Editing Pericles (section)

=== Entering politics ===
[[File:Pericles.jpg|thumb|upright|Bust of Pericles, Roman copy of a Greek original, [[British Museum]]]]
In the spring of 472 BC, Pericles presented ''[[The Persians]]'' of [[Aeschylus]] at the [[Greater Dionysia]] as a [[Liturgy (ancient Greece)|liturgy]], demonstrating that he was one of the wealthier men of Athens.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Pericles|encyclopedia=Oxford Classical Dictionary|year=1996}}</ref> Simon Hornblower has argued that Pericles' selection of this play, which presents a nostalgic picture of [[Themistocles]]' famous victory at [[Battle of Salamis|Salamis]], shows that the young politician was supporting Themistocles against his political opponent [[Cimon]], whose faction succeeded in having Themistocles ostracized shortly afterward.<ref>S. Hornblower, ''The Greek World, 479–323 BC'', 33–34</ref>

Plutarch says that Pericles stood first among the Athenians for forty years.<ref name="Pl6">Plutarch, ''Pericles'', [[s:Lives/Pericles#16|XVI]]</ref> If this was so, Pericles must have taken up a position of leadership by the early 460s BC, which would be in his early or mid-thirties. Throughout these years he endeavored to protect his privacy and to present himself as a model for his fellow citizens. For example, he would often avoid banquets, trying to be frugal.<ref name="Pl7-9">Plutarch, ''Pericles'', [[s:Lives/Pericles#7|VII]]</ref><ref name = "Plutarch IX">Plutarch, ''Pericles'', [[s:Lives/Pericles#9|IX]]</ref>

In 463 BC, Pericles was the leading prosecutor of Cimon, the leader of the conservative faction who was accused of neglecting Athens' vital interests in [[Macedon]].<ref name="Ar27">Aristotle, ''Constitution of Athens'', {{Athpol|27}}</ref> Although Cimon was acquitted, this confrontation proved that Pericles' major political opponent was vulnerable.<ref name="Cimon">Plutarch, ''Cimon'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0181:text=Cim.:chapter=15:section=1/  XV]</ref>