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As Athens was a radical democracy, it's citizens met fortnightly and voted on laws and other issues. The Council

His first major political challenge was made by Thucydides son of Melesias, who formed the first recorded political party which used to vote as a bloc in the fortnightly Assembly of citizens. This party was conservative and opposed o Pericles' aggressive external policies and the handouts he used to bribe the citizens with - obtained from Athens' empire. He solved this by having Thucydides exiled, which disrupted his party.

He continued to exercise influence by his oratory and pandering to the masses. The aggress external policies which he promoted served as a distraction from internal problems, and also to sway the Assembly to follow his lead. Although he had no specific political power, he managed to be the best orator with the most attractive policies for the majority of citizens, who usually followed him in voting because it was in their own self-interest.

His aggressive policies led Athens into war with the Peloponnesian League but he died of the plague after a couple of years, so we don't know how he would have handled it in the longer term. His successors certainly fumbled it badly, leading to Athens' defeat, being stripped of its empire and becoming a second rate power.

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11y ago

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