Pericles: life of the week

Ancient Athenian statesman Pericles was a remarkable figure, renowned for promoting democracy, championing the arts, and shaping the fate of the Athenian Empire. But his legacy of military mistakes and eccentricity has landed him with a somewhat mixed reputation. In this History Extra podcast episode, historian Paul Cartledge shares the details of his latest. book, Pericles, Statesman, Demagogue Eccentric. Speaking to me Emily Briffitt, he presents a more nuanced portrait of Pericles, exploring his political career, cultural influence, personal life, and enduring legacy from antiquity to the present day.

We are going to be talking all about the life of Pericles today. Before we really get into the story, could you introduce us to Pericles' 60 second biographical intro? Why should we know about him? Ah, well, that's a different question. What he was, but as opposed to why.

He was born Pericles, son of Xanthipos and Agarist. and he came from a particular ward parish or village of Athens called Cholagos. People, if you go on the train today to the airport from Athens, you'll pass Cholagos, but actually that's not where Pericles was born. He was born into the purple, that's to say, a very distinguished aristocratic family, also very wealthy, and his great uncle was the founder the reputed founder of the Athenian democracy into which he was born in 495 or thereabouts, we don't exactly know, BC or BCE.

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