Fifth-century Athens

The magistrates were people who occupied a public post and formed the administration of the Athenian state. They were submitted to rigorous public control. The magistrates were chosen by lot, using fava beans. Black and white beans were put in a box and depending on which color the person drew out they obtained the post or not. This was a way of eliminating the personal influence of rich people and possible intrigues and use of favors. There were only two categories of posts not chosen by lot, but by election in the Popular Assembly. These were strategoi, or general, and magistrate of finance. It was generally supposed that significant qualities were needed to exercise each of those two offices. A magistrate's post did not last more than a year, including that of the strategos and in this sense the continued selection of Pericles year after year was an exception. At the end of every year, a magistrate would have to give an account of his administration and use of public finances.

The most honored posts were the ancient archontes, or archons in English. In previous ages they had been the heads of the Athenian state, but in the Age of Pericles they lost their influence and power, although they still presided over tribunals.

Every year the citizens elected ten "strategoi" (singular "strategos"), or generals, who served as both military officers and diplomats. It was through this position that Pericles shaped 5th-century BC Athens.

There were also more than forty public administration officers and more than sixty to police the streets, the markets, to check weights and measures and to carry out arrests and executions.

The Assembly (in Greek, ἐκκλησία, that is to say, an assembly by summons), was the first organ of the democracy. In theory it brought together in assembly all the citizens of Athens, however the maximum number which came to congregate is estimated at 6,000 participants. The gathering place was a space on the hill called Pnyx, in front of the Acropolis. The sessions sometimes lasted from dawn to dusk. The ecclesia occurred forty times a year.

The Assembly decided on laws and decrees which were proposed. Decisions relied on ancient laws that had long been in force. Bills were voted on in two stages: first the Assembly itself decided and afterwards the Council or βουλή gave definitive approval.

The Council or Boule (βουλή) consisted of 500 members, fifty from each tribe, functioning as an extension of the Assembly. These were chosen by chance, using the system described earlier, from which they were familiarly known as "councillors of the bean"; officially they were known as prytaneis (πρύτανις, meaning "chief" or "teacher").

The council members examined and studied legal projects, supervised the magistrates and saw that daily administrative details were on the right path. They oversaw the city state's external affairs. They also met at Pnyx hill, in a place expressly prepared for the event. The fifty prytaneis in power were located on grandstands carved into the rock. They had stone platforms which they reached by means of a small staircase of three steps. On the first platform were the secretaries and scribes; the orator would climb up to the second.

The education of boys began in their own home up until the age of seven when they had to attend school. There, they had several teachers who taught them to read and write, as well as subjects such as mathematics and music. Boys also had to take part in physical education classes where they were prepared for future military service with activities such as wrestling, racing, jumping and gymnastics. At eighteen they served in the army and were instructed on how to bear arms. Physical education was very intense and many of the boys ended up becoming true athletes. In addition to these compulsory lessons, the students had the chance to discuss and learn from the great philosophers, grammarians and orators of the time. Some poor people had to stay at home and help their parents. However, Aristophanes and Socrates, though they were poor, became famous and successful.

The primary role of free women in classical Athens was to marry and bear children.[5] The emphasis on marriage as a way to perpetuate the family through childbearing had changed from archaic Athens, when (at least amongst the powerful) marriages were as much about making beneficial connections as they were about perpetuating the family.[6] Married women were responsible for the day-to-day running of the household. At marriage, they assumed responsibility for the prosperity of their husband's household and the health of its members.[7] Their primary responsibilities were bearing, raising and caring for children, weaving cloth and making clothes.[8] They would also have been responsible for caring for ill household members, supervising slaves, and ensuring that the household had sufficient food.[9] In classical Athenian marriages, husband or wife could legally initiate a divorce.[5] The woman's closest male relative (who would be her kyrios if she were not married) could also do so, apparently even against the couple's wishes.[10] After divorce, the husband was required to return the dowry or pay 18 percent interest annually so the woman's livelihood would continue and she could remarry.[11] If there were children at the time of the divorce, they remained in their father's house and he remained responsible for their upbringing.[12]

In some cases, Athenian women had the same rights and responsibilities as Athenian men.[13] However, Athenian women did have some significant disabilities at law compared to their male counterparts. Like slaves and metics, they were denied political freedom, citizenship and voting rights,[14] being excluded from the law courts and the Assembly.[15] Women ideally remained apart from men.[16] However it was recognised that an ideology of separation could not be practiced by many Athenians. In Politics, Aristotle asked: "How is it possible to prevent the wives of the poor from going out of doors?"[17] In practice, only wealthy families would have been able to implement this ideology.[18] Women's responsibilities would have forced them to leave the house frequently – to fetch water from the well or wash clothing, for example. Although wealthy families may have had slaves to enable free women to remain in the house, most would not have had enough slaves to prevent free women from leaving at all.[19]

The cult of Athena Polias (the city's eponymous goddess) was central to Athenian society, reinforcing morality and maintaining societal structure.[8] Women played a key role in the cult; the priestesshood of Athena was a position of great importance,[20] and the priestess could use her influence to support political positions. According to Herodotus, before the Battle of Salamis the priestess of Athena encouraged the evacuation of Athens by telling the Athenians that the snake sacred to Athena (which lived on the Acropolis) had already left.[20]

Phidias is considered the greatest sculptor of this era. He created colossal gold-plated ivory statues ("chryselephantine statues"), generally face and hands, which were highly celebrated and admired in his own time: Athena, situated in the interior of the Parthenon, whose splendor reached the faithful through the open doors, and Zeus in the Sanctuary of Olympia, considered in its age and in later ages to be one of the marvels of the world.

According to Pliny the Elder's Natural History, in order to conserve the marble of these sculptures, oil receptacles were placed in the temples so that the ivory would not crack.

The other great sculptors of this century were Myron and Polycletus.

During this age, the production of ceramic pieces was abundant. Amphorae were produced in mass quantity due to the heavy trading with other cities all around the Mediterranean. Large evidence of amphorae from this era can be found around every major ancient port as well as in the Aegean sea. During this period is also seen an abundance of white background ceramics which are much more delicate than the previously popular yellow and black background ceramics. These ceramics were often used to keep perfume or for mortuary rites, including decorations on graves. It is also known that there were many great painters, but their works are lost, both frescos and free-standing paintings.

The theatre reached its greatest height in the 5th century BC. Pericles promoted and favored the theatre with a series of practical and economic measures. The wealthiest families were obligated to care for and to sustain the choruses and actors. By this means, Pericles maintained the tradition according to which theatrical performances served the moral and intellectual education of the people. Plays were made by men and usually for men, and this platform was often used to reinforce the patriarchy.[21]

Athens became the great city of Greek theatre. Theatrical performances lasted eight consecutive hours and were performed as part of a competition in which a jury proclaimed a winner. While the decor of the provisional theatres was very simple, the permanent theatrical venues of ancient Athens eventually became more sumptuous and elaborate. No matter the performance venue, plays were performed by, at most, three actors, who wore masks to identify them with the characters they portrayed; they were accompanied by a chorus who sang and danced.

The dramatic poets from this era whose plays have survived are:

• Aeschylus
• Sophocles
• Euripides
• Aristophanes

The Golden Age featured some of the most renowned Western philosophers of all time. Chief among these were Socrates, whose ideas exist primarily in a series of dialogues by his student Plato, who mixed them with his own; Plato; and Plato's student, Aristotle.

Other notable philosophers of the Golden Age included Anaxagoras; Democritus (who first inquired as to what substance lies within all matter, the earliest known proposal of what is now called the atom or its sub-units); Empedocles; Hippias; Isocrates; Parmenides; Heraclitus; and Protagoras.

In the second half of the 5th century BC the name of sophist (from the Greek sophistês, expert, teacher, man of wisdom) was given to the teachers that gave instruction on diverse branches of science and knowledge in exchange for a fee.

In this age, Athens was the "school of Greece." Pericles and his mistress Aspasia had the opportunity to associate with not only the great Athenians thinkers of their day but also other Greek and foreign scholars. Among them were the philosopher Anaxagoras, the architect Hippodamus of Miletus, who reconstructed Peiraeus, as well as the historians Herodotus (484–425), Thucydides (460–400), and Xenophon (430–354).

Athens was also the capital of eloquence. Since the late 5th century BC, eloquence had been elevated to an art form. There were the logographers (λογογράφος) who wrote courses and created a new literary form characterized by the clarity and purity of the language. It became a lucrative profession. It is known that the logographer Lysias (460–380 BC) made a great fortune thanks to his profession. Later, in the 4th century BC, the orators Isocrates and Demosthenes also became famous.