Editing Pericles (section)

=== First year of the war (431 BC) ===
[[Image:Parthenon from south.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Parthenon]] was prompted by Pericles.]]
In 431 BC, while peace already was precarious, [[Archidamus&nbsp;II]], Sparta's king, sent a new delegation to Athens, demanding that the Athenians submit to Sparta's demands. This deputation was not allowed to enter Athens, as Pericles had already passed a resolution according to which no Spartan deputation would be welcomed if the Spartans had previously initiated any hostile military actions. The Spartan army was at this time gathered at Corinth, and, citing this as a hostile action, the Athenians refused to admit their emissaries.<ref name="ThII12">Thucydides, [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:12|2.12]]</ref> With his last attempt at negotiation thus declined, Archidamus invaded [[Attica]], but found no Athenians there; Pericles, aware that Sparta's strategy would be to invade and ravage Athenian territory, had previously arranged to evacuate the entire population of the region to within the walls of Athens.<ref name="ThII14">Thucydides, [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:14|2.14]]</ref>

No definite record exists of how exactly Pericles managed to convince the residents of Attica to agree to move into the crowded urban areas. For most, the move meant abandoning their land and ancestral shrines and completely changing their lifestyle.<ref name="OberCh6">J. Ober, ''The Athenian Revolution'', 72–85</ref> Therefore, although they agreed to leave, many rural residents were far from happy with Pericles' decision.<ref name="ThII16">Thucydides, [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:16|2.16]]</ref> Pericles also gave his compatriots some advice on their present affairs and reassured them that, if the enemy did not plunder his farms, he would offer his property to the city. This promise was prompted by his concern that Archidamus, who was a friend of his, might pass by his estate without ravaging it, either as a gesture of friendship or as a calculated political move aimed to alienate Pericles from his constituents.<ref name="ThII13">Thucydides, [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:13|2.13]]</ref>

[[File:Discurso funebre pericles.PNG|thumb|300px|left|''Pericles' Funeral Oration'' (''Perikles hält die Leichenrede'') by [[Philipp Foltz]] (1852)]]

In any case, seeing the pillage of their farms, the Athenians were outraged, and they soon began to indirectly express their discontent towards their leader, who many of them considered to have drawn them into the war. Even when in the face of mounting pressure, Pericles did not give in to the demands for immediate action against the enemy or revise his initial strategy. He also avoided convening the ecclesia, fearing that the populace, outraged by the unopposed ravaging of their farms, might rashly decide to challenge the vaunted Spartan army in the field.<ref name="ThII22">Thucydides, [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:22|2.22]]</ref> As meetings of the assembly were called at the discretion of its rotating presidents, the "prytani" (singular, "prytaneis"), Pericles had no formal control over their scheduling; rather, the respect in which Pericles was held by the prytanies was apparently sufficient to persuade them to do as he wished.<ref name="KaganPe69">D. Kagan, ''The Peloponnesian War'', 69</ref> While the Spartan army remained in Attica, Pericles sent a fleet of 100 ships to loot the coasts of the [[Peloponnese]] and charged the cavalry to guard the ravaged farms close to the walls of the city.<ref name="ThX18">Thucydides, [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:18|2.18]] and Xenophon(?),''Constitution of Athens'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0158;layout=;query=chapter%3D%232;loc=1.1 2]</ref> When the enemy retired and the pillaging came to an end, Pericles proposed a decree according to which the authorities of the city should put aside 1,000 talents and 100 ships, in case Athens was attacked by naval forces. According to the most stringent provision of the decree, even proposing a different use of the money or ships would entail the penalty of death. During the autumn of 431 BC, Pericles led the Athenian forces that invaded Megara and a few months later (winter of 431–430 BC) he delivered his monumental and emotional [[Pericles' Funeral Oration|Funeral Oration]], honoring the Athenians who died for their city.<ref name="ThII35-46">Thucydides, [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:35|2.35–46]]</ref>