The Age of Pericles and the Parthenon
The decades following the Persian Wars marked Athens' golden age. Pericles, dominant in Athenian politics from around 461 BCE until his death in 429 BCE, shaped this era through his military leadership, democratic reforms, and above all his great building program. In 447 BCE construction began on the Parthenon, a temple to Athena Parthenos on the Acropolis. Designed by architects Ictinus and Callicrates, with sculpture overseen by Phidias, it was completed in 432 BCE. The Parthenon incorporated extraordinary refinements — its columns lean slightly inward, its floor curves upward at the center, creating optical illusions of perfect straightness. Inside stood Phidias's colossal chryselephantine statue of Athena, forty feet tall. The Acropolis building program included the Propylaea, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike. Pericles justified using Delian League funds by arguing that once Athens had equipped the fleet and defended the allies, surplus tribute was Athens' to spend as it chose. Pericles deepened Athenian democracy by introducing pay for jurors, enabling poor citizens to serve, and he extended radical democracy by making any male citizen eligible for the archonship by lot. He also restricted citizenship to those with two Athenian parents. Athens under Pericles attracted intellects from across the Greek world: Herodotus, Anaxagoras, Protagoras. Tragic playwrights Sophocles and Euripides competed at the Dionysia festival. Pericles' companion Aspasia of Miletus, renowned for her intelligence, hosted philosophical salons. This constellation of genius made Athens the 'school of Hellas,' as Pericles himself claimed in his funeral oration.
- Year: 447 BCE
- Category: Cultural
