How Did Pericles Become An Influential Greek Statesman

Pericles born 495 BC and died in 429 BC from the plague, in Athens, Greece. His father, Xanthippus, was a wealthy Athenian politician and general during the early part of the 5th century BC. His mother, Agariste, was a member of the powerful and controversial noble family of the Alcmaeonidae. She was the great-granddaughter of the tyrant of Sicyon, Cleisthenes. Her familial connections helped her husband, Xanthippus, start his political career. While Pericles was growing up he was quiet and avoided public appearances instead, he devoted his time to his studies. He studied education in music under the tutelage of Damon and in math under theoretical physicist Zeno of Elea.
Pericles first marriage was to one of his close relatives, whom he had two sons with, Paralus and Xanthippus. But around 445 BC, he divorced his first wife and offered her to another man. After his divorce, he had a long-term relationship with Aspasia of Miletus, whom
He was such a profound influence on Athenian society that Thucydides, an admirer and contemporary historian, acclaimed him as "the first citizen of Athens". Pericles turned the Delian League into an Athenian empire and led his countrymen during the first two years of the Peloponnesian War. During the Peloponnesian War, Pericles led Athens, roughly from 461 to 429 BC. This period is sometimes known as the "Age of Pericles", which happened as early as the Persian Wars.
Pericles is considered to have been the first politician to attribute importance to philosophy. He enjoyed the company of the philosophers Protagoras, Zeno of Elea, and Anaxagoras. Anaxagoras and Pericles became close friends. He also influenced him greatly. Many believed that Pericles’ calmness and self-control are because of Anaxagoras' emphasis on emotional calm in the face of trouble and skepticism about divine phenomena.
Pericles entered politics in 470