one night around 495 bc a greek woman in athens named agariste jolted out of sleep shocked by what she had just seen in a dream the historians herodotus and plutarch tell us that this dream portended great things to come in the dream aguero stay screamed in pain as she labored in childbirth but after the agony of childbirth subsided she looked up into the midwife's arms in them she didn't see a human baby but a lion the story of pericles son of aguariste is the story of one of the greatest leaders in the golden age of athens his story illustrates a cherished virtue the virtue of benevolence pericles story comes from our classical studies course famous men of greece a collection of stories gathered from the annals of history and myth it's perfect for any student or teacher of classical history from 5th to 7th grade pericles was born into athenian nobility his mother was scion of one of the great noble families in athens the alkameonidai his father was a military hero and politician by this alone pericles appeared to be destined for greatness but more importantly he also carried the seeds of greatness in his person from the astonishing omen that accompanied his birth to the nobility of his lineage and the prodigious qualities of his person the recipe for greatness was thoroughly written what's unique about pericles story is how he used it then as now it would not be unusual for such a boy to grow up with a strong sense of superiority and entitlement we can easily imagine that he would follow the typical path pursuit of power wealth and personal aggrandizement he did indeed become the lion his mother had dreamed but he managed to possess the grandeur without the savagery we can perhaps best understand pericles unique personality in contrast to his rival kimon many thought that kimon would be a strong leader he was made the admiral of the athenian navy after distinguishing himself by fighting with bravery at the battle of solomous he then roamed the seas clearing the mediterranean of pirates who marauded wary athenian merchants when he finally returned to athens he had tamed the seas and collected massive amounts of wealth from pirates though kimon was undoubtedly a strong leader the historian thucydides speculated that kimon won the athenian people's favor through impressing the aristocratic class with his might and lavishing them with gifts from his bounty pericles however won the affection of the athenians in another more noble way utilizing his family's connections and their position in athenian society pericles maintained a great deal of social sway in athens surrounded by fellow leaders who were fixated on securing personal gain and status pericles leadership was marked by benevolence and wisdom for instance before pericles gained authority it was common for anyone accused of a crime in athens to be convicted by a single judge something that often led to unfair trials though it was no immediate advantage to his own position pericles took pity on the common man who could be unjustly accused and utilized his new position to require that all criminals be convicted by a jury of his peers also at the time the athenians expected their young men to go to war without being paid they relied on pleas for patriotism or the magnetism of leaders like kimon to rally their soldiers though it cost the wealthy and powerful in athens pericles lobbied for and secured legislation requiring that the city-state pay their soldiers and compensate them for their work on behalf of athens finally it's said that pericles highly valued the arts and their benefit for everyone he did not want the theater to be a private joy of the wealthy and powerful so he made a law requiring the city to provide opportunities for the poor to go to the theater of dionysus in doing so he opened the door of arts education to the athenians who had never before experienced enduring literary and theatrical works traditionally reserved for the aristocratic class his kindness towards the people and his efforts to benefit the entire athenian society won him trust and enduring authority among his people even more than the war hero kimon to this day this golden age of athenian society when the parthenon was built and the people experienced unprecedented prosperity is known as the golden age of pericles but it was as this unprecedented prosperity met its bitter end that pericle's benevolent character shone the brightest at the end of pericles reign the athenian's rival sparta began to grow jealous of her wealth and might this jealousy became a conflict when the athenians joined a war between two neighboring city-states and sparta joined the opposing side this conflict grew into a fight that raged for 27 years called the peloponnesian war when sparta came to attack athens with sixty thousand men pericles encouraged his people to retreat behind their city walls there the athenians could depend on the long walls that ran from athens all the way to the port of pereas to preserve their supply chain indefinitely pericles was right the spartans were totally halted by the athenian defenses and the long walls enabled a continuous flow of food and water so the spartans resolved to dig in for their extended siege before long an even greater calamity struck the athenians a terrible plague descended on the crowded city filled with makeshift huts and hovels that housed all of the retreated athenians the unsanitary and tragic conditions that the plague brought to the overcrowded streets of athens only bred more death and sorrow the plague was so devastating that even the spartan army scurried back across the isthmus of corinth to the peloponnesus for fear that they too would be destroyed by the plague pericles however would not be deterred though he could have easily retreated to his home he bravely and kindly went about his regular duties he led his people despite the threat to his own life openly walking among the sick and weak to encourage them to persevere pericles continued on his course cheerfully though many people who were close to him had succumbed to the dreaded disease legend has it that he never showed any sorrow until his favorite son died and he laid the funeral wreath on his lifeless corpse soon enough pericles contracted the plague himself as he lay on his deathbed his followers sat around him praising him for the prosperity they had enjoyed during his time in office he answered them reflecting on what he cared about most in his life the kindness he had shown his citizens he said what you praise in my life has been due to fortune i deserve no credit for it that of which i am proudest is that no athenian ever wore mourning because of anything done by me pericle's story illustrates one of the greatest virtues that could mark a leader the virtue of benevolence the great theologian saint augustine once said the work of virtue is the good use of those things which we are capable of using wrongly in the course of history power and wealth have often been the weapons of evil men but during the periclean age the people of greece had a lion for a leader who through the specific virtue of benevolence used what he had for good purposes perhaps none of us will be a lion-like leader whose actions bring about unprecedented prosperity and gladness for our countrymen but we all have something to give and we all have only one chance whether our words or our belongings our talents are our time we have been entrusted with things that might be used for evil purposes and we have the responsibility to put them to good use pericles life illustrates the virtue of benevolence in a remarkable way he rose above his rival chemon and became the greatest athenian politician who ever lived by earnestly pursuing the good of his people thanks for joining us today if you like what you saw please drop a like or a comment below and if you'd like to learn more about characters like pericles you can check out the famous men of greece 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