Pericles - brought Athenian democracy to its climax (height)
He was born into one of Athens elite families - but he still let the people run their own government
He turned his attention to the acropolis
Pericles wanted reconstruct the temples burnt down by the Persians
Wanted to build the Parthenon (enormous statue/temple of Athena - she was 40 feet tall)
Inside around the walls were friezes - narrow piece of marble that is carved out showing common people of Athens (there were 500 feet of these around the temple)
(Democracy - when you have freedom, the people will almost always do better)
Aspasia - Pericles' new "partner" (he left his wife for her) and he treated her as an equal
It caused a scandal - she was a prostitute, she wasn't from Athens, and she was a woman (she supposedly wrote his speeches for him)
Pericles and his circle became the most influential groups in Western History
Twice a year, the Athenians went to watch shows at an entertainment place (theater) -they invented drama and the theater - they were overblown gestures
Two kinds of theater plays they showed- comedies and tragedies
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