Ancient Athens: Five Intriguing Lives: Socrates, Pericles, Aspasia, Peisistratos & Alcibiades

We tend to take democracy, philosophy, theatre and the beautiful buildings of Athens for granted, as if they were always going to happen. But in reality, five determined people had an overwhelming impact on making those things come about. And the rich details of their lives give us a deep and satisfying look into how the fabulous Golden Age of Athens came into being.

Socrates, of course, was one of those people. But how did he rise from working as a stonemason to being one of the world's greatest philosophers? Why did the early tyrant Peisistratos create prestigious prizes for theatre plays, motivating Aeschylus, Euripides and others to spend their lives producing masterful works? What childhood experiences caused Pericles, the most famous leader of Athens, to erect monumental buildings such as the Parthenon even though he was already struggling to preserve the city's innovative democracy? How did Aspasia manage to make her way into the highest echelons of Athenian society and influence the work of Pericles and Socrates? How close did the Athenian general Alcibiades come to winning the devastating Peloponnesian War, before he was forced out by the city's demagogues?

Other remarkable people certainly contributed to the life of Athens, and we see many of them here. But these five Athenians raised their city to a higher level than those around them, and became some of the brightest stars illuminating the Golden Age of Greece.