How Pericles Fostered and Enhanced Democratic Rule in Athens

Athenian Democracy
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Athenian Democracy
The Athenian Democracy, a form of direct democracy, was developed in Greece around the 5th Century. It is one of the most famous democracies globally. The Athenian direct democracy got instituted, and citizens got various chances to approve or vote out legislative bills by participating in voting processes (Menaldo, 2009). The Athenian democratic constitution obligated citizens to meet certain principles to vote. For example, individuals voting had to be the age of the majority of citizens, and they must be males. Pericles is considered the best leader to have improved the democracy in Athens after Macedonians suppressed it in 322 BC (Connor, 2018). During his time, Pericles exercised transformational leadership aimed to improve the lives of citizens. The paper discusses how Pericles fostered and enhanced democracy in Athens with close relation to the above analysis. 
Pericles came to power after succeeding the assassinated Ephialtes in 461. He became famous after winning the Corinthian war in 454. He began uniting the Athenian citizens to rule without any form of opposition. Consequently, the Athenian alliance was formed, enabling Pericles to reform the existing democracy. He aimed to make it more efficient and humane. Critically, Pericles laid several guidelines to ensure he succeeded in his question. 
How Pericles Fostered Democratic Rule in Athens
He began fostering democracy by restoring the preeminence of Athenians. For example, Pericles developed a policy to protect the political leadership in Greece and Athenian culture. He was already the leader of the Athenian Alliance when he won the Persian battle of 478 after Spartans withdrew from the war (Kraut, 2000). Consequently, the alliance’s treasury was also transferred from Delos to Athens, made it easy for Pericles to protect it, and withdrew funds necessary to support democratic bills and the government. He promoted unity in Athens by directing the Greek states to rebuild the temples destroyed by soldiers during the Persian War (Cummings, 1995).
On the other hand, Pericles also fostered democracy by funds meant for sacrifices. Greek cities such as Acropolis began thriving with a stable economy and magnificent buildings. The Athenians had never witnessed these developments before. Hence, the citizens started loving and appreciating the leadership of Pericles (Wallace & Burn, 1949). The praise he received from people propelled him to continue laying stable foundations for absolute democratic leadership.
On the other hand, he received criticism from various people, including Thucydides and Melesias. They claimed that these projects used a lot of funds. These individuals also alleged that Pericles used the alliance funds to finance projects (Menaldo, 2009). Hence, they considered his ideas immoral. Pericles opposed the allegation because the Athenian alliances made payments for their defenses. Therefore, Athenians didn’t have to account for funds used in developing Athens. Pericles staged a military force to flush outgrown enemies such as Thucydides, later exiled. Pericles became free withou...