Pericles was an important Ancient Greek lawyer, magistrate, politician, and orator who lived through the golden age of the Hellenic civilization. A great citizen of Athens, his great oratory skills, his influence in the city and the promotion of the arts and literature, made him one of the most beloved and later, most acclaimed characters in history. between 495 and 429 BC. He was considered the ‘first citizen of Athens’ thanks to the influence he had on the life of the Athenians during the period in which he ruled.During the golden age of Pericles, Athens became the center of European culture, being his the most important constructions of Ancient Greece such as the Acropolis of Athens, or the Propylaea. He entered politics at the age of 30, when Efialtes, leader of the democratic party of Athens, died. Thanks to his entry into the assembly, he made numerous improvements and consolidated the hegemony of Athens in the League of Delos. Curiosities about Pericles Pericles was considered one of the best strategists and orators of Ancient Greece. He was a politician admired by all, brilliant for his persuasion and his lucidity. He was considered an elegant person with great capacity to govern and created the Citizenship Law, one of the most famous of his legacy. This was that to become a citizen of Athens, both parents had to be Athenians. Death Pericles had to endure during his last year of life the death of his two children born in his first marriage. It was because of an epidemic that led Pericles to live his last days in deep sorrow, yet he continued to make speeches until the autumn of 429 BC., the same epidemic that killed his children, took the life of the speaker. On his deathbed, his followers flocked to his bed to remind him of the successes and triumphs as a politician he had achieved. The Athenian orator himself reminded his followers that the greatest title he had was that “no living Athenian has ever had to mourn because of me.” The death of Pericles was a severe blow to Athens since his successors were not as bright as the Athenian. It was then, as Thucydides wrote, “the beginning of the end of the glory of Athens.”
