Original French Title: Le siècle de Périclès
Setting: 1,450 BC to 323 BC
Takes place in Ancient Greece. Despite the title, this episode doesn't just focus on Athens of the 5th century BC, but also showcases life in Sparta, and even going as far as the Minoan Civilization.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Modesty: Most paintings from Minoan Crete usually depicts women with long skirts and exposed breasts. Here, for obvious reasons, the breasts are covered.
- Artistic License – History: Miltiades and Euripides were never ostracized. Though, in Miltiades' case, he was indeed put on a trial and was imprisoned, after a failed expedition.
- Athens and Sparta: This episode might focus mostly on Athens, but it showcases some aspects of the Spartan way of life, mainly to compare them to the much more peaceful and civilized Athens.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Downplayed. Pericles may be leader of the Athenians and he wears a suit of armour in all the scenes that he appears, but he is never seen fighting.
- Bittersweet Ending: The episode ends by telling us that after Alexander the Great's death, the Greek world came to a dark age, but made a comeback after 2,000 years.
- Dirty Old Man: At one point during the episode, a young merchant tries to sell a weakly athlete, but fails. He tries again, this time proposing a young girl. An old man immediately starts jumping up and down, while exclaiming that he will buy both of them.
- Door Slams You: Happens to Pierre and the Pest, the latter being Squashed Flat, when they arrive at Pierrette's house.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- Pericles' introduction as a Reasonable Authority Figure and a skilled and just leader is presented through this dialogue:
Pericles: A real democratic state must, without exceptions, serve the greater number, for each and all, equality before the law! It must avoid any form of individual egotism and protect the individual from opportunistic decisions!- The moment Socrates appears, he attempts to have a philosophical conversation with Pierrot.
Socrates:(to Pierrot)Tell me kid, what do you know? - The Exile: In Athens, it's called ostracism and it's put into action whenever someone becomes dangerously powerful, such as in the case of Aristides the Just, Miltiades, Themistocles, Cimon and Alcibiades, or even for petty reasons, like with Phidias, Euripides, for his plays were smash hits, Thucidides and Anaxagoras, who said that the Earth is a ball at space and that the sun was a firing ball.
- He-Man Woman Hater:
- Creon, a character from Sophocles' play "Antigone", says that, as long as he is alive, he will forbid any woman of having a saying. This statement is received with "boos" from the audience.
- Pierette's father, who tells his daughter to go to her room the moment Pierre arrives, for a woman shall not participate in men's conversation.
- Historical Domain Character: Plenty examples. First, we have Pericles, the man that this episode is dedicated to, Sophocles, the writer of Antigone, Phidias, the famous sculptor played by Maestro himself, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Euripides, Miltiades, Aristides the Just, Themistocles, Cimon, Anaxagoras, Hippocrates, Herodotus, Thucidides, Alexander the Great, Protagoras and Alcibiades.
- The Plague: A disastrous one hits Athens, resulting in the death of many Athenians, including Pericles.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Pericles is presented as such through his Establishing Character Moment.Pericles: A real democratic state must, without exceptions, serve the greater number, for each and all, equality before the law! It must avoid any form of individual egotism and protect the individual from opportunistic decisions!
- Squashed Flat: Happens to The Pest, when he knocks Pierette's door and a servant, unaware that he was standing behind, opens it and squashes him as a result.
