Pericles tightens Athenian control of the empire, which now includes the islands of the Aegean, much of the Aegean coastline, the Hellespont, and cities around the Black Sea.
At its height in the 440s BCE, the Athenian Empire is composed of one hundred and seventy-two tribute-paying states.
The enormous wealth entering Athens from subject states finances the flourishing of democratic institutions, literature, art, and architecture that comes to be known as the golden age of Athens.
Pericles builds great architectural monuments, including the Parthenon, to employ workers and symbolize the majesty of Athens.
Callicrates is reputedly the builder of the Middle Wall of the Long Walls, begun in 443, that unite Athens with its harbor, Piraeus.
Micon paints an Amazonomachy (the Battle of Theseus and the Amazons) on the Stoa Poikile at the Agora; Phidias portrays an Amazonomachy on the shield of the Athena Parthenos, the monumental cult statue of the Parthenon.
The four greatest Greek playwrights —Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Euripides, and Sophocles—write during the golden age.