Fifth-century Athens

Fifth-century Athens is the Greek city-state of Athens

in the time from 480 BC-404 BC. This was a period of
Athenian political hegemony, economic growth and cultural ourishing formerly known as the Golden Age of
Athens with the later part The Age of Pericles. The period began in 478 BC after defeat of the Persian invasion,
when an Athenian-led coalition of city-states, known as
the Delian League, confronted the Persians to keep the
liberated Asian Greek cities free. After peace was made
with Persia in the mid 5th century BCE, what started as
an alliance of independent city-states became an Athenian empire when Athens abandoned the pretense of parity among its allies and relocated the Delian League treasury from Delos to Athens, where it funded the building of the Athenian Acropolis and put half its population
on the public payroll and maintained dominating naval
power in the Greek world. With the empires funds,
military dominance and its political fortunes guided by
statesman and orator Pericles, Athens produced some of
the most inuential and enduring cultural artifacts of the
Western tradition. The playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles
and Euripides all lived and worked in 5th century BCE
Athens, as did the historians Herodotus and Thucydides,
the physician Hippocrates, and the philosopher Socrates.
Athens patron goddess was Athena, from whom they derived the name.

ation of the misthophoria (, which literally

means paid function), a special salary for the citizens that
attended the courts as jurors. This way, these citizens
were able to dedicate themselves to public service without facing nancial hardship. With this system, Pericles
succeeded in keeping the courts full of jurors (Ath. Pol.
27.3), and in giving the people experience in public life.
As Athens ruler, he made the city the rst and most important polis of the Greek world, acquiring a resplendent
culture and democratic institutions.
The sovereign people governed themselves, without intermediaries, deciding matters of state in the Assembly.
Athenian citizens were free and only owed obedience
to their laws and respect to their gods. They achieved
equality of speech in the Assembly: the word of a poor
person had the same worth as that of a rich person. The
censorial classes did not disappear, but their power was
more limited; they shared the scal and military oces
but they did not have the power of distributing privileges.
The principle of equality granted to all citizens had dangers, since many citizens were incapable of exercising political rights due to their extreme poverty or ignorance. To
avoid this, Athenian democracy applied itself to the task
of helping the poorest in this manner:
Concession of salaries to public functionaries.

To seek and supply work to the poor.

Overview

To grant lands to dispossessed villagers.

During the golden age, Athenian military and external
aairs were mostly entrusted to the ten generals who
were elected each year by the ten tribes of citizens, who
could be relied on rather than the variable-quality magistrates chosen by lot under the democracy. These strategoi
were given duties which included planning military expeditions, receiving envoys of other states and directing
diplomatic aairs. During the time of the ascendancy of
Ephialtes as leader of the democratic faction, Pericles was
his deputy. When Ephialtes was assassinated for overthrowing the elitist Council of the Aeropagus, Pericles
stepped in and was elected strategos in 445 BCE, a post
he held continuously until his death in 429 BCE, always
by election of the Athenian Assembly.

Public assistance for war widows, invalids, orphans

and indigents.
Other social help.

Most importantly, and in order to emphasize the concept of equality and discourage corruption and patronage,
practically all public oces that did not require a particular expertise were appointed by lot and not by election.
Among those selected by lot to a political body, specic
oce was always rotated so that every single member
served in all capacities in turn. This was meant to ensure that political functions were instituted in such a way
Pericles was a great speaker; this quality brought him as to run smoothly, regardless of each ocials individual
great success in the Assembly, presenting his vision of capacity.
politics. One of his most popular reforms was to allow These measures appear to have been carried out in great
thetes (Athenians without wealth) to occupy public of- measure since the testimony has come to us from, (among
ce. Another success of his administration was the cre- others, the Greek historian Thucydides (c. 460 - 400
1

FINANCES

BCE), who comments: Everyone who is capable of serv- the Assembly itself decided and afterwards the Council
ing the city meets no impediment, neither poverty, nor civic or gave denitive approval.
condition...

2.3 The Council or Boule

Institutions

The Council or Boule ()consisted of 500 members, fty from each tribe, functioning as an extension
2.1 The magistrates
of the Assembly. These were chosen by chance, using
the system described earlier, from which they were familThe magistrates were people who occupied a public iarly known as councillors of the bean"; ocially they
post and formed the administration of the Athenian state. were known as prytaneis (, meaning chief or
They were submitted to rigorous public control. The teacher).
magistrates were chosen by lot, using fava beans. Black
The council members examined and studied legal
and white beans were put in a box and depending on
projects, supervised the magistrates and saw that daily adwhich color the person drew out they obtained the post or
ministrative details were on the right path. They oversaw
not. This was a way of eliminating the personal inuence
the city states external aairs. They also met at Pnyx hill,
of rich people and possible intrigues and use of favors.
in a place expressly prepared for the event. The fty pryThere were only two categories of posts not chosen by
taneis in power were located on grandstands carved into
lot, but by election in the Popular Assembly. These were
the rock. They had stone platforms which they reached by
strategos, or general, and magistrate of nance. It was
means of a small staircase of three steps. On the rst platgenerally supposed that signicant qualities were needed
form were the secretaries and scribes; the orator would
to exercise each of those two oces. A magistrates post
climb up to the second.
did not last more than a year, including that of the strategoi and in this sense the continued selection of Pericles
year after year was an exception. At the end of every
year, a magistrate would have to give an account of his 3 Finances
administration and use of public nances.
The most honored posts were the ancient archontes, or
archons in English. In previous ages they had been the
heads of the Athenian state, but in the Age of Pericles they
lost their inuence and power, although they still presided
over tribunals.
Every year the citizens elected ten strategoi (singular
strategos), or generals, who served as both military ofcers and diplomats. It was through this position that Pericles shaped 5th-century BCE Athens.
Reproduction of an Athenian tetradrachma with the image of
There were also more than forty public administration of- Pallas Athena protector of the city on the front and an owl
cers and more than sixty to police the streets, the mar- symbol of wisdom on the back (c. 490 BC)
kets, to check weights and measures and to carry out arThe economic resources of the Athenian State were not
rests and executions.
excessive. All the glory of Athens in the Age of Pericles, its constructions, public works, religious buildings,
2.2 The Assembly of the People
sculptures, etc. would not have been possible without the
treasury of the Delian League. The treasury was origiThe Assembly (in Greek, , that is to say, an as- nally held on the island of Delos but Pericles moved it to
sembly by summons), was the rst organ of the democ- Athens under the pretext that Delos wasn't safe enough.
racy. In theory it brought together in assembly all the cit- This resulted in internal friction within the league and the
izens of Athens, however the maximum number which rebellion of some city-states that were members. Athens
came to congregate is estimated at 6,000 participants. retaliated quickly and some scholars believe this to be the
The gathering place was a space on the hill called Pnyx, period wherein it would be more appropriate to discuss an
in front of the Acropolis. The sessions sometimes lasted Athenian Empire instead of a league.
from dawn to dusk. The ecclesia occurred forty times a Other small incomes came from customs fees and nes.
year.
In times of war a special tax was levied on rich citiThe Assembly decided on laws and decrees which were zens. These citizens were also charged permanently with
proposed. Decisions relied on ancient laws which had other taxes for the good of the city. This was called the
long been in force. Bills were voted on in two stages: rst system of liturgy. The taxes were used to maintain the

4.2

Women

triremes which gave Athens great naval power and to pay were poor, became famous and successful.
and maintain a chorus for big religious festivals. It is believed that rich Athenian men saw it as an honor to sponsor the triremes (probably because they became leaders 4.2 Women
of it for the period they supported it) or the festivals and
The Athenian woman dedicated herself solely to the care
they often engaged in competitive donating.
of the home. Family homes contained a space, called the
gynaceum, especially for women, where they would spend
the day with their servants and young children. Athenian
4 Athenians in the Age of Pericles society was a patriarchy in which men held all the rights
and advantages, and had access to education and power.
The Athenian elite lived modestly and without great luxu- However, some women, known as hetaeras, received a
ries, compared to the elites of other ancient states. There careful education so that they could have more complex
were very few great fortunes and land ownership was not conversations with men. The closest historical compariconcentrated: 71-73% of the citizen population owned son for these women who were regarded higher than nor60-65% of the land, whereas the Gini coecient for citi- mal women, but lower than men, are the Geisha of Japan.
zen population has been calculated as 0.708.[1] The econ- Among these was Aspasia of Miletus, who was the misomy was based on maritime commerce and manufactur- tress of Pericles and is said to have debated with promiing, according to Amemiyas estimates, 56% of Athens nent writers and thinkers, including Socrates.
GDP was derived from manufacturing.[2] Agriculture was
also important, but it did not produce enough to feed the
populace, so most food had to be imported (it is estimated
5 Arts and literature
that the carrying capacity of Atticas soil was between
84,000 and 150,000,[3] while the population was 300,000
to 350,000 in 431 BC).
The state oversaw all the major religious festivals. The
most important one was the Panathenaia in honor of the
goddess Athena, a ritual procession carried out once a
year in May and once every four years in July, in which
the town presented a new veil (peplos) to the old wooden
statue of Athena Poliada. Phidias immortalized this procession in the frieze of the Parthenon, which is currently
at the British Museum. In the July Panathenaia (Great
Panathenaia), large competitions were organized which
included gymnastics and horseback riding, the winners of
which received amphoras full of sacred olive oil as a prize.
The other important festival was the dramatic Dionysia in
View of the Acropolis
honour of Dionysus where tragedies and comedies were
performed.
Historians consider the Athenian 5th and 6th centuries
BCE as the Golden Age of sculpture and architecture.
In this period the ornamental elements and the technique
4.1 Education
employed did not vary from the previous period. What
characterizes this period is the quantity of works and the
The education of boys began in their own home up until renement and perfection of the works. Most were rethe age of seven when they had to attend school. There, ligious in nature, mainly sanctuaries and temples. Some
they had several teachers who taught them to read and examples from this period are:
write, as well as subjects such as mathematics and music.
Boys also had to take part in physical education classes
The reconstruction of the Temple of Olympian
where they were prepared for future military service with
Zeus.
activities such as wrestling, racing, jumping and gymnastics. At eighteen they served in the army and were in The reconstruction of the Temple of Apollo in
structed on how to bear arms. Physical education was
Delphi, which was destroyed by an earthquake.
very intense and many of the boys ended up becoming
The reconstruction of the Acropolis of Athens, the
true athletes. In addition to these compulsory lessons,
marble city for the glory of the gods. The site had
the students had the chance to discuss and learn from the
suered from a re started by the Persians and lay
great philosophers, grammarians and orators of the time.
in ruins for more than 30 years. Pericles initiated
Some poor people had to stay at home and help their parits reconstruction with white marble brought from
ents. However Aristophanes and Socrates, though they

5 ARTS AND LITERATURE

the nearby quarry of Pentelicon. The best architects,
sculptors and workers were gathered to complete the
Acropolis. The construction lasted 20 years. Financing came from the Delian League. When nished, it was the grandest and most perfect monument in the history of Greek art.

5.1

Sculptors

Athens became the great city of Greek theatre. Theatrical performances lasted eight consecutive hours and were
performed as part of a competition in which a jury proclaimed a winner. While the decor of the provisional theatres was very simple, the permanent theatrical venues of
ancient Athens eventually became more sumptuous and
elaborate. No matter the performance venue, plays were
performed by, at most, three actors, who wore masks to
identify them with the characters they portrayed; they
were accompanied by a chorus who sang and danced.

Phidias is considered the greatest sculptor of this era. He The dramatic poets from this era whose plays have surcreated colossal gold-plated marble statues (chrysele- vived are:
phantine statues), generally face and hands, which were
highly celebrated and admired in his own time: Athena,
Aeschylus (525456 BC)
situated in the interior of the Parthenon, whose splendor
reached the faithful through the open doors, and Zeus in
Sophocles
the Sanctuary of Olympia, considered in its age and in
later ages to be one of the marvels of the world. The
Euripides
Athenians were assured that after they had contemplated
Aristophanes
this statue it was impossible to feel unlucky ever again.
According to Pliny the Elder's Natural History, in order
to conserve the marble of these sculptures, oil receptacles 5.4 Philosophers and writers
were placed in the temples so that the ivory would not
crack.
The Golden Age featured some of the most renowned
The other great sculptors of this century were Myron and Western philosophers of all time. Chief among these
were Socrates, whose ideas exist primarily in a series of
Polycletus.
dialogues by his student Plato, who mixed them with his
own; Plato; and Platos student, Aristotle.

5.2

Ceramics

During this age, the production of ceramic pieces was

abundant. Amphorae were produced in mass quantity
due to the heavy trading with other cities all around the
Mediterranean. Large evidence of amphorae from this
era can be found around every major ancient port as well
as in the Aegean sea. During this period is also seen
an abundance of white background ceramics which are
much more delicate than the previously popular yellow
and black background ceramics. These ceramics were often used to keep perfume or for mortuary rites, including
decorations on graves.

Other notable philosophers of the Golden Age included

Anaxagoras; Democritus (who rst inquired as to what
substance lies within all matter, the earliest known proposal of what is now called the atom or its sub-units);
Empedocles; Hippias; Isocrates; Parmenides; Heraclitus;
and Protagoras.
In the second half of the 5th century BCE the name of
sophist (from the Greek sophists, expert, teacher, man of
wisdom) was given to the teachers that gave instruction on
diverse branches of science and knowledge in exchange
for a fee.

In this age, Athens was the school of Greece. Pericles

It is also known that there were many great painters, but and his mistress Aspasia had the opportunity to assotheir works are lost, both frescos and free-standing paint- ciate with not only the great Athenians thinkers of their
day, but also other Greek and foreign scholars. Among
ings.
them were the philosopher Anaxagoras, the architect
Hippodamus of Miletus, who reconstructed Peiraeus, as
well as the historians Herodotus (484425), Thucydides
5.3 Theatre
(460395), and Xenophon (427335).
The theatre reached its greatest height in the 5th century
BCE. Pericles promoted and favored the theatre with a
series of practical and economic measures. The wealthiest families were obligated to care for and to sustain the
choruses and actors. By this means, Pericles maintained
the tradition according to which theatrical performances
served the moral and intellectual education of the people.
Plays were made by men and usually for men, and this
platform was often used to reinforce the patriarchy.[4]

Athens was also the capital of eloquence. Since the late

5th century BC, eloquence had been elevated to an art
form. There were the logographers () who
wrote courses and created a new literary form characterized by the clarity and purity of the language. It became
a lucrative profession. It is known that the logographer
Lysias (460380 BC) made a great fortune thanks to his
profession. Later, in the 4th century BCE, the orators
Isocrates and Demosthenes also became famous.

End of the Age of Pericles

Pericles governed Athens throughout the 5th century BC

bringing to the city a splendour and a standard of living never previously experienced. All was well within
the internal regiment of government, however discontent
within the Delian League was ever increasing. The foreign aairs policies adopted by Athens did not reap the
best results; members of the Delian League were increasingly dissatised. Athens was the city-state that dominated and subjugated the rest of Greece and these oppressed citizens wanted their independence.
Previously, in 550 BC, a similar league between the
cities of the Peloponnessusdirected and dominated by
Spartahad been founded. Taking advantage of the general dissent of the Greek city-states, this Peloponnesian
League began to confront Athens. After long lasting
series of poorly managed, hawkish policies, (ca. 431
B.C.E.) the city of Athens nally lost its independence
in 338 BC, when Philip II of Macedonia conquered the
rest of Greece.

See also
Delian League
Pericles

References

[1] http://www.princeton.edu/~{}pswpc/pdfs/ober/051001.
pdf
[2] Economy and Economics of Ancient Greece, Routledge, 2007
[3] http://www.princeton.edu/~{}pswpc/pdfs/morris/
120509.pdf
[4] Allan, Davin (27 March 2013). The Ideal Image: The
Depiction of Women in Fifth Century Drama. Literatured. Retrieved 29 March 2014.

This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, which was
accessed in the version of 28 August 2005. That article, in turn, cites:
Maurice: Egypte, Orient, Grce. Bordas, s/l,
1963.
Charles: Historia Universal Oriente y Grecia.
Daniel Jorro, Madrid, 1930.

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

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Fifth-century Athens Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth-century_Athens?oldid=664197233 Contributors: Slrubenstein, SimonP, DopeshJustin, Ixfd64, Susan Mason, Adam Bishop, Reddi, Johnleemk, Lumos3, Jmabel, Ferkelparade, Everyking, Joconnor,
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9.3

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