<P> Plutarch says that Pericles stood first among the Athenians for forty years . If this was so, Pericles must have taken up a position of leadership by the early 460s BC - in his early or mid-thirties . Throughout these years he endeavored to protect his privacy and to present himself as a model for his fellow citizens . For example, he would often avoid banquets, trying to be frugal . </P> <P> In 463 BC, Pericles was the leading prosecutor of Cimon, the leader of the conservative faction who was accused of neglecting Athens' vital interests in Macedon . Although Cimon was acquitted, this confrontation proved that Pericles' major political opponent was vulnerable . </P> <P> Around 461 BC, the leadership of the democratic party decided it was time to take aim at the Areopagus, a traditional council controlled by the Athenian aristocracy, which had once been the most powerful body in the state . The leader of the party and mentor of Pericles, Ephialtes, proposed a reduction of the Areopagus' powers . The Ecclesia (the Athenian Assembly) adopted Ephialtes' proposal without opposition . This reform signaled the beginning of a new era of "radical democracy". </P> <P> The democratic party gradually became dominant in Athenian politics, and Pericles seemed willing to follow a populist policy in order to cajole the public . According to Aristotle, Pericles' stance can be explained by the fact that his principal political opponent, Cimon, was both rich and generous, and was able to gain public favor by lavishly handing out portions of his sizable personal fortune . The historian Loren J. Samons II argues, however, that Pericles had enough resources to make a political mark by private means, had he so chosen . </P>

Who is credited with much of the rebuilding of athens