Pericles' unmatched skills as a politician gave him the ability to truly take the helm of Athenian government and steer Athens in the direction of his vision. Under Pericles Athens reached it greatest; whereby the economy was larger than ever before, Athens' empire had come in to fruition, the change from an Oligarchic system was completed and the rights of the demos where protected and upheld by the Athenian constitution, the aesthetic beauty of Athens was unmatched in all antiquity through the building programs that Pericles established. To evaluate whether Pericles was, "And so far as the general needs of the state as a whole they were concerned, they regard Pericles as the best man they had." - Thucydides, the Peloponnesian War, 2.65 the direction of the State must be weighed against his contribution to it. In order to analyze this succesfully the situation much be considered as either...