After 25 centuries, what is there left to say about one of the most legendary figures in Greek history?
That was the challenge for Classical Studies Prof. Tony Podlecki in writing Perikles and his Circle.
"Recently scholars have started to question some of the personal details of the Periklean myth," Podlecki says. "I wanted to bring together information scattered through the ancient sources and review it critically."
Born about 492 B.C., Perikles was Athens' leading statesman for more than 20 years. Given the nickname `the Olympian' by his contemporaries, Perikles' larger-than-life legend includes both idealizations of his political achievements and allegations from his opponents that his companion, Aspasia, was the one making Athens' political and military decisions.
Perikles is credited with being the creative impulse behind the golden age of Athens, which included the building of the Parthenon. However, as Podlecki reveals, not everything about Perikles' golden age glitters.
To expand Athens' network of political alliances -- a strategy that earned him a reputation as founder of the Athenian Empire -- Perikles used the navy to coerce and enforce tribute payments from less-than-enthusiastic city-states.
Podlecki examined the work of members of the Periklean intellectual circle, including dramatists Aeschylus and Sophocles, as well as the work of Perikles' political opponents to sort out where legend stops and history begins.
Since little has been written in English about the Athenian statesman, Podlecki researched German, French and ancient Greek sources.