BG info on Pericles and Plutarch's Opinions on the man himself

Just some basic notes on Pericles (thought it might be helpful):

Pericles’ father: Xanthippus, defeated King of Persia’s generals at Mycale

Mother: Agariste, grandchild of Cleisthenes, responsible for expelling Athens’ last tyrants

Known for oratory skill, Pericles devoted most of his early political career to befriending the common man, as he was born an aristocrat and feared ostracism from those who would fear him as a power-seeker.

Things Pericles did:

- Sent out legions of men on nautical expeditions to improve their skills, found colonies (and thereby make Athens look good to her enemies), and rid Athens of idle men.

- Public works – Pericles’ enemies accused him of unrightfully removing the treasury from Delos and misusing the other cities’ donations in order to further their own prosperity. (He definitely did do that. Quite obviously. And then went above and beyond to keep them in check, as in, by force.)

 - Pericles responded: the other cities have nothing to whine about since Athens is still protecting them from the barbarians. The monuments are eternal proofs of the glory that is Athens; and every sector of the economy is benefiting.

Pericles’ idea that all members of the society thrive equally well: soldiers, mariners, merchants, craftsmen, artisans, common laborers as well as wagoners, rope-makers, leather-cutters, - so the wealth of the public treasury was distributed throughout the different populations of the city to keep people happy.

(http://people.hsc.edu/drjclassics/syllabi/IH/plutarch.shtm) 

Plutarch's opinions on Pericles...

Plutarch began writing the life of Pericles arguably to illustrate a man of unchallengeable virtue and greatness at grips with the fickleness of the mob and finished rather puzzled by the picture he found in his sources of Pericles’ responsibility for a needless war. 

Plutarch wrote The Life of Perikles to thoroughly describe how Pericles used his platform to manipulate the people into giving him the opportunity to gain ultimate power. Pericles great power was amassed by the people pleasing he did en masse, an example being his constant ‘beautifying’ of Athens. As stated by Plutarch, Pericles “constantly provided public pageants, banquets, and processions in the city, entertaining the people like children with elegant pleasures.” Along with elaborate public displays, Pericles expanded the territories. According to Plutarch, “he dispatched 1,000 settlers to the Chersonese, 500 to Naxos, 250 to Andros, 1,000 to Thrace to make their homes with the Bisaltae, and others to the new colony named Thurii.” This expansion allowed the city to rid itself of ‘idlers’ and ‘agitators’ and “raise the standards of the poorest classes”.

Plutarch commends all of Pericles hard work to stay in power, yet undermines him when being compared to other people of power in that time. For example, Plutarch states that Cimon struck a power-sharing deal with his opponents, according to which Pericles would deal with interior affairs and Cimon would be the leader of the Athenian army, campaigning abroad. If it was actually made, this bargain would constitute a concession on Pericles' part that he was not a great strategist. Another example of Plutarch criticizing Pericles leadership is that he seems to believe that Pericles and the Athenians incited the war, scrambling to implement their belligerent tactics "with a sort of arrogance and a love of strife".

(Wikipedia has a lot on Plutarch's views of Pericles)

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