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38th out of 109 books
—
60 voters
Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy
by
Donald Kagan
Kagan, faithful to his lifelong fascination with Pericles . . . gives us an accessible and invaluable account of his life and deeds."--Allan Bloom, author of "The Closing of the American Mind.
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
October 1st 1998
by Free Press
(first published December 15th 1991)
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Because of a dearth of primary source materials author Kagan must progress here by way of thematic chapters: "The Statesman," "The Visionary," "The Peacemaker," and so on. We see the people, the buildings, the wars, the navy, the art, the pantheism, the slaves, the empire, the rebellions, the legal system, etc., but there's very little about the man himself, which I suppose is not surprising 2,400 years later. This was fine with me as I tend to dislike the traditional cradle-to-grave biographica...more
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An informative biography on Pericles which offers a vivid, if indirect, account of his long career as ‘first citizen’ heading the Athenian democracy from its inception till its fateful confrontation with Sparta in the second Peloponnesian War. Kagan certainly makes no apologies for his favoritism towards Pericles. And he vilifies Plato without, I would argue, accurately portraying his nuanced view of reason and the cultural prerequisites necessary for justice. Like Popper and Russell before him,...more
It is little wonder that Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was inspired by Pericles' "Funeral Oration." (Incidentally, The argument for this is brilliantly laid forth by Garry Wills in LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG, which I can't recommend enough.) Both Lincoln and Pericles, separated by 2,300 years, faced seemingly insurmountable odds during massive conflicts that threatened to rip their nations apart. Both men were tasked with persuading a fickle democratic people to sustain this war effort in the face of...more
This book is very interesting, especially for those who are interested in politics, history, the Hellenic period or Homer. I looked a while for a good book on Pericles; this seems to be the best one out there.
Great study of the man and all his roles.
through and incisive treatment of athens' preeminent leader.
Hard to through
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