--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After the Age of Pericles, as Athenian…" description: "\"“After the Age of Pericles, as Athenian confidence dimmed, that famous confidence was all too often replaced by cynicism, modesty by cockiness, sinceri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/thomas-cahill-24308_confidence_after-the-age-of-pericles-as-athenian-co_3175903.jpg" --- # After the Age of Pericles, as Athenian confidence dimmed… ![“After the Age of Pericles, as Athenian confidence dimmed, that famous confidence was all too often replaced by cynicism, modesty by cockiness, sincerity by manipulation, strength by bluster. Though the gods were more and more loudly invoked, the prayers rang hollow, the appeal to conscience turned…” quote by Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/thomas-cahill-24308_confidence_after-the-age-of-pericles-as-athenian-co_3175903.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/thomas-cahill-24308_confidence_after-the-age-of-pericles-as-athenian-co_3175903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/thomas-cahill-24308_confidence_after-the-age-of-pericles-as-athenian-co_3175903.jpg) > ““After the Age of Pericles, as Athenian confidence dimmed, that famous confidence was all too often replaced by cynicism, modesty by cockiness, sincerity by manipulation, strength by bluster. Though the gods were more and more loudly invoked, the prayers rang hollow, the appeal to conscience turned mute, and any reference to social justice tended to be met with a knowing smirk.”” [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes a cultural shift in ancient Athens from confidence to cynicism, and from sincerity to manipulation, indicating a loss of genuine moral and spiritual engagement. **In simple terms:** Athens became more cynical and insincere over time. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist cynicism in modern discourse. Themes cultural shift morality politics religion societal change Mood reflective critical historical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political debates - corporate ethics - media commentary - personal relationships - public policy Key Concepts cynicism confidence sincerity manipulation social justice religious practice Questions to Reflect On - How does cynicism affect modern civic engagement? - What can restore sincere discourse? A Different Perspective It may overgeneralize an entire era and ignore positive aspects of Athenian society. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Athenian Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athenian-confidence-5799093/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Confidence Dimmed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence-dimmed-5799094/) [Confidence Replaced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence-replaced-4856793/) [Cynicism Modesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynicism-modesty-5799096/) [Pessimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimism/) [Replaced Cynicism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/replaced-cynicism-5799095/) [Social justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-justice/) ## Related quotes > [No one would call me a great cook, but over years of cooking, for me, confidence has replaced ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/no-one-would-call-me-a-great-cook-but-over-years-of-cooking-for-me/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [When indeed shall we learn that we are all related one to the other, that we are all members of one body? Until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/when-indeed-shall-we-learn-that-we-are-all-related-one-to-the-other/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [The real fault is to have faults and not amend them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-real-fault-is-to-have-faults-and-not-amend-them/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [To all people of good will who are working for social justice: never tire of working for a more just world, marked by greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/to-all-people-of-good-will-who-are-working-for-social-justice-never/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [The Americans say that we are ungrateful-but I ask them for heaven's sake, what should we be grateful to them for-for murdering our fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walker/the-americans-say-that-we-are-ungrateful-but-i-ask-them-for-heaven-s/) [David Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walker/) > [Why should anyone think a white skin superior in evaluating the qualities of human life? I did not really admire a white skin so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/why-should-anyone-think-a-white-skin-superior-in-evaluating-the/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [“Equality of condition and equality of opportunity must provide the foundation of an interdependent nation with building blocks found in dignity and respect given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-banks-lewis/equality-of-condition-and-equality-of-opportunity-must-provide-the/) [Julie Banks Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-banks-lewis/) > [Music and the arts feed our souls, but a decent wage puts food on the table. Musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-morello/music-and-the-arts-feed-our-souls-but-a-decent-wage-puts-food-on-the/) [Tom Morello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-morello/) > [We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Have therefore zeal to better thyself and then mayst thou have zeal to thy neighbor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/have-therefore-zeal-to-better-thyself-and-then-mayst-thou-have-zeal/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [Without food, man at most can live but a few weeks; without it all other components of social justice are meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-borlaug/without-food-man-at-most-can-live-but-a-few-weeks-without-it-all/) [Norman Borlaug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-borlaug/) > [It clearly follows that to make men moral it is necessary to make their social environment moral. And that can be done in only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/it-clearly-follows-that-to-make-men-moral-it-is-necessary-to-make/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The teacher is one who makes two ideas grow where only one grew before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-teacher-is-one-who-makes-two-ideas-grow-where-only-one-grew-before/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## More by Thomas Cahill > [“The phrase "the violent bear it away" fascinated the 20th century Irish-American storyteller Flannery O'Connor, who used it as the title of one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/the-phrase-the-violent-bear-it-away-fascinated-the-20th-century-irish/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [“In becoming an Irishman, Patrick wedded his world to theirs, his faith to their life…Patrick found a way of swimming down to the depths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/in-becoming-an-irishman-patrick-wedded-his-world-to-theirs-his-faith/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [Wherever they went the Irish brought with them their books, many unseen in Europe for centuries and tied to their waists as signs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/wherever-they-went-the-irish-brought-with-them-their-books-many/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [How real is history? Is it just an enormous soup so full of disparate ingredients that it is uncharacterizable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/how-real-is-history-is-it-just-an-enormous-soup-so-full-of-disparate/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [The Irish innovation was to make all confession a completely private affair between penitent and priest - and to make it as repeatable as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/the-irish-innovation-was-to-make-all-confession-a-completely-private/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [“They understood, as few have understood before or since, how fleeting life is and how pointless to try to hold on to things or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/they-understood-as-few-have-understood-before-or-since-how-fleeting/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [“We followed the rump of a misguiding woman. It is the usual thing for a herd led by a mare to be strayed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/we-followed-the-rump-of-a-misguiding-woman-it-is-the-usual-thing-for/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [“Cujus regio, ejus religio (Whose region it is, his is the religion).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/cujus-regio-ejus-religio-whose-region-it-is-his-is-the-religion/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [We can hardly get up in the morning or cross the street without being Jewish. We dream Jewish dreams and hope Jewish hopes. Most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/we-can-hardly-get-up-in-the-morning-or-cross-the-street-without-being/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [“I see a sweet country. I could rest my weapon there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/i-see-a-sweet-country-i-could-rest-my-weapon-there/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [(The festival) was awfully impersonal and abstract and there was something really gloomy about it, ... That's when I first started thinking about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/the-festival-was-awfully-impersonal-and-abstract-and-there-was/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [“We will never make it under our own stem. Having made this connection, Augustine falls apart. What he describes at this point in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/we-will-never-make-it-under-our-own-stem-having-made-this-connection/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [The Jews started it all-and by 'it' I mean so many of the things we care about, the underlying values that make all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/the-jews-started-it-all-and-by-it-i-mean-so-many-of-the-things-we/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [The Irish believed that gods, druids, poets, and others in touch with the magical world could be literal shape-shifters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/the-irish-believed-that-gods-druids-poets-and-others-in-touch-with/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [Is is seldom possible to say of the medievals that they \*always\* did one thing and \*never\* another; they were marvelously inconsistent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/is-is-seldom-possible-to-say-of-the-medievals-that-they-always-did/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) [Explore all 24 Thomas Cahill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) ## More Confidence quotes > [The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-cia-has-concluded-in-a-secret-assessment-that-russia-intervened/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [I was just confident my work was good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bunny-yeager/i-was-just-confident-my-work-was-good/) [Bunny Yeager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bunny-yeager/) > [I am confident when I take the penalty otherwise I would pass for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-fernandes/i-am-confident-when-i-take-the-penalty-otherwise-i-would-pass-for/) [Bruno Fernandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-fernandes/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [My friend made me a leather dress for the MTV awards. It gives you confidence, wearing something you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/my-friend-made-me-a-leather-dress-for-the-mtv-awards-it-gives-you/) [Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/) > [Confidence comes from cutting yourself some slack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/confidence-comes-from-cutting-yourself-some-slack/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [I would rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-ball/i-would-rather-regret-the-things-that-i-have-done-than-the-things/) [Lucille Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-ball/) > [You want to remain hungry and stay in a good place as a competitor; at the same time, you want to be confident but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-odom/you-want-to-remain-hungry-and-stay-in-a-good-place-as-a-competitor-at/) [Lamar Odom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-odom/) > [Get to know yourself well enough to not only expect, but also control, your response to the unexpected challenges in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/get-to-know-yourself-well-enough-to-not-only-expect-but-also-control/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I look for someone who has confidence. Also someone whose energetic, cause I'm NOT that energetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-jonas/i-look-for-someone-who-has-confidence-also-someone-whose-energetic/) [Nick Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-jonas/) > [Why shouldn't I be confident? I'm well educated, I can deliver a line, and I have more than three expressions. That's good right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonakshi-sinha/why-shouldn-t-i-be-confident-i-m-well-educated-i-can-deliver-a-line/) [Sonakshi Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonakshi-sinha/) > [I was very confident on the stage, and I stood out in a red gown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-johnson/i-was-very-confident-on-the-stage-and-i-stood-out-in-a-red-gown/) [Nicole Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-johnson/) > [If you go to any nunnery and ask them what the main obstacle is, they'll always say low self-esteem and lack of confidence. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-go-to-any-nunnery-and-ask-them-what-the-main-obstacle-is-they/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) [Browse all 11,290 Confidence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“After the Age of Pericles, as Athenian confidence dimmed, that famous confidence was all too often replaced by cynicism, modesty by cockiness, sincerity by manipulation, strength by bluster. 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