Pericles on the RPF

Bio

Pericles was an influential and important leader of Athens during the
Athenian Golden Age (specifically, between the Persian and
Peloponnesian wars), from the Alcmaeonidae family. The period from
461 BC to 379 BC is sometimes known as 'The Age of Pericles'.

Pericles was the son of Xanthippus, a general who was victorious over
the Persians at Mycale in 479 BC. Pericles was taught by the
philosopher Anaxagoras, and was friends with the Sophist Protagoras,
who maintained that moral judgments were relative and moral laws
were generally based on cultural surroundings, rather than laws of
nature. Also among his friends, Pericles counted the playwright
Sophocles and the historian Heroditus. His cultivated mistress, Aspasia,
was a former courtesan. She was highly intelligent, and helped draw
literary men to Pericles' circle.

While one of the undisputed champions of democracy, it must be
recognized that Pericles took advantage of the funds collected by Athens
in defence of the Delian league—one of history’s first examples of a
federal alliance of independent states—to build up Athens at the
expense of other city-states. He was responsible for a great many
building projects, which include most of the surviving structures on the
Acropolis (including the Parthenon). He also persuaded the city to build
the Long Walls that protected the four-mile route to Peiraeus, the port for
Athens. These public projects, not incidentally, provided much work for
the Athenian poor. Simultaneously, Athens under Pericles became a
center for art, literature and philosophy.

H.G. Wells called Pericles "perhaps the most honest of demagogues,"
and notes that "Perciles was content, at any rate, to serve as a leader in
Athens rather than to dominate it as a tyrant" (The Outline of History,
Chapter XXIII). Nonetheless, his power and aloof style earned him many
enemies, who not being able to do great damage to Pericles, tried to
ostracise his friends. Anaxagoras went into exile to escape prosecution,
and Aspasia faced deportation. It is said that a tearful public plea by
Pericles saved her.

When Athens was attacked by Sparta, long-jealous of Athenian wealth,
the citizens huddled crowed within the city walls, and a plague broke out.
Tempers were short, and Pericles fell out of favor. He was ousted from
office and tried for misappropriation of funds, though he was soon
reinstated. But, after burying his sister and two sons, Pericles himself
caught the plague and died.

Equal justice to all
Pericles is listed among the "Top 20" not because of his philosophical
feats, but because he is often seen as a symbol of the promise of
democracy in the face of pure tyranny. Certainly other thinkers and
legislators--such as Dracon, Solon, Cleisthenes, and Herodotus--were
more influential in shaping ancient democracy. But, while more of a
statesman than philosopher, Pericles can nonetheless be credited with
one of the more powerful early statements advocating democracy,
delivered at a state-sponsered funeral in Athens for those killed in battle,
passed down to us by the historian Thucydides. Indeed, Fernando Prieto
explains of Pericles' "Funeral Oration":

"It has been accurately called 'the manifesto of the regimen,' not only
because it collects the basic ideas that inspired Athenian democracy, but
also because it does so with the enthusiasm befitting of the most noble
patriotism. But we could easily leave aside the local color that
impregnates the speech and take it as the greatest exaltation of
democracy in all of history" (Historia de Las Ideas y Las Formas Políticas
I: Edad Antigua; Unión Editorial, Madrid; 1990).

It was largely this conception of democracy that Plato railed so
passionately against in the Republic. Pericles' "Funeral Oration" is not
long, and is well worth the read. But two well-known passages stand out:

“Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighbouring states; we are
rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves. Its administration
favours the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy.
If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private
differences; if no social standing, advancement in public life falls to
reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to
interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able
to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition.
The freedom which we enjoy in our government extends also to our
ordinary life. There, far from exercising a jealous surveillance over each
other, we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbour for doing
what he likes, or even to indulge in those injurious looks which cannot
fail to be offensive, although they inflict no positive penalty. But all this
ease in our private relations does not make us lawless as citizens.
Against this fear is our chief safeguard, teaching us to obey the
magistrates and the laws, particularly such as regard the protection of
the injured, whether they are actually on the statute book, or belong to
that code which, although unwritten, yet cannot be broken without
acknowledged disgrace.

“... Our public men have, besides politics, their private affairs to attend to,
and our ordinary citizens, though occupied with the pursuits of industry,
are still fair judges of public matters; for, unlike any other nation,
regarding him who takes no part in these duties not as unambitious but
as useless, we Athenians are able to judge at all events if we cannot
originate, and, instead of looking on discussion as a stumbling-block in
the way of action, we think it an indispensable preliminary to any wise
action at all.” (Richard Crawley translation, 1874)

It should thus be noted that whatever other merits we might want to
attach to Plato's Republic, and whatever else one might wish to say
against Pericles, Plato was not being fair to the Periclean notion of
democracy when he describes an archetypal democratic man as
someone essentially without a moral compass, as utterly at sea in the
face of "equal" desires, to the point where "Anarchy is Liberty,
Licentiousness is Magnificence, Immodesty is Courage;" or when he
describes democracy itself as nothing better than that sort of state where
"Horses and asses, if you please, adopt the habit of marching along with
the greatest freedom and haughtiness, bumping into everyone they meet
who will not get out of the way" (Book VIII).

Ancient Greek democracy, of course, was a far cry from what we would
call a fair democracy today. Citizenship excluded women, slaves, and
those born outside the polis. (Early democracies often included a
property qualification as well.) Ancient Greek democracy resembled in
many ways a greatly expanded aristocracy. Nonetheless, it can be seen
as a bold move in the direction of rights, in contrast with the monarchic
and oligarchic traditions in clan rulership.

(Some portions of this article, and the portrait, were taken from the Wikipedia article
on Pericles. Click here for complete article.)

Works

Pericles' "Funeral Oration" as given by Thucydides

Also see: "Democracy in the Ancient World" at d@dalos