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Life of Pericles

Plutarch

Plutarch's biography of Pericles, the fullest ancient narrative of his career, written long after his death.

Plutarch's biography is the fullest ancient narrative of Pericles' life, career and personal relationships.

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About this source

What it is

This is a biography of Pericles written by the Greek writer Plutarch, drawing on earlier sources now lost. It forms part of Plutarch's larger collection of biographies of famous Greek and Roman figures.

Why it matters

Plutarch's Life of Pericles is the most detailed surviving narrative of Pericles' political career, his building programme, his relationship with Aspasia, and the criticism he faced from rivals. Because Plutarch wrote centuries after Pericles lived, using sources that no longer exist, his account mixes reliable detail with later interpretation and moral judgment, a common feature of ancient biography.

Look closer

  • Why might a biography written centuries later still be valuable, even though it isn't a firsthand account?
  • What kinds of stories might survive in later retellings that a contemporary source would leave out?
  • How might Plutarch's own values have shaped his portrait of Pericles?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Pericles on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Manuscript page in Greek handwriting with a decorative heading at top, showing the text of a speech in dense lines of script on aged parchment with marginal notes at left and right edges.Speech

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Pericles' Funeral Oration

Thucydides · 431/430 BCE

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Primary source

Parthenon

447-432 BCE

Marble bust of a bearded man wearing a tall Corinthian-style helmet with a raised crest and cheek guards. Curly hair and beard are carved in detail. The bust rests on a tan stone pedestal against a grey wall.Sculpture

Secondary source

Pericles with the Corinthian Helmet

Kresilas · Roman copy, from a Greek original near Pericles' lifetime

Facsimile page of Greek manuscript handwriting in minuscule script, nine lines of dark ink on white, headed 'Facsimile No. 57', with a transcription and caption 'Thucydides.—Tenth Century' below.Book

Primary source

History of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides · 5th century BCE

A long gallery with dim lighting and a grid ceiling. Carved marble relief panels line the left wall and are displayed along the right wall; a visitor walks toward a distant display of marble heads and sculptures. A dark bench sits in the foreground.Sculpture

Primary source

Parthenon Frieze

Phidias · c. 443-437 BCE

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