what was the periclean democracy?

The Periclean democracy is a term used to describe the government of fifth century Athens from the ostracism of Cimon in 460 BCE to Pericles' death in 427 BCE; so-called because Pericles held an impressive amount of influence in determining the policy of the apparently democratic Athens.

The main characteristics of the Periclean democracy closely modelled those instigated by Themistocles in the aftermath of the Persian Wars and the beginning of Athenian dominance in Greek politics, only becoming more radicalised.

Athenian policy in the time of Pericles focused on maintaining the strength and capabilities of the Athenian navy, the power and superiority of which enabled them to convert the defensive orientated Delian League into what most historians term the Athenian Empire. Pericles also redefined the citizenship qualification; making it so only those with both parents as citizens received citizenship themselves.

Athens under Pericles was also characteristically distrustful of Sparta, and it was a mark of Periclean policy to not give in to any Spartan demands referring to curtailment of Athenian influence; this, according to leading historian Peter Rhodes, contributed to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War.

All in all, the Periclean democracy has often been cited as the golden age of classical Athens, for under his leadership Athens not only created an Aegean Empire with its navy and became one of the two most politically powerful states in Greece, but also produced some of the finest works of literature known to us from the Classical period, such as Aristophanes' comedies and Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War - a source which provides the majority of our knowledge on Pericles and on fifth century Athenian policy.