The definitive biography of the legendary "first citizen of Athens"Pericles has the rare distinction of giving his name to an entire period of history, embodying what has often been taken as the golden age of the ancient Greek world. "Periclean" Athens witnessed tumultuous political and military events, and achievements of the highest order in philosophy, drama, poetry, oratory, and architecture. Pericles of Athens is the first book in decades to reassess the life and legacy of one of the greatest generals, orators, and statesmen of the classical world. In this compelling critical biography, Vincent Azoulay takes a fresh look at both the classical and modern reception of Pericles, recognizing his achievements as well as his failings. From Thucydides and Plutarch to Voltaire and Hegel, ancient and modern authors have questioned Pericles's relationship with democracy and Athenian society. This is the enigma that Azoulay investigates in this groundbreaking book. Pericles of Athens offers a balanced look at the complex life and afterlife of the legendary "first citizen of Athens."

List of Figures ixForeword: Introducing Azoulay's Pericles, Paul Cartledge xiAcknowledgments xvIntroduction 1Chapter 1 An Ordinary Young Athenian Aristocrat? 15Chapter 2 The Bases of Periclean Power: The Strategos 28Chapter 3 The Bases of Periclean Power: The Orator 40Chapter 4 Pericles and Athenian Imperialism 51Chapter 5 A Periclean Economy? 67Chapter 6 Pericles and His Circle: Family and Friends 84Chapter 7 Pericles and Eros: Caught between Civic Unity and Political Subversion 94Chapter 8 Pericles and the City Gods 107Chapter 9 After Pericles: The Decline of Athens? 127Chapter 10 The Individual and Democracy: The Place of the "Great Man" 137Chapter 11 Pericles in Disgrace: A Long Spell in Purgatory (15th to 18th Centuries) 157Chapter 12 Pericles Rediscovered: The Fabrication of the Periclean Myth (18th to 21st Centuries) 192Notes 227Bibliography 265Index 287