Olympians
AphroditeApolloAresArtemisAthenaHadesHephaestusHeraHermesHestiaPoseidonZeusAll Olympians
Titans
AsteriaAstraeusAtlasClymeneCriusCronusDioneEosEpimetheusEurybiaEurynomeHyperionAll Titans
Greek Gods
AeolusAetherAmphitriteAnemoiApateAsclepiusAuraBiaChaosCirceDeimosDemeterAll Greek Gods
Myths
CreaturesElementsFiguresGigantesGreek MythsHeroesMonstersMortalsMoviesPlacesPlanetsPopularAll Myths
Plays
AeschylusAristophanesEuripidesSophoclesAll Plays
Ancient Sources
ApollodorusHomerHesiodAeschylusSophoclesEuripidesAristophanesApolloniusOvidPausaniasPindarAll Ancient Sources
Olympians
Olympians
AphroditeApolloAresArtemisAthenaHadesHephaestusHeraHermesHestiaPoseidonZeusAll Olympians
Titans
Titans
AsteriaAstraeusAtlasClymeneCriusCronusDioneEosEpimetheusEurybiaEurynomeHyperionAll Titans
Greek Gods
Greek Gods
AeolusAetherAmphitriteAnemoiApateAsclepiusAuraBiaChaosCirceDeimosDemeterAll Greek Gods
Myths
Myths
CreaturesElementsFiguresGigantesGreek MythsHeroesMonstersMortalsMoviesPlacesPlanetsPopularAll Myths
Plays
Plays
AeschylusAristophanesEuripidesSophoclesAll Plays
Ancient Sources
Ancient Sources
ApollodorusHomerHesiodAeschylusSophoclesEuripidesAristophanesApolloniusOvidPausaniasPindarAll Ancient Sources

Plutarch · c. AD 46-after 119

Life of Pericles

Περικλῆς
Ancient Sources / Plutarch / Life of Pericles

Plutarch's Life of Pericles covers the Athenian statesman who stood first at Athens for some forty years, from his education under Anaxagoras and his rivalry with Cimon and Thucydides to his death during the plague. It tells of the building of the Parthenon and the Propylaea, the Samian War, the Megarian decree and the road to the Peloponnesian War, and it records the dream in which the goddess prescribes a cure for an injured workman. It is paired with the Life of Fabius Maximus.

Read from the start
Text
Greek original with English translation, 15 passages, about 15500 words in English.
Translator
Bernadotte Perrin (1916)
Edition
Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 3, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1916 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus)
Cite as
Plutarch, Life of Pericles 1.1 (by chapter, section)

Contents · 15 passages

  1. 1.1–2.4Why Plutarch writes Lives: virtuous deeds and the pairing of Pericles with Fabius Maximus759 words
  2. 3.1–6.4Pericles: family, appearance, teachers and the one-horned ram1322 words
  3. 7.1–8.6Pericles enters politics and takes the surname Olympian1042 words
  4. 9.1–11.5Pericles against Cimon and Thucydides son of Melesias1336 words
  5. 12.1–14.2The Parthenon, the Propylaea and the buildings of Pericles1752 words
  6. 15.1–16.7Pericles' unrivalled power, his household economy and Anaxagoras1119 words
  7. 17.1–19.4The Hellenic congress, Tolmides and the Chersonesus campaign835 words
  8. 20.1–23.2The Euxine voyage, the bronze wolf at Delphi and the bribing of Cleandridas908 words
  9. 24.1–7Aspasia of Miletus and Pericles648 words
  10. 25.1–28.6The Samian War and the funeral oration for the fallen1387 words
  11. 29.1–30.4Corcyra, Megara and the road to the Peloponnesian War842 words
  12. 31.1–32.3Pheidias, Aspasia and Anaxagoras on trial769 words
  13. 33.1–34.4The Cylonian curse, the invasion of Attica and the plague904 words
  14. 35.1–36.5The eclipse, Pericles' fine and the loss of his family800 words
  15. 37.1–39.5The return and death of Pericles1117 words

More by Plutarch

English translation by Bernadotte Perrin (1916). Original text: Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 3, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1916 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus).

Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.

Plutarch, Life of Pericles: Full Text in Greek & English