How did Anaxagoras influence Pericles’ outlook and behavior?

The philosopher Anaxagoras significantly influenced the Athenian statesman Pericles during his middle life. Through his association with Anaxagoras, Pericles is said to have adopted two key traits that shaped his outlook and behavior:

• Impassivity: Pericles learned to maintain a composed, steady demeanor when facing personal trouble or public insult.1
• Skepticism: He developed a critical, skeptical attitude toward phenomena that were commonly attributed to divine intervention.1

This intellectual connection was so strong that political opponents later targeted Anaxagoras with a charge of impiety—specifically for his scientific claims about the nature of the Sun—as an indirect method of attacking Pericles himself. While Pericles successfully intervened to save his mentor from the immediate consequences of the prosecution, the pressure eventually forced Anaxagoras to leave Athens.2