Concetti Chiave
- Pericles became a key political figure in Athens, leading for 30 years after taking power from the Democratic Party's Ephialtes.
- Despite his aristocratic roots, Pericles empowered the Assembly by transferring authority from the Areopagus, thus enhancing democratic participation.
- He introduced compensation for Assembly and Court participants, encouraging broader citizen involvement in political processes.
- High executive roles like strategists remained elected positions, often held by upper-class individuals like Pericles.
- Pericles restricted Athenian citizenship in 451 BC to those with Athenian parents, excluding foreigners and mixed descendants from political rights.
Pericles, democracy as a profession
Power, in Athens, went to the head of the Democratic Party, Ephialtes and, after the assassination of the king, the throne was given to Pericles (460 BC), which he directed for 30 years by the Athenian politics. He was the son of Xanthippus, who had sent the fleet at the battle of Mycale, and maternally descended from the family of the Alcmaeonidae, the noblest of Athens, and the founder of democracy, Cleisthenes.
Despite having aristocratic origins, Pericle worked to strengthen the popular component within the State: transferred all powers to the Assembly, where the people could assert their superiority, removing them to the Areopagus, who lost the chance to oversee political life and was reduced to judging the crimes of blood.Also, promounced the decree that anyone who participates in the Assembly or in the Court as the judge had the right to receive compensation; and, to better ensure equal rights, judiciaries were drawn among all citizens, without exceptions for military and financial ones, which were elective. In this way, even less affluent citizens who constitute the "hard core" of the Democratic Party, were induced to participate more actively in the political life: that of the citizen became a real job, with great scandal of the right-thinkers to which it seemed inconceivable that anyone could take the "floor or speech" in the meeting and make the decisions.
In fact the demonstrations had a strong power of control over that great policy initiative, as strategists, which constituted the highest executive organ, continued to be elected and chosen from among the higher classes (and Chief strategists was for a long time Pericles himself).
In addition, it must be remembered that Pericles, with a law enacted in 451 BC, had limited citizenship to those who could prove to have both parents Athenians: this means that both foreign residents (metics) and descendants by intermarriage were then excluded from political rights.
Domande da interrogazione
- Chi era Pericle e quale ruolo ha avuto nella politica ateniese?
- Quali cambiamenti ha introdotto Pericle per promuovere la democrazia ad Atene?
- Quali erano le critiche mosse contro le riforme democratiche di Pericle?
Pericle era un leader politico ateniese che ha diretto la politica di Atene per 30 anni. Era figlio di Xanthippus e discendeva dalla famiglia degli Alcmeonidi. Nonostante le sue origini aristocratiche, ha lavorato per rafforzare la componente popolare dello Stato, trasferendo tutti i poteri all'Assemblea.
Pericle ha trasferito i poteri all'Assemblea, ha introdotto un compenso per chi partecipava all'Assemblea o alla Corte come giudice, e ha garantito che i giudici fossero scelti tra tutti i cittadini. Ha anche limitato la cittadinanza a coloro che potevano dimostrare di avere entrambi i genitori ateniesi.
Le riforme di Pericle furono criticate dai "benpensanti" che trovavano inconcepibile che chiunque potesse prendere la parola nelle riunioni e prendere decisioni. Inoltre, le dimostrazioni avevano un forte potere di controllo, ma i strateghi, l'organo esecutivo più alto, continuavano ad essere scelti tra le classi superiori.
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