Greece reached its height in the 5th century BC, in Athens, under leadership of the statesman Pericles. He opened Athenian democracy to the citizens, and built the magnificent temples and statues of Acropolis, he also created the Athenian empire.
Pericles was born in Athens in about 495 BC to a family of wealth and a good position in society. His father, Xanthippus, was also a statesman, and his mother, Agariste, was a member of the well political Alcmaeonid family. Pericles himself first gained fame in the in the spring of 472, when he provided and trained the chorus for Aeschylus' play 'The Persians'.
In 458, Pericles was first elected general. Generals were elected yearly to work and carry out the strategy necessary to run the affairs of state at home and overseas. Pericles won reelections frequently for about 30 years. In a time of kings and dictators as rulers, his policy (at home) was to place the state in the hands of all citizens under the rule of law. Assembly's made the laws, the Council of 500 executed them, and popular courts judged those who broke them. About 451 a law restricting Athenian citizenship to the people who are of Athenian parentage on both sides was passed with Pericles' support.
About this time the war with Persia finally ended. The Delian League had been formed against Xerxes and the Persians. Each of the states was charged according to its capability of paying. Some of the larger islands, such as Naxos, were able to contribute their own ships, but most couldn't. Instead they contributed money, and Athens built the ships in its shipyards and recruited crews. Pericles increased the size of the navy and instituted wages to crewmen.
In 454 the funds of the group was transferred from Delos to Athens. He used the defense money to rebuild the temples of the gods that had been destroyed by the Persians in 480. He argued that the allies were paying for their defense and, if it were assured, Athens didn't have to report for how the money was spent.