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Answer:
Through his encouragement of the humanities, philosophy, architecture, and the establishment of democracy, Pericles helped Athens enter a golden era.
How did Pericles affect Athens?
A blue-blooded nobleman, Perikles became one of the democratic leaders of Athens in the fifth century. He backed measures that allowed more common citizens—of which the poorer Athenians naturally made up the majority—to take part in the political process. Even the lowest class, whom the Athenians relied on to row their vital warships, could now take part in governance in addition to "merely" voting in the assembly of the people. This does not mean that every post was available to the lowest (of four) social classes (established on the basis of income). Officials normally did not get wages, which was another barrier (in addition to legislative constraints) keeping people of lower classes out of government. Lower government jobs were made available to it through the mechanism of offering a salary. We are aware of just one case of these wages (which were high but not extravagant): jurors. Due to the reputation of Athens society as being litigious, jurors were chosen annually. Depending on the seriousness of the offense, a jury may need hundreds of members, and they were chosen from a pool of 6000 people. Perikles and his allies also transformed the Delian League's (led by Athens) treasury into one that was mostly Athenian in order to fund democracy and the lavish reconstruction of Athens and its public structures following the damage inflicted by the Persians in 480. Public pride in the city-state and its administration was vigorously promoted, and Perikles referred to democratic Athens as the model for Greece, one that should be imitated and followed.
Perikles' domestic politics in Athens may have been democratic, but his harsh and uncompromising foreign policy was designed to preserve Athenian dominance in Greece and control of the Delian League at all costs. He contributed to the (usually successful) repression of anti-Athenian uprisings and the establishment of Athenian colonies (cleruchies) on rebel-held lands. Perikles had a plan for winning the Peloponnesian War, but he did not attempt to avert it. Athenians would retreat behind their fortifications (with the long walls protecting the crucial link to the seas), while the Spartans would fruitlessly ravage Attica. Meanwhile, Athens would continue to rule the seas, import everything it needed (including grain and the tribute of subject allies), and annexe territory from Sparta and its allies. Insofar as the Athenians adhered to it, the plan worked when the war started; by 421, Athens had brought Sparta to a stop and the Peace of Nikias was enough in Athens' favor. The annual Spartan occupations of Attica would have a negative psychological impact on the population, and the crowded conditions inside the besieged city and fortifications contributed to the spread of a plague that had traveled from across the Mediterranean. Perikles had underestimated these effects. In 429 BC, Perikles himself perished from this disease.
Thank you,
Eddie
