. . . . . "The peak of Athenian hegemony was achieved in the 440s to 430s BC, known as the Age of Pericles.In the classical period, Athens was a center for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Akademia and Aristotle's Lyceum, Athens was also the birthplace of Socrates, Pericles, Sophocles, and many other prominent philosophers, writers and politicians of the ancient world." .