The Age Of Pericles

Mid-fifth-century Athens saw the development of the Athenian empire, the radicalization of Athenian democracy through the empowerment of poorer citizens, the adornment of the city through a massive and expensive building program, the classical age of Athenian tragedy, the assembly of intellectuals offering novel approaches to philosophical and scientific issues, and the end of the Spartan-Athenian alliance against Persia and the beginning of open hostilities between the two greatest powers of ancient Greece. The Athenian statesman Pericles both fostered and supported many of these developments. Although it is no longer fashionable to view Periclean Athens as a social or cultural paradigm, study of the history, society, art, and literature of mid-fifth-century Athens remains central to any understanding of Greek history. This collection of essays reveal the political, religious, economic, social, artistic, literary, intellectual, and military infrastructure that made the Age of Pericles possible.

The challenge of Periclean Athens to the students of civilizations is unmistakable: the city and its empire reached a level of culture and well-being scarcely paralleled in the history of man elsewhere. And like the characters in a Greek tragedy, the city and its leaders and citizens were busy in their time of glory making provision for their own tragic decline. "I have tried to suggest in general terms," says the author, "the meaning of Periclean Athens, addressing my interpretation to laymen. . . With the increasing mass of specialized research on ancient Athens, it is imperative to catch a general notion of the significance of the whole. . . The result is a picture of a complex society, as any great civilization is bound to be, with its magnificent achievements and its faults." This first volume in The Centers of Civilization Series does indeed give a clear picture of Athenian civilization, its literature, philosophy, and political and judicial writing; its painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and drama; and even the arts of war. Above all, the book suggests to modern readers the supreme importance of decision in all of man's affairs, and the frightful consequences of wrong decision, once it is made.

The Age of Pericles - A history of the politics and arts of Greece from the Persian to the Peloponnesian War is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1875. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

This abridged and revised edition of the author's monumental The Athenian Acropolis: History, Mythology and Archaeology from the Neolithic Era to the Present (Cambridge, 1998) focuses specifically on the development of the Acropolis in the fifth century BC and the building program initiated by Pericles. Incorporating the latest discoveries and research on individual monuments of the Acropolis, this edition is illustrated with 145 halftones as well as a CD-ROM including 180 color images of the monuments of the Acropolis. Previous Edition Hb (1998): 0-521-41786-4 Previous Edition Pb (2000): 0-521-42834-3

The Codrus Painter was a painter of cups and vases in fifth-century B.C.E. Athens with a distinctive style; he is named after Codrus, a legendary Athenian king depicted on one of his most characteristic vases. He was active as an artist during the rule of Pericles, as the Parthenon was built and then as the troubled times of the Peloponnesian War began. In contrast to the work of fellow artists of his day, the vases of the Codrus Painter appear to have been created almost exclusively for export to markets outside Athens and Greece, especially to the Etruscans in central Italy and to points further west. Amalia Avramidou offers a thoroughly researched, amply illustrated study of the Codrus Painter that also comments on the mythology, religion, arts, athletics, and daily life of Greece depicted on his vases. She evaluates his style and the defining characteristics of his own hand and of the minor painters associated with him. Examining the subject matter, figure types, and motifs on the vases, she compares them with sculptural works produced during the same period. Avramidou’s iconographic analysis not only encompasses the cultural milieu of the Athenian metropolis, but also offers an original and intriguing perspective on the adoption, meaning, and use of imported Attic vases among the Etruscans.