Golden Age

• Golden age (477-431), growth of intellectual and artistic learning.
• Pericles led Athens through much of its golden age
• Pericles
• Popular support for 32 years
• skillful politician
• inspiring speaker
• respected military general
• 461-429B.C.- age of Pericles 
• Pericles's 3 goals

1. to strengthen democracy
2. to hold and strengthen the empire
3. to glorify Athens

• Pericles's reforms
• increased the number of officials who were paid salaries
• Direct Democracy
• Made the Athenian Navy the strongest in the Mediterranean
• took large sums of money from the Delian League to pay artists and architects and he bough gold and ivory to beautify Athens.
• Some polloponnesian city stated refused to join Delian League.
• The Parthenon- a 23000 sq. ft. temple built to honor Athens.
• Phidias crafted a 30 ft tall statue of Athena out of gold and Ivory
• The Greeks invented Drama
• Wealthy citizens had to create plays as part of their civic duties.
• 3 famous playwrights
• Aeschylus
• wrote 80 plays, such as a trilogy- a 3 play sequence
• wrote the Orrestea
• Orestea