Pericles was an Athenian Statesman born in 495 BC in a small town named Holoros, north of Athens. He came from a family of rich Aristocrats, and was deeply involved with changing the structure of Greek government. In 461 BC, Pericles was pronounced the leader of Athens. He created laws that allowed every citizen to be a part of the government, and laws that balanced the rich and the poor. Pericles strengthened Athens by creating and introducing direct democracy to them, and also by valuing their arts and literature. He was a loved and a powerful leader. Under his command, Athens won many wars and also came to be the richest and most powerful city-state in all Greece. Unfortunately, in 429 BC, a horrible plague struck Greece which resulted in the death of Pericles. After this, the Greek government and democracy was never the same again. The death of Pericles affected Greece in a negative way because it became weaker and more vulnerable to other richer and more powerful city-states. Without his leadership, Greece suffered a depression for 30 years, wars were lost, and most important of all, Pericles glory was never regained again. The years that Pericles was leader of Athens has two titles; “The Golden Age of Athens” and “The Age of Pericles”. These titles are used because during these 32 years, Athens had tremendous economic growth and cultural flourishing. Pericles introduced direct democracy, made Athens the “Intellectual Center of the Ancient World”, led Athens through