Assess Whether Pericles Was a Good or Bad Leader Essay

Pericles (C. 495-429 BC) was a genuinely important politician and worldwide in Athens. He is said to hold back brought virtu solelyy a very primary(prenominal) time in Athenian floor known as The specious develop of Athens where he brought about or placed focus on verit able things analogous art, which gave Athens the reputation as the cultural and educational centre of ancient Greece, architecture, where he created a project to floor the city and provide work for Athenians with nigh of its products like the Parthenon compose surviving and expectant us an idea of the glory of Athens. He as well made valuable contri andions to drama, the saving about of nation and the establishment of the Hellenic empire. Democracy, which allows all citizens to influence and be complicated in the running of the call forth was a c oncept reaffirmed by Pericles. This is why he made sure he compete a major role in the ostracizing of Cimon who was theatrical roleized as being a t yrant. other historians may fight that Pericles ulterior creator for doing that was to ensure that he came into power with his main opposition out of the way but for a bit who made so many important advancements for the Athenians, I potently deliberate he did it not with the function of capturing power but helping obtain the Athenians a voice.This made him a very enceinte political draw as he was able to rid the conjure of the many problems of dictatorship and oligarchy like corruptness which was further emphasized by star of his ancient admirers, Thucydides who said, he kept himself holy by corruption, although he was not raw indifferent to m whizy-making He excelled all his boyfri eat up citizens in skills of utterance (Diodorus Siculus) The art of oratory has been a r ar skill scram by very few throng who turned out to de re make upr virtually of the most well known speeches in memorial. Oratory has been a very influential tool for some of the worlds imm ense leaders and Pericles falls in that category of leaders with exceptional skills. throng such as Abraham Lincoln whos famous speech, the Gettysburg Address gained parallels to Pericles great funeral language by the American Civil fight scholar, Garry Wills which leads many to swear that angiotensin converting enzyme of the greatest upstart speakers displace inspiration from Pericles.This gesture alone shows the great oratory skills of a great man in Athenian history. This extraordinary skill is attested to by Thucydides who once again was full of praise for the famous Athenian when asked about whether he or Pericles was the expose fighter by the Spartan king, Archidamus. Without disbelief Thucydides said Pericles was better and justified it by assureing that correct when he was defeated, he managed to convince the au expirence that he had won. This shows how he was able to persuade and influence the Athenians which even though some may say was manipulative and defeat ed the apprehension of democracy gave the simple Athenian citizen thought agitative ideas to make an informed choice. His speaking skills, which were able to draw the exact emotions got from the Athenian mint was however criticized by spate like the poet, Ion, who says that Pericles had an arrogant and somewhat big-headed manner of talking, and that into his superciliousness there entered a ethical hand of disrespect and dislike for others.This is highly tough as we be supposed to believe a mortal who says Pericles had a ingenuous deal of disrespect and dislike for others, the resembling Pericles who put the true Athenian mint first and made sure they had a say in how their home state was ruled. By that observation alone I believe Ions quote about Pericles should be discarded as hit rubbish and the ranting of a person simply envious of his (Pericles) ability. Plutarch mentions in his upbraiding of Pericles about the strange occurrence in Agaristes (Pericles mother). He says, She, in her dreams, once fancied that she had allotn birth to a lion and a few geezerhood thereafter bore Pericles. I do not believe this is actually counts as a criticism of him because even though a lion may be a dangerous animal, its traditional symbolization of greatness should be taken into account. other(a) symbolic attributes for a lion are strength, courage, power, royalty, dignity, authority, dominion, rightness, wisdom and ferocity which I believe are all attributes displayed by Pericles in two his political and military career.ancient Greek symbolism for a lion is the protector of the home and Pericles really showed that in the battles protecting his beloved home, Athens. There is too the argument of whether Pericles was actually a leader or just got carried remote by the masses. Plutarch said, he was no longer the same man as before, nor alike pliable to the people and ready to yield and give in to the desires of the multitude as a steersman to the breez es. Here, Plutarch suggests, Pericles had no leadership everywhere the Athenians and that he put the city in chaos to do as they could do what they want which is supported by others reflexion he made the Athenians idle, talkative and miserly (Plato). This motion would however have to be rejected with strong evidence against it in his speeches and oratory skills. Thucydides offered the correct leadership means of Pericles by arguing that Pericles was not carried away by the people, but he was the one guiding the people.The evidence, as said in the last paragraph is in his great speeches and his ability to draw a accepted reaction from the Athenian people and so though some may argue that he left the Athenians with no influential leader which could only be gained done other methods of governing like dictatorships, he offered a better alternative as he served much as a sort of guardian for the Athenian people and guided them to make predominantly good choices like getting rid o f the tyrant, Cimon. Pericles, for more than 20 years was involved in the military. He led many expeditions in the main naval ones. He was a refreshing and cautious military leader and he never went into battles that were mostly likely a wild goose chase for the Athenian people. This was a great attribute for a military leader because he did not just march his men on to grounds when the odds were not in their favour to have them killed or running back to Athens with their tails amongst their legs.He avoided the high risk of losings and instead chose each battle wisely and as such there are no major criticisms of his Periclean Grand system which sought to preserve, not expand, the empire, this strategy could not reach completion however as his successors changed everything and lacked the military abilities and character that caused it to work low Pericles. Pericles legacy cannot be understated as most of it still survives till to mean solar day. The concept of democracy practice d by all free states in the modern world and used as a account of a countrys justice and fairness is one of them. His most microscopic legacy however is found in the artistic and literary works of the Golden Age and The Acropolis, though in ruins, is still a great symbol of modern Athens and a remembrance of a great man that once roamed those very streets.I believe Pericles was a great leader both in regime and in the military and I also support the idea that his abilities in both areas caused the famous bust statue of him around to have a helmet sitting on gain of his head to show the two equally talented faces of the great leader that is Pericles. In the movie The Dark Knight (2008), the character Harvey Dent famously says to the lead, Batman, You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself suit the villain. I believe its the latter(prenominal) that caused the ostracizing of Pericles because there is no evidence that he did anything major to deserve that sort of pu nishment but even if his story with the Athenians should end on a badly note, I believe he still is one of the greatest leaders in antiquated History and even if he wasnt perfect, I mean, who is? and had a few flaws and bad traits, he still ensured that Athens was a major part in history and the effect he had is still present today in modern day Athens.