In the 5th Century B.C., Athens was at its peak under Pericles. He was an aristocrat and an Athenian imperialist who had a dream of a city that would be worthy of its empire - a city which the allies of Athens would be proud to visit, and where they would see for themselves that the tribute they paid had been expended in creating the most gracious capital on earth. Pericles was also a democrat, at a time when the idea that every freeborn adult male citizen should have a say in the running of the state was a novel one. Most Greek city-states had hitherto been run by groups of powerful aristocratic families or by single absolute rulers, or ‘tyrants.’ In 621 B.C. one Athenian lawgiver, Draco, introduced a code of punishments which included the death penalty for stealing a cabbage - thus making “Draconian’ a byword for extreme severity. One reason why a different form of government evolved in Athens was the fact that the city was primarily a naval power. Its war galleys were rowed by ordinary working men conscripted into the forces! who, since they contributed so much to the state, felt they should have a share in determining how it was run. At the same time the community of Athens was small enough for every citizen to make his voice heard. Fishermen, merchants, jewelers, potters and landowners met on equal terms in the governing assembly, and had equal say in discussions on all important matters. This interchange of ideas between men from all walks of life made Athens a very human world. Not to show an interest in public affairs and matters of state was considered so stupid that our word “idiot” derives from the Greek word meaning ‘a private citizen' — someone who attended only to his own needs and did not bother with those of the city.

Athens was a talkative town. It was ruled by its orators; Pericles became its leader because he was the best orator. The Age of Pericles was the culmination of the Classical period in Greek sculpture and architecture. Athens was safe and prosperous~ and the arts were admired and loved as never before and seldom since.

The PARTHENON, as the temple has been known since Roman times, was the work of the architects Ictinus and Callicrates. Begun in 447 B.C., it must have been substantially complete by 438 B.C. when the statue of the goddess, Athena. was dedicated in it. The building accounts, which were inscribed on marble slabs and are still in part preserved, show that work continued until 432 B.C.

The PARTHENON, was always meant to be imposing. Built on the highest point of the Acropolis, (“High City” - place of refuge in times of war, later spiritual center of city) it
was considerably larger than most Doric temples and had eight columns across the front and seventeen along the sides ~ instead of the more usual six and thirteen. Inside the
colonnade the central structure was divided by a cross wall into two rooms of unequal size, each having a porch of six columns. The smaller chamber, on the west, served as a
treasury, while the larger eastern room housed the gold and ivory statue of Athena some twelve meters high, made by the sculptor Pheidias. The temple was constructed of marble
throughout was remarkable not only for the refinement of its design and the quality of its workmanship but also for the unprecedented quantity of sculpture that adorned it.

The PARTHENON stood virtually intact for over two thousand years, although it was transformed into a Christian church and later into a mosque. Disaster struck in 1687 when a Venetian shell exploded the gunpowder that the besieged Turkish garrison had stored in the building. From then on the condition of the temple and its surviving sculptures gradually deteriorated, so that their survival is largely due to Lord Elgin, who rescued them from destruction by vandals. He brought the sculptures to England and eventually sold them to the British government. They are now housed at the British Museum, London.

The Victorious Youth is a life-sized, bronze nude male figure found in the 1960s in the sea off Fano on Italy's Adriatic coast and acquired by the Getty Museum in 1977 - provenance and date are in dispute by authorities