and philosphy:)
Q: Anything else you’d like to say?
A: All in all, from my wise and skillful leadership, our economy was better than ever, government became more democratic, and culture flourished. There was a golden age for the Athens under my rule from 460 to 429 BC with great science and philosopy.
“Pericles.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 6 Nov. 2010. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/
“Pericles.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 6 Nov. 2010. <http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/>
History of Europe 
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