Perikles’ ultimate legacy is the so-called Golden Age of Periklean Athens, when the city-state of Athens, reeling from its destruction at the hands of the Persians, became the cultural and political capital of the ancient Greek world.

The 32 year period during which he reached his peak period of power, prominence, and activity started in 461 BCE and ended in 429 BCE when he fell victim to the Athenian Plague.

He championed radical democracy, expanding political participation by paying citizens for public service so even the poor could serve.

In 449 BCE, Perikles orchestrated the controversial Peace of Kallias with Persia, which technically ended the war. The Delian League treasury, based on the island of Delos but administered by Athens, was full to the brim with money gathered from Athens' allies, intended to be used in the war against Persia. Rather than returning the funds to the allied Greek city-states, Perikles moved the treasury from the island of Delos straight to Athens.

This massive wealth was used to launch a public works campaign that employed thousands of Athenian citizens, the Akropolis Project. The focal point was the Parthenon, showcasing the genius of the sculptor Phidias, the monumental gateway the Propylaea, and the Erechtheion with its Karyatid porch. Buildings that are the iconic Akropolis skyline we see today.

Fierce criticism was levelled against Perikles for using the allies' money to beautify Athens. His argument was that as long as Athens, with her powerful fleet, continued to protect her allies, she owed them no account of how the money was spent, and that it was to everyone's advantage for Athens to become a visual, cultural, political centre of the Greek world. By aggressively funding the arts, architecture, theatre, and philosophy, Perikles created the intellectual ecosystem where Sokrates and Plato thrived, making his name synonymous with the birth of Western civilization.

By 431 BC, Sparta's rumbling discontent and fear about Athens' expanding naval empire, led to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies. Knowing that the Spartan hoplites were unbeatable on land, Perikles ordered all Athenian citizens living in the rural countryside of Attica to abandon their homes and retreat behind the impregnable Long Walls connecting Athens to its port city, Piraeus.

His strategy was that Athenian fleet would import food and supplies to the city while launching devastating amphibious raids along the Spartan coast. Perikles' plan was simple: do not fight a land battle, stay behind the walls, and wait out the Spartans. But there was a fatal flaw to his plan. Crowding hundreds of thousands of people into tight, unsanitary urban quarters proved catastrophic. In 430 BC, a devastating plague broke out inside the walls. It wiped out roughly one-third of the population—including Perikles himself in 429 BC—leaving Athens leaderless and ultimately altering the course of the war.

When Athens unconditionally surrendered in 404 BC, Sparta forced them to dismantle their Long Walls, dissolve their 'empire', and submit to a pro-Spartan oligarchic government.

Hephaistos would be amazed by the craftsmanship and quality of this wonderful collection!

These superb bronze pieces are cast in Greece using the traditional lost wax method. As nothing is mass-produced, there will inevitably be slight variations in texture, patina, and colour. No two pieces are ever the same. If mounted, the base is of black marble.

Please note that there may be a variation of some millimetres in the dimensions of the base from time to time, and that accessories such as spears, tridents or javelins may vary in length or height! If you need precise dimensions and weight, email me!

If you need a piece to fit a very specific space, or if you want me to take a photo of a couple of pieces so you can pick the one you want, I will do so with pleasure.

Every piece is deliciously tactile.

It's All Greek is so grateful and so proud to have been working closely with the Semitekolo family foundry since 1999. It has been a privilege and a joy to handle, live with, to photograph and describe these gorgeous pieces, before passing them on to passionate and grateful customers all over the world.

If you already own one of these pieces, cherish it!