Pericles

Pericles (born c. 495 bce, Athens—died 429, Athens) was an Athenian statesman largely responsible for the full development, in the later 5th century bce, of both the Athenian democracy and the Athenian empire, making Athens the political and cultural focus of Greece. His achievements included the construction of the Acropolis, begun in 447. Knowledge of the life of Pericles derives largely from two sources. The historian Thucydides admired him profoundly and refused to criticize him....