--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There Pericles says that the essence of…" description: "\"“There Pericles says that the essence of the Athenian democracy is that any citizen, regardless of class or profession, should be able to take over any..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/thomas-mcevilley-42744_psychology_there-pericles-says-that-the-essence-of_2618623.jpg" --- # There Pericles says that the essence of the Athenian… ![“There Pericles says that the essence of the Athenian democracy is that any citizen, regardless of class or profession, should be able to take over any governmental office and execute it properly and wisely with the good of his fellow citizens in mind. The reason any citizen would have the…” quote by Thomas McEvilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/thomas-mcevilley-42744_psychology_there-pericles-says-that-the-essence-of_2618623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/thomas-mcevilley-42744_psychology_there-pericles-says-that-the-essence-of_2618623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/thomas-mcevilley-42744_psychology_there-pericles-says-that-the-essence-of_2618623.jpg) > ““There Pericles says that the essence of the Athenian democracy is that any citizen, regardless of class or profession, should be able to take over any governmental office and execute it properly and wisely with the good of his fellow citizens in mind. The reason any citizen would have the necessary ability had nothing to do with family lineage; it was simply the universal dispensation to citizens, in childhood, of paideia, the Hellenic education. Paideia was an ideology based on democracy, an attitude that was recovered and reconstructed in Europe from the Renaissance to the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. Education was supposed to transform one from a child unthinkingly submissive to autocracy into an adult capable of guiding one’s own destiny and that of one’s fellows.”” [Thomas McEvilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcevilley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracy’s essence is universal education enabling any citizen to govern wisely, independent of birth. **In simple terms:** Education empowers all citizens. Key Takeaway Promote universal education. Themes democracy education equality Mood analytical serious Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - political participation - public policy - civic engagement Key Concepts citizen empowerment political theory Questions to Reflect On - How does education shape democratic ability? - What barriers limit equal civic participation? A Different Perspective Implementation varies across cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [The Athenian democracy suffered much from that narrowness of patriotism which is the ruin of all nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-athenian-democracy-suffered-much-from-that-narrowness-of/) [H. G. 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