Pericles of Athens

Description

Pericles has the rare distinction of giving his name to an entire period of history, embodying what has often been taken as the golden age of the ancient Greek world. "Periclean" Athens witnessed tumultuous political and military events, and achievements of the highest order in philosophy, drama, poetry, oratory, and architecture. Pericles of Athens is the first book in decades to reassess the life and legacy of one of the greatest generals, orators, and statesmen of the classical world. In this compelling critical biography, Vincent Azoulay takes a fresh look at both the classical and modern reception of Pericles, recognizing his achievements as well as his failings. From Thucydides and Plutarch to Voltaire and Hegel, ancient and modern authors have questioned Pericles's relationship with democracy and Athenian society. This is the enigma that Azoulay investigates in this groundbreaking book. Pericles of Athens offers a balanced look at the complex life and afterlife of the legendary "first citizen of Athens."

Vincent Azoulay is assistant professor of ancient Greek history at the Universite Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallee and a leading expert on the politics of classical Greece.

"Fascinating... Azoulay has given us much to think about."--Peter Green,London Review of Books "Less a biography than a critical examination of the Pericles legend... Azoulay reminds us of how unclear the life of Pericles remains, but one learns much from his efforts to penetrate the fog."--James Romm, Wall Street Journal "Striking a balance between adulation and hypercriticism, the author depicts Pericles as a formidable strategos overseeing grandiose public works, including the Parthenon, Odeon, and Long Walls linking Athens to its port of Piraeus, while inwardly mastering the art of remaining silent and suffering 'outrageous assaults without striking back.'... Solid, well-researched ... a worthwhile addition for lovers of ancient history and classical Greece."--Publishers Weekly "[Azoulay] writes with great clarity, and with an impressive depth of interpretative sophistication."--From the foreword by Paul Cartledge "Remarkable in every way."--Roger-Pol Droit, Le Monde "Rigorous and finely argued."--Pascal Payen, Bryn Mawr Classical Review "Should you read it? If you want to know more about the period of the Peloponnesian War in ancient Greece or more about the strategos himself, despite Azoulay's comments about Pericles' lack of significance for our time, then, definitely. You might also want to read it for the survey of changing attitudes towards the Classics over the centuries."--N.S. Gill's Ancient Matters "Writing with precision and avoiding cliches and anachronisms, Azoulay carefully balances the credibility of classical sources. He presents a convincing account of the strategos in the Athens that emerged from the Persian Wars as a fragile democracy in which Pericles played a central role... Azoulay has provided us with a valuable new biography."--Benjamin Bilski, Standpoint "A masterfully crisp study... The tidiness Azoulay achieves is astonishing... An elegiac epilogue... Azoulay's marvellous study should revive [Pericles]."--Iona McLaren,The Telegraph "Azoulay [offers] a balanced tale of ancient Athens's most famous famous leader, complete with all his faults and attributes... Azoulay provides a fascinating study on the complexity of Pericles's personality... [He] has added a very sound, much needed biographical volume to the scholarship of classical Greece."--Choice "[F]ascinating...Azoulay is one of France's most coruscating classicists...With a pellucid foreword by the peerless British ancient historian Paul Cartledge, maps, illuminating figures...it is indispensable reading for historians. The elegant, pungent prose of the translation itself is exquisite... An intellectual feast awaits those interested in the problems of extracting truth about any particular historical figure from a maze of discordant voices."--Edith Hall, Literary Review