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110-560: The stoa is frequently mentioned in literary and epigraphical sources. It was built by one Peisianax, a cousin of Pericles , in the 460s BC, and it was therefore originally known as the "Peisianactean Stoa" ( ἡ Πεισιανάκτειος στοά , hē Peisianákteios stoá ). Inside the stoa, there were a set of paintings on tablets, by Polygnotus (who painted his portion for free), Micon , and perhaps Panaenus (a younger relative of Phidias ). The sources disagree on which painter produced which painting. Demosthenes , Aeschines , and other authors point to

220-400: A 2.5 metre gap of hard-packed gravel for traffic. Only two blocks from the superstructure (a higher quality poros) survive. It is not possible to reconstruct its appearance, but it must have been a large and "imposing" structure. Pottery found in the packing of the road ranges from 325 BC to a little after 300 BC, indicating that it was constructed around 300 BC. The conglomerate foundations of

330-414: A Homer for our panegyrist, or other of his craft whose verses might charm for the moment only for the impression which they gave to melt at the touch of fact, we have forced every sea and land to be the highway of our daring, and everywhere, whether for evil or for good, have left imperishable monuments behind us. Such measures impelled Pericles' critics to hold him responsible for the gradual degeneration of

440-522: A Roman governor, apparently not long before. The building was still standing in the fifth century AD when the "late Roman stoa" was built to the west; this building rested against the Stoa Poikile's west wall. Debris over the remains suggest that it went out of use and was quarried for building material in the sixth century AD. The stoa was located at the northwest corner of the Agora, on the left (north) side of

550-592: A behavior which the Athenians considered to be impious. After consultations with its allies, Sparta sent a deputation to Athens demanding certain concessions, such as the immediate expulsion of the Alcmaeonidae family including Pericles and the retraction of the Megarian Decree, threatening war if the demands were not met. The obvious purpose of these proposals was the instigation of a confrontation between Pericles and

660-560: A brother-in-law of Cimon, as a symbol of unity and employed him several times to negotiate important agreements. In the spring of 449 BC, Pericles proposed the Congress Decree, which led to a meeting ("Congress") of all Greek states to consider the question of rebuilding the temples destroyed by the Persians. The Congress failed because of Sparta's stance, but Pericles' intentions remain unclear. Some historians think that he wanted to prompt

770-610: A confederation with the participation of all the Greek cities; others think he wanted to assert Athenian pre-eminence. According to the historian Terry Buckley the objective of the Congress Decree was a new mandate for the Delian League and for the collection of "phoros" (taxes). Remember, too, that if your country has the greatest name in all the world, it is because she never bent before disaster; because she has expended more life and effort in war than any other city, and has won for herself

880-505: A decade. The causes of the Peloponnesian War have been much debated, but many ancient historians lay the blame on Pericles and Athens. Plutarch seems to believe that Pericles and the Athenians incited the war, scrambling to implement their belligerent tactics "with a sort of arrogance and a love of strife". Thucydides hints at the same thing, believing the reason for the war was Sparta's fear of Athenian power and growth. However, as he

990-507: A decree dispatching an expedition to Samos, "alleging against its people that, although they were ordered to break off their war against the Milesians, they were not complying". In a naval battle the Athenians led by Pericles and nine other generals defeated the forces of Samos and imposed on the island an Athenian administration. When the Samians revolted against Athenian rule, Pericles compelled

1100-441: A figure that suggested himself as a bald old man, and also inserted a very fine likeness of Pericles fighting with an Amazon. Aspasia , who was noted for her ability as a conversationalist and adviser, was accused of corrupting the women of Athens to satisfy Pericles' perversions. The accusations against her were probably nothing more than unproven slanders, but the whole experience was very bitter for Pericles. Although Aspasia

1210-563: A helmet , this is not the case; the helmet was actually the symbol of his official rank as strategos (general). Our policy does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves. It is called a democracy, because not the few but the many govern. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if to social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar

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1320-447: A hilltop close to the town. This asylum may have been linked to the sanctuaries at Geraistos and Tainaros . Ancient historians stated that Calauria was the center of an amphictyony , a religious alliance between its city-state and those of Athens , Poros, Aegina , Epidaurus , Hermione , Troezen , Nauplio , Orchomenus , and Prasaiai . Modern archaeology has discovered no evidence for its actual existence, however, and now believe

1430-443: A hostile action, the Athenians refused to admit their emissaries. With his last attempt at negotiation thus declined, Archidamus invaded Attica , but found no Athenians there; Pericles, aware that Sparta's strategy would be to invade and ravage Athenian territory, had previously arranged to evacuate the entire population of the region to within the walls of Athens. No definite record exists of how exactly Pericles managed to convince

1540-565: A joke about philosophers. Some philosophers spoke to their followers while walking up and down the stoa, but there were benches where people could sit and listen to lectures. There was also an area - probably the steps - where beggars customarily sat. The second century AD epistolographer Alciphron refers to "the unshod, cadaverous people who spend their time in the Poikile" and to "chattering philosophers making trouble there." Lucian presents philosophers teaching and debating there in several works. In

1650-579: A monument base stand in front of the west pier. This gate is mentioned by Pausanias, who says that it had a trophy on top commemorating the Athenian cavalry victory over Pleistarchus . The structure was demolished before or during the construction of the Late Roman Stoa in the 5th century AD. The west pier was then used as the base for a columnar monument; the Ionic base is still in situ on top of it. The stoa

1760-502: A nearby cove. The new facilities were far larger, and were used by Russian ships throughout the 19th century. The number of Russian residents of Poros increased and even a Russian school was established. Then as Russian naval activity declined, so did the base and by the early 20th century only a single Russian watchman was left guarding it. It was then granted to the Greek Navy by the Czar but

1870-588: A picture of the tragedian Sophocles playing the lyre, and a battle at Phlius . The set of paintings sharply juxtaposes mythical and historical events, so that the mythical victories of Theseus over the Amazons and of the Greeks over Troy contrast with the (presumably) historic battle of Oenoe, apparently the first important Athenian victory over Sparta , and the Athenian victory over the Persians at Marathon. This contrast

1980-466: A populist policy to cajole the public. According to Aristotle , Pericles' stance can be explained by the fact that his principal political opponent, Cimon , was both rich and generous, and was able to gain public favor by lavishly handing out portions of his sizable personal fortune. The historian Loren J. Samons II argues, however, that Pericles had enough resources to make a political mark by private means, had he so chosen. In 461 BC, Pericles achieved

2090-528: A power greater than any hitherto known, the memory of which will descend to the latest posterity. During the Second Sacred War Pericles led the Athenian army against Delphi and reinstated Phocis in its sovereign rights on the oracle . In 447 BC Pericles engaged in his most admired excursion, the expulsion of barbarians from the Thracian peninsula of Gallipoli , to establish Athenian colonists in

2200-633: Is a theme in the art and literature of Athens from the fifth century BC onwards. The painting of the Battle of Marathon displayed the confidence and identity of the Athenians in the wake of the Persian Wars . Of this painting Pausanias says: At the end of the painting are those who fought at Marathon; the Boeotians of Plataea and the Attic contingent are coming to blows with the foreigners. In this place neither side has

2310-489: Is generally regarded as an admirer of Pericles, Thucydides has been criticized for bias against Sparta . Pericles was convinced that the war against Sparta, which could not conceal its envy of Athens' pre-eminence, was inevitable if unfortunate. Therefore, he did not hesitate to send troops to Corcyra to reinforce the Corcyraean fleet, which was fighting against Corinth . In 433 BC the enemy fleets confronted each other at

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2420-465: Is the Vigla (358 m) in the west-central part. Following the island's topography and geology, small creeks and seasonal streams flow through steep valleys of the southern and northeastern part. The western and northern part of the island feature smooth hills and shallow valleys. Sandy beaches are restricted to the southern shore of the island, except for a bay in the northern part called Vayionia. Poros contains

2530-520: Is unclear whether this means that the stoa was where they sentenced them to death or where they were actually executed. At the beginning of the Eleusinian Mysteries , the hierophant and the dadouch made an announcement that all non-initiates must keep out of the way. Sources from the mid-fourth century BC mention its use as a law court and as the venue for official arbitrations. From the fourth century BC onwards, philosophers often taught in

2640-449: The demos , in which he saw an untapped source of Athenian power and the crucial element of Athenian military dominance. (The fleet, backbone of Athenian power since the days of Themistocles, was manned almost entirely by members of the lower classes. ) Cimon, in contrast, apparently believed that no further free space for democratic evolution existed. He was certain that democracy had reached its peak and Pericles' reforms were leading to

2750-478: The Attic phyle (clan) of Acamantis ( Ἀκαμαντὶς φυλή ). His early years were quiet; the introverted young Pericles avoided public appearances, instead preferring to devote his time to his studies. According to Herodotus and Plutarch , Agariste dreamed, a few nights before Pericles' birth, that she had borne a lion. Legends say that Philip II of Macedon had a similar dream before the birth of his son, Alexander

2860-539: The Battle of Sybota and a year later the Athenians fought Corinthian colonists at the Battle of Potidaea ; these two events contributed greatly to Corinth's lasting hatred of Athens. During the same period, Pericles proposed the Megarian decree , which resembled a modern trade embargo. According to the provisions of the decree, Megarian merchants were excluded from the market of Athens and the ports in its empire. This ban strangled

2970-613: The Corinthian gulf , before returning to Athens. In 451 BC, Cimon returned from exile and negotiated a five years' truce with Sparta after a proposal of Pericles, an event which indicates a shift in Pericles' political strategy. Pericles may have realized the importance of Cimon's contribution during the ongoing conflicts against the Peloponnesians and the Persians . Anthony J. Podlecki argues, however, that Pericles' alleged change of position

3080-692: The Leokorion , and the Altar of the Twelve Gods . Another north–south street probably bounded the eastern edge of the stoa and somewhere further east was the Stoa of the Herms . The stoa was oriented so that it extended from south-west to north-east. The northern (back) wall is 1.40 metres wide and has been uncovered for a length of 10.40 metres. The total length of the stoa is unknown, but at least 46 metres would be proportionate with

3190-683: The Panathenaic Way as one entered the Agora. To the west was a narrow north–south street. On the other side of that street was an altar and (in the Roman period) a temple, probably dedicated to Aphrodite Urania . To the north was a Classical Commercial Building . To the south was the drain that conveyed the Eridanus . To the southwest, on the other side of the Panathenaic Way, were the Stoa Basileios ,

3300-546: The archonship in 458–457 BC and bestowed generous wages on all citizens who served as jurymen in the Heliaia (the supreme court of Athens) some time just after 454 BC. His most controversial measure, however, was a law of 451 BC limiting Athenian citizenship to those of Athenian parentage on both sides. Rather, the admiration of the present and succeeding ages will be ours, since we have not left our power without witness, but have shown it by mighty proofs; and far from needing

3410-463: The de facto ruler of the state. In 440 BC Samos went to war against Miletus over control of Priene , an ancient city of Ionia on the foot-hills of Mycale . Worsted in the war, the Milesians came to Athens to plead their case against the Samians. When the Athenians ordered the two sides to stop fighting and submit the case to arbitration in Athens, the Samians refused. In response, Pericles passed

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3520-586: The " Calaurian League " to have been a later Hellenistic invention. An enormous feast was found dating to the Hellenistic period in the ruins of the Calaurian asylum, along with a plaque celebrating the "revival" of its amphictyony. During the 5th century, the Persian Empire annexed the Greek cities of western Anatolia . When the Athenians helped these cities in a revolt against Persian rule , Poros, along with

3630-516: The "Periclean Acropolis", which included the Propylaea , the Parthenon and the golden statue of Athena, sculpted by Pericles' friend, Phidias . In 449 BC Pericles proposed a decree allowing the use of 9,000 talents to finance the major rebuilding program of Athenian temples. Angelos Vlachos, a Greek Academician , points out the use of the alliance's treasury, initiated and executed by Pericles, as one of

3740-563: The "prytani" (singular, "prytaneis"), Pericles had no formal control over their scheduling; rather, the respect in which Pericles was held by the prytanies was apparently sufficient to persuade them to do as he wished. While the Spartan army remained in Attica, Pericles sent a fleet of 100 ships to loot the coasts of the Peloponnese and charged the cavalry to guard the ravaged farms close to the walls of

3850-456: The 2nd-century AD travel writer Pausanias . These paintings were probably on wooden boards on the back wall of the stoa and depicted: A scholiast states that the stoa contained "many paintings", and other paintings are mentioned by various authors, including a painting by Apollodorus or Pamphilus of the Heracleidae and Alcmene supplicating the Athenians for protection from Eurystheus ,

3960-490: The Athenian contingent in the Greek victory at Mycale just five years later. Pericles' mother, Agariste, was a member of the powerful and controversial noble family of the Alcmaeonidae , and her familial connections played a crucial role in helping start his political career. Agariste was the great-granddaughter of the tyrant of Sicyon , Cleisthenes , and the niece of the Athenian reformer Cleisthenes . Pericles belonged to

4070-418: The Athenian democracy. Constantine Paparrigopoulos , a major modern Greek historian, argues that Pericles sought for the expansion and stabilization of all democratic institutions. Accordingly, he enacted legislation granting the lower classes access to the political system and the public offices, from which they had previously been barred. According to Samons, Pericles believed that it was necessary to raise

4180-479: The Athenian forces that invaded Megara and a few months later (winter of 431–430 BC) he delivered his monumental and emotional Funeral Oration , honoring the Athenians who died for their city. Poros Poros ( Greek : Πόρος ; Modern Greek pronunciation: [ˈporos] ) is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf , about 58 km (36 miles; 31 nautical miles) south of

4290-414: The Athenians for forty years. If this was so, Pericles must have taken up a position of leadership by the early 460s BC – in his early or mid-thirties. Throughout these years he endeavored to protect his privacy and to present himself as a model for his fellow citizens. For example, he would often avoid banquets, trying to be frugal. In 463 BC, Pericles was the leading prosecutor of Cimon,

4400-487: The Coinage Decree, which imposed Athenian silver coinage, weights and measures on all of the allies. According to one of the decree's most stringent provisions, surplus from a minting operation was to go into a special fund, and anyone proposing to use it otherwise was subject to the death penalty. It was from the alliance's treasury that Pericles drew the funds necessary to enable his ambitious building plan, centered on

4510-525: The Delian League transformed into an Athenian empire is generally considered to have begun well before Pericles' time, as various allies in the league chose to pay tribute to Athens instead of manning ships for the league's fleet, but the transformation was speeded and brought to its conclusion by Pericles. The final steps in the shift to empire may have been triggered by Athens' defeat in Egypt, which challenged

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4620-451: The Great . One interpretation of the dream treats the lion as a traditional symbol of greatness, but the story may also allude to the unusually large size of Pericles' skull, which became a popular target of contemporary comedians (who called him "Squill-head", after the squill or sea-onion). Although Plutarch claims that this deformity was the reason that Pericles was always depicted wearing

4730-704: The Greek National Heritage Board. During the Roman period (86 BC to 395 AD) Poros was part of the Roman Empire along with Trizina, to which it was a tributary. In Byzantine times, Poros and other islands were often raided by the pirates that dominated the Aegean Sea. In 1484 the Venetians occupied Poros and used it as a strategic port in their sea battles with the Ottomans. Poros was the most powerful city of

4840-411: The Greek mainland which it had acquired since 460 BC, and both Athens and Sparta agreed not to attempt to win over the other state's allies. In 444 BC, the conservative and the democratic factions confronted each other in a fierce struggle. The ambitious new leader of the conservatives, Thucydides (not to be confused with the historian of the same name), accused Pericles of profligacy, criticizing

4950-538: The Imperial period, it was also a site of street entertainment; the second-century AD novelist Apuleius reports watching sword swallowers and gymnasts there. A gate over the street to the west was added in the Hellenistic period, which was joined to the west side of the stoa. The stoa apparently survived the Herulian Sack of 267 AD intact. In a letter of 396 AD, Synesius mentions that the paintings had been removed by

5060-600: The Megarian economy and strained the fragile peace between Athens and Sparta, which was allied with Megara. According to George Cawkwell , a praelector in ancient history , with this decree Pericles breached the Thirty Years' Peace "but, perhaps, not without the semblance of an excuse". The Athenians' justification was that the Megarians had cultivated the sacred land consecrated to Demeter and had given refuge to runaway slaves,

5170-401: The Peloponnesian War. The period during which he led Athens as Archon (ruler), roughly from 461 to 429 BC, is sometimes known as the " Age of Pericles ", but the period thus denoted can include times as early as the Persian Wars or as late as the following century. Pericles promoted the arts and literature, and it was principally through his efforts that Athens acquired the reputation of being

5280-523: The Spartans, and with neither side willing to back down, the two cities prepared for war. According to Athanasios G. Platias and Constantinos Koliopoulos, professors of strategic studies and international politics , "rather than to submit to coercive demands, Pericles chose war". Another consideration that may well have influenced Pericles' stance was the concern that revolts in the empire might spread if Athens showed itself weak. In 431 BC, while peace already

5390-441: The Stoa Poikile. The foundations of the stoa were discovered during new American excavations in the northwestern corner of the Agora at 13 Hadrianou Street, which took place between 1980 and 1982 under the leadership of T. Leslie Shear, Jr.  [ de ] . The excavation of the stoa was supervised by Ione Mylonas Shear  [ de ] and Margaret Miles in 1981 and by John McK. Camp  [ de ] in 1982. Only

5500-447: The account of this period is the issue of the Peace of Callias , which allegedly ended hostilities between the Greeks and the Persians. The very existence of the treaty is hotly disputed, and its particulars and negotiation are ambiguous. Ernst Badian believes that a peace between Athens and Persia was first ratified in 463 BC (making the Athenian interventions in Egypt and Cyprus violations of

5610-565: The archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a settlement of the Early Bronze Age. This settlement is the oldest of the wider area of Trizinia, Peloponnese, and is believed to be interrelated with the wreck found on the nearby Dokos island which dates to the same period. Poros was divided into two islands during antiquity: Sphairia (also known by its modern Greek form Sfairia) and Calauria (also known by its ancient Greek form Kalaureia and its modern Greek form Kalavria). Sphairia consisted of

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5720-431: The area of the modern island which includes its current capital. Calauria was the larger part of the island to its north. During the period of Mycenaean dominance (1400-1100 BC) Calauria was quite powerful and the most important naval base of region was located on islet Monti or Liontari on its eastern coast. The city-state of Calauria was home to an asylum dedicated to Poseidon, the ruins of which are still accessible on

5830-440: The besieging force was defeated and destroyed. In 451–450 BC the Athenians sent troops to Cyprus . Cimon defeated the Persians in the Battle of Salamis-in-Cyprus , but died of disease in 449 BC. Pericles is said to have initiated both expeditions in Egypt and Cyprus, although some researchers, such as Karl Julius Beloch , argue that the dispatch of such a great fleet conforms with the spirit of Cimon's policy. Complicating

5940-511: The better, but the center of the fighting shows the foreigners in flight and pushing one another into the morass, while at the end of the painting are the Phoenician ships, and the Greeks killing the foreigners who are scrambling into them. Here is also a portrait of the hero Marathon, after whom the plain is named, of Theseus represented as coming up from the under-world, of Athena and of Heracles. The Marathonians, according to their own account, were

6050-442: The blocks were reused from some earlier context. The southern side of the stoa was the main façade. There were four steps and a Doric colonnade, with an intercolumniation of 1.998 metres. Above this was a triglyph frieze of poros, which was 0.718 metres high. The triglyphs were 0.384 metres wide; the metopes , which consisted of marble panels that slotted in between the triglyphs, were 0.615 metres wide. This frieze continued around

6160-659: The city's dominance in the Aegean and led to the revolt of several allies, such as Miletus and Erythrae . Either because of a genuine fear for its safety after the defeat in Egypt and the revolts of the allies, or as a pretext to gain control of the League's finances, Athens transferred the treasury of the alliance from Delos to Athens in 454–453 BC. By 450–449 BC the revolts in Miletus and Erythrae were quelled and Athens restored its rule over its allies. Around 447 BC Clearchus proposed

6270-419: The city. When the enemy retired and the pillaging came to an end, Pericles proposed a decree according to which the authorities of the city should put aside 1,000 talents and 100 ships, in case Athens was attacked by naval forces. According to the most stringent provision of the decree, even proposing a different use of the money or ships would entail the penalty of death. During the autumn of 431 BC, Pericles led

6380-469: The city. This promise was prompted by his concern that Archidamus, who was a friend of his, might pass by his estate without ravaging it, either as a gesture of friendship or as a calculated political move aimed to alienate Pericles from his constituents. In any case, seeing the pillage of their farms, the Athenians were outraged, and they soon began to indirectly express their discontent towards their leader, who many of them considered to have drawn them into

6490-471: The company of the philosophers Protagoras , Zeno of Elea , and Anaxagoras . Anaxagoras, in particular, became a close friend and influenced him greatly. Pericles' manner of thought and rhetorical charisma may have possibly been in part products of Anaxagoras' emphasis on emotional calm in the face of trouble, and skepticism about divine phenomena. His proverbial calmness and self-control are also often regarded as products of Anaxagoras' influence. In

6600-429: The control of hostile oligarchs. In 446 BC, a more dangerous uprising erupted. Euboea and Megara revolted. Pericles crossed over to Euboea with his troops, but was forced to return when the Spartan army invaded Attica . Through bribery and negotiations, Pericles defused the imminent threat, and the Spartans returned home. When Pericles was later audited for the handling of public money, an expenditure of 10 talents

6710-504: The educational and cultural center of the ancient Greek world. He started an ambitious project that generated most of the surviving structures on the Acropolis , including the Parthenon . This project beautified and protected the city, exhibited its glory, and gave work to its people. Pericles also fostered Athenian democracy to such an extent that critics called him a populist . Pericles

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6820-463: The eruption of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles and two of his closest associates, Phidias and his companion, Aspasia , faced a series of personal and judicial attacks. Phidias , who had been in charge of all building projects, was first accused of embezzling gold meant for the statue of Athena and then of impiety, because, when he wrought the battle of the Amazons on the shield of Athena, he carved out

6930-530: The expulsion of Cimon, the unchallengeable leader of the democratic party became the unchallengeable ruler of Athens. He remained in power until his death in 429 BC. Pericles made his first military excursions during the First Peloponnesian War, which was caused in part by Athens' alliance with Megara and Argos and the subsequent reaction of Sparta. In 454 BC he attacked Sicyon and Acarnania . He then unsuccessfully tried to conquer Oeniadea on

7040-574: The first to regard Heracles as a god. Of the fighters the most conspicuous figures in the painting are Callimachus, who had been elected commander-in-chief by the Athenians, Miltiades, one of the generals, and a hero called Echetlus, of whom I shall make mention later. In the Hellenistic period a gate was built over the north–south street, which abutted on the stoa's west wall and aligned perfectly with its front anta . The foundations of this gate are formed of poros blocks and consist of two large piers, with

7150-434: The foundation consisted of poros chips and red earth which contained numerous sherds of pottery that date almost exclusively to the 460s BC, indicating that this was the date of construction. By the second century AD, bronze statues of Hermes Agoraeus , Solon , Seleucus , and others stood in front of the stoa. The stoa contained four famous paintings, which have not survived, but are mentioned by many authors, particularly

7260-501: The inscriptions of dedication in his own name. His stance was greeted with applause, and Thucydides was soundly, if unexpectedly, defeated. In 442 BC, the Athenian public voted to ostracize Thucydides from the city for 10 years and Pericles was once again the unchallenged ruler of the Athenian political arena. Pericles wanted to stabilize Athens' dominance over its alliance and to enforce its pre-eminence in Greece. The process by which

7370-450: The island, where some report his suicide . In 273 BC, the last explosion of the Methana volcano dramatically changed the morphology of Poros and the wider region. The Sanctuary of Poseidon has been excavated by Swedish archaeologists. The 1894 field season is considered to be the first Swedish archaeological campaign in Greece. Swedes have continued excavations from 1997 in collaboration with

7480-425: The largest embezzlements in human history; this misappropriation financed, however, some of the most marvellous artistic creations of the ancient world. The Samian War was one of the last significant military events before the Peloponnesian War. After Thucydides' ostracism, Pericles was re-elected yearly to the generalship, the only office he ever officially occupied, although his influence was so great as to make him

7590-510: The leader of the conservative faction who was accused of neglecting Athens' vital interests in Macedon . Although Cimon was acquitted, this confrontation proved that Pericles' major political opponent was vulnerable. Around 461 BC, the leadership of the democratic party decided it was time to take aim at the Areopagus , a traditional council controlled by the Athenian aristocracy, which had once been

7700-508: The limestone, no occurrences of precious stones or ore deposits are known. Limestone from Poros, an example of the poros stone , was an important component in the construction of Mycenaean tholos tombs in the Late Bronze Age , being used particularly for monuments at Mycenae , including the Tomb of Aegisthus . In the northeastern part of the island, in a location called “Kavos Vasili”,

7810-523: The main village Poros and the smaller villages Ágios Nektários and Kyaní Aktí. The geology of the island comprises Mesozoic to Cenozoic sedimentary rocks ( limestone , and Flysch -type sandstone ) and ophiolites , as well as Neogene volcanic rocks on Sferia . The island is tectonically dissected and part of a Tertiary tectonic mélange . There are karstic sinkholes in the island's central limestone massif , and limestone caves with stalactites . Visible marine fossils are mainly found in

7920-527: The most powerful body in the state. The leader of the party and mentor of Pericles, Ephialtes , proposed a reduction of the Areopagus' powers. The Ecclesia (the Athenian Assembly) adopted Ephialtes' proposal without opposition. This reform signaled the beginning of a new era of "radical democracy". The democratic party gradually became dominant in Athenian politics, and Pericles seemed willing to follow

8030-604: The other Greek states of mainland Greece and the Aegean islands, was drawn into the Greco-Persian Wars . At the beginning of the Peloponnesian War , Troezen and Calauria offered asylum to an anti- Macedonian politician who eventually became the tyrant of the region. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, the Ptolemies of Egypt occupied Calauria. Around the same time, the Athenian orator Demosthenes came to

8140-504: The painting of the Battle of Marathon as a key memorial of Athens' ancestral valour. Bronze shields captured from the Spartans at the Battle of Sphacteria in 425 BC and from the siege of Scione in 421 BC were set up in the stoa, where they could still be seen in the 2nd century AD. According to Diogenes Laertius , was the site where the oligarchic government of the Thirty Tyrants "made away with" 1400 Athenian citizens in 403 BC. It

8250-519: The peace), and renegotiated at the conclusion of the campaign in Cyprus, taking force again by 449–448 BC. John Fine, in contrast, suggests that the first peace between Athens and Persia was concluded in 450–449 BC, due to Pericles' calculation that ongoing conflict with Persia was undermining Athens' ability to spread its influence in Greece and the Aegean . Kagan believes that Pericles used Callias ,

8360-436: The people; this event, indeed, would come about a few years later. At that time, the Athenians unhesitatingly followed Pericles' instructions. In the first legendary oration Thucydides puts in his mouth, Pericles advised the Athenians not to yield to their opponents' demands, since they were militarily stronger. Pericles was not prepared to make unilateral concessions, believing that "if Athens conceded on that issue, then Sparta

8470-419: The political elimination of this opponent using ostracism . The accusation was that Cimon betrayed his city by aiding Sparta . After Cimon's ostracism, Pericles continued to promote a populist social policy. He first proposed a decree that permitted the poor to watch theatrical plays without paying, with the state covering the cost of their admission. With other decrees he lowered the property requirement for

8580-559: The port of Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a 200 m (656 ft) wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the strait. Its surface area is about 31 square kilometres (12 sq mi) and it has 3,261 inhabitants (2021). The ancient name of Poros was Pogon. Like other ports in the Saronic, it is a popular weekend destination for Athenian travellers. Poros consists of two islands: Sphaeria ( Greek : Σφαιρία , pronounced [sfeˈria] ),

8690-507: The rebels to capitulate after a tough siege of eight months, which resulted in substantial discontent among the Athenian sailors. Pericles then quelled a revolt in Byzantium and, when he returned to Athens, gave a funeral oration to honor the soldiers who died in the expedition. Between 438 and 436 BC Pericles led Athens' fleet in Pontus and established friendly relations with the Greek cities of

8800-462: The region. At this time, however, Athens was seriously challenged by a number of revolts among its subjects. In 447 BC the oligarchs of Thebes conspired against the democratic faction. The Athenians demanded their immediate surrender, but after the Battle of Coronea , Pericles was forced to concede the loss of Boeotia to recover the prisoners taken in that battle. With Boeotia in hostile hands, Phocis and Locris became untenable and quickly fell under

8910-429: The region. Pericles focused also on internal projects, such as the fortification of Athens (the building of the "middle wall" about 440 BC), and on the creation of new cleruchies , such as Andros , Naxos and Thurii (444 BC) as well as Amphipolis (437–436 BC). Pericles and his friends were never immune from attack, as preeminence in democratic Athens was not equivalent to absolute rule. Just before

9020-458: The residents of Attica to agree to move into the crowded urban areas. For most, the move meant abandoning their land and ancestral shrines and completely changing their lifestyle. Therefore, although they agreed to leave, many rural residents were far from happy with Pericles' decision. Pericles also gave his compatriots some advice on their present affairs and reassured them that, if the enemy did not plunder his farms, he would offer his property to

9130-519: The rest of Greece. Shipping and commerce were the inhabitants' main activities, but Poros' fleet wasn't as famous as Hydra's or Spetses' fleet, and did not participate in many sea battles. Poros had an important role during the Greek Revolution in 1821, due to its strategic position. The Greek revolutionary leaders, often met in Poros to discuss and plan their future actions. The first Greek naval base

9240-409: The revolt there. He then punished the landowners of Chalcis , who lost their properties. The residents of Histiaea , meanwhile, who had butchered the crew of an Athenian trireme , were uprooted and replaced by 2,000 Athenian settlers. The crisis was brought to an official end by the Thirty Years' Peace (winter of 446–445 BC), in which Athens relinquished most of the possessions and interests on

9350-439: The south and center of the island. It has a good road network and adequate tourist infrastructure, which makes it a popular resort for short holidays. The land area of the municipality is 49.582 square kilometres (19.144 sq mi). This includes the islands and part of the adjacent Peloponnese coast, adjacent to Galatas , Thermisia and the island of Hydra . The landscape is very hilly and mountainous. The highest peak

9460-455: The southern part, which is of volcanic origin, where today's city is located, and Kalaureia ( Greek : Καλαυρία , [kalavˈria] ), also Kalavria or Calauria (meaning 'gentle breeze'), the northern and largest part. A bridge connects the two islands over a narrow strait . Poros is an island with rich vegetation. Much of the northern and far eastern/western sides of the island are bushy, whereas large areas of old pine forest are found in

9570-611: The spring of 472 BC, Pericles presented The Persians of Aeschylus at the Greater Dionysia as a liturgy , demonstrating that he was one of the wealthier men of Athens. Simon Hornblower has argued that Pericles' selection of this play, which presents a nostalgic picture of Themistocles ' famous victory at Salamis , shows that the young politician was supporting Themistocles against his political opponent Cimon , whose faction succeeded in having Themistocles ostracized shortly afterward. Plutarch says that Pericles stood first among

9680-496: The stalemate of populism. According to Paparrigopoulos, history vindicated Cimon, because Athens, after Pericles' death, sank into the abyss of political turmoil and demagogy . Paparrigopoulos maintains that an unprecedented regression descended upon the city, whose glory perished as a result of Pericles' populist policies. According to another historian, Justin Daniel King, radical democracy benefited people individually, but harmed

9790-412: The state. In contrast, Donald Kagan asserts that the democratic measures Pericles put into effect provided the basis for an unassailable political strength. After all, Cimon finally accepted the new democracy and did not oppose the citizenship law, after he returned from exile in 451 BC. Ephialtes' murder in 461 BC paved the way for Pericles to consolidate his authority. Without opposition after

9900-513: The stoa's depth. It probably extended all or most of the way to the next north–south street, which enters the agora about 55 metres to the east. The west side-wall was 12.6 metres long and (at the level of the foundations) 2.68 metres thick. The foundation consisted of three steps of hard, fine-grained poros of very fine workmanship, joined very precisely with iron double-T clamps sealed in place with lead. The steps show substantial wear from use as seating. An upside-down kalos graffito indicates that

10010-455: The stoa. The homeless Cynic philosopher Crates spent his time there. His student, Zeno of Citium , was particularly closely associated with the stoa, where he taught from around 300 BC until his death c. 262 BC. The philosophical school that he founded was named Stoicism as a result. The late third-century BC comedian Theognetus refers to "trifling arguments from the Poikile Stoa" in

10120-440: The war. Even when in the face of mounting pressure, Pericles did not give in to the demands for immediate action against the enemy or revise his initial strategy. He also avoided convening the ecclesia, fearing that the populace, outraged by the unopposed ravaging of their farms, might rashly decide to challenge the vaunted Spartan army in the field. As meetings of the assembly were called at the discretion of its rotating presidents,

10230-528: The waters of the Ottoman Empire. As Russian naval activity grew, need arose for a supply station, and land was acquired at the edge of Poros town. Extensive materiel, coal , and food storage facilities were built, as well as a hardtack baking factory. After Greek independence, Governor Capodistrias requisitioned the facilities for use of the Greek war navy, and offered the Russians an alternative location in

10340-429: The way he spent the money for the ongoing building plan. Thucydides initially managed to incite the passions of the ecclesia regarding these charges in his favor. However, when Pericles took the floor, his resolute arguments put Thucydides and the conservatives firmly on the defensive. Finally, Pericles proposed to reimburse the city for all questionable expenses from his private property, with the proviso that he would make

10450-403: The way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition. His family's nobility and wealth allowed him to fully pursue his inclination toward education. He learned music from the masters of the time ( Damon or Pythocleides could have been his teacher) and he is considered to have been the first politician to attribute importance to philosophy. He enjoyed

10560-462: The west and east sides of the stoa. Inside, there was an interior colonnade of narrow Ionic columns with poros shafts and marble capitals, which supported the ridge of the roof. This makes it the earliest known building at Athens to combine the Doric and Ionic orders. A set of rough poros blocks running along the inside of the back wall probably supported a bench running along the back wall. The packing of

10670-686: The western corner of the stoa was excavated. This discovery disproved Shoe Meritt's theory, since the measurements of the foundations do not match the architectural fragments from the Late Antique wall. Architectural fragments that do fit the foundations were found scattered around the northwest corner of the Agora. [REDACTED] Media related to Stoa Poikile at Wikimedia Commons 37°58′35″N 23°43′23″E  /  37.9763°N 23.7230°E  / 37.9763; 23.7230 Pericles Pericles ( / ˈ p ɛr ɪ k l iː z / , Ancient Greek : Περικλῆς ; c.  495 – 429 BC)

10780-424: The wider area, also governing Methana Island, Epidaurus, Damalas (Trizina), Fanari and Valario. During that time, the island had about 15,000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest cities in Greece. Arvanites were recorded among the inhabitants of the island in 1688. They lived in poverty as most did in Greece at the time. Venetian rule ended in 1715. The Ottoman Period began in 1715, much later in Poros than in

10890-528: Was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens . He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War , and was acclaimed by Thucydides , a contemporary historian, as "the first citizen of Athens". Pericles turned the Delian League into an Athenian empire and led his countrymen during the first two years of

11000-523: Was acquitted thanks to a rare emotional outburst of Pericles, his friend Phidias died in prison according to Plutarch; however, he is also credited with the later statue of Zeus at Olympia , therefore this is debated, and another friend of his, Anaxagoras, was attacked by the ecclesia for his religious beliefs. Beyond these initial prosecutions, the ecclesia attacked Pericles himself by asking him to justify his ostensible profligacy with, and maladministration of, public money. According to Plutarch, Pericles

11110-498: Was descended, through his mother, from the powerful and historically influential Alcmaeonid family. He, along with several members of his family, succumbed to the Plague of Athens in 429 BC, which weakened the city-state during a protracted conflict with Sparta . Pericles was born c.  495 BC , in Athens, Greece. He was the son of the politician Xanthippus , who, though ostracized in 485–484 BC, returned to Athens to command

11220-447: Was established in Poros in 1828 and remained there until 1878. In September 1828, the ambassadors of England, France and Russia met in Poros with Ioannis Kapodistrias in order to determine the borders of the future Greek state, which was established two years later, in 1830. With the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji , Russia secured free shipping for its navy, war and merchant alike, throughout

11330-403: Was invented by ancient writers to support "a tendentious view of Pericles' shiftiness". Plutarch states that Cimon struck a power-sharing deal with his opponents, according to which Pericles would carry through the interior affairs and Cimon would be the leader of the Athenian army, campaigning abroad. If it were actually made, this bargain would constitute a concession on Pericles' part that he

11440-443: Was never put to actual use, and the abandoned buildings were left to decay. The ruins, in elaborately carved stone, were listed as protected architectural monuments in 1989. In the beginning of the 20th century, among the activities of the Poros' inhabitants were agriculture (mainly wheat, grapevines and olives), livestock, fishing and shipping. Poros is linked to mainland Greece by a car ferry to Galatas . Poros has no airport but

11550-452: Was not a great strategist. Kagan's view is that Cimon adapted himself to the new conditions and promoted a political marriage between Periclean liberals and Cimonian conservatives. In the mid-450s the Athenians launched an unsuccessful attempt to aid an Egyptian revolt against Persia, which led to a prolonged siege of a Persian fortress in the Nile Delta. The campaign culminated in disaster;

11660-408: Was not sufficiently justified, since the official documents just referred that the money was spent for a "very serious purpose". Nonetheless, the "serious purpose" (namely the bribery) was so obvious to the auditors that they approved the expenditure without official meddling and without even investigating the mystery. After the Spartan threat had been removed, Pericles crossed back to Euboea to crush

11770-440: Was precarious, Archidamus II , Sparta's king, sent a new delegation to Athens, demanding that the Athenians submit to Sparta's demands. This deputation was not allowed to enter Athens, as Pericles had already passed a resolution according to which no Spartan deputation would be welcomed if the Spartans had previously initiated any hostile military actions. The Spartan army was at this time gathered at Corinth, and, citing this as

11880-471: Was so afraid of the oncoming trial that he did not let the Athenians yield to the Lacedaemonians . Beloch also believes that Pericles deliberately brought on the war to protect his political position at home. Thus, at the start of the Peloponnesian War, Athens found itself in the awkward position of entrusting its future to a leader whose pre-eminence had just been seriously shaken for the first time in over

11990-433: Was sure to come up with further demands". Consequently, Pericles asked the Spartans to offer a quid pro quo . In exchange for retracting the Megarian Decree, the Athenians demanded from Sparta to abandon their practice of periodic expulsion of foreigners from their territory ( xenelasia ) and to recognize the autonomy of its allied cities, a request implying that Sparta's hegemony was also ruthless. The terms were rejected by

12100-477: Was uncovered as part of the Agora excavations undertaken by the American School of Classical Studies . In 1949, Homer A. Thompson found a set of architectural fragments of a stoa that had been reused in a Late Antique wall to the west of the Stoa of Attalos . These consisted of a Doric entablature and Oinic interior columns of mid-fifth century BC date. In 1970 Lucy Shoe Meritt identified these as fragments of

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