Pericles was born around 493 BC into a rich aristocratic family. On his mother's side he was related to the great reformer Cleisthenes. His father was a famous general.

Little is known of his early life and this may be partly to do with the great events going on all around him. These were tumultuous times for Athens. When Pericles was only three years old the Persians made their first bid to conquer the Greeks, being soundly defeated at Marathon. By the time he was 13 they had returned again, and undoubtedly the teenage Pericles would have been among the many women and children evacuated from Athens during the battle at Salamis.