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Pericles was the leader of Athens during its Golden Age. He encouraged democratic principles, such as citizen involvement. Under Pericles' rule, Athens gained beautiful art and architecture and threw marvelous festivals, banquets, and parades. These attracted merchants, philosophers, and artisans from all over Greece. He had an imperialistic foreign policy; he wanted the world to know the supremacy of Athens. Unfortunately, this policy led to the downfall of Athens. When all the other city-states became angry enough, they revolted and conquered Athens. Sophocles was one of the greatest playwrights in the history of Greece. He lived during Athens' Golden Age. He began his career as a playwright when he won the Dionysia, a prestigious annual theater competition. From there, he wrote 120 plays in 62 years. 24 of his plays won first place in the Dionysia, and the rest placed second. He made many innovations to the theater, including a machine to raise and lower people to create the effect of flying and an increased number of people in the chorus to allow for a more involved plot. He also introduced the idea that people are responsible for their own actions and control their own fate, so they can't blame the