The National Hellenic Museum (NHM) shares Greek history and illuminates its relevance to the present. To this end, our annual Trial series takes famous legal cases from Greek history and tries them before an audience to demonstrate the enduring relevance of these ancient disputes. This year, we are excited to present The Trial of Pericles on Wednesday, April 17 at 7:00 PM at the Harris Theater in Chicago. Please click here for a preview of the event.

The Trial of Pericles will pose this question: Was Pericles a hero or a tyrant? Although he is known as a great Athenian statesman and a guardian of Athenian democracy, Pericles garnered enemies when he altered the Athenian Constitution to revoke the citizenship of those without two Athenian parents, claiming this was necessary to protect Athens from foreign interference. Pericles’ actions erased citizenship rights for numerous Athenians, including the right to vote.