On the threshold of this work, I should like to express my great gratitude to Maurice Sartre who, with his communicative enthusiasm, convinced me to embark upon this adventure and whose unfailing support enabled me not to lose my way. I also owe a great deal to the history students of Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, who were the first to accompany me as we paced up and down those Periclean paths in the wan early mornings of Bois de L’Etang; their reactions often helped me to refine, develop, and clarify my hypotheses and arguments.
I should also like to thank all those who were patient and kind enough to reread the early versions of this work, helping me to avoid many historical, orthographic, and logical pitfalls—in particular, Marie-Christine Chainais, Pascal Payen, and Jérôme Wilgaux, who allowed me to benefit from their precious expertise. Two long-suffering scholars deserve a special mention: Paulin Ismard, who followed my tentative progress step by step and assumed the friendly role of a critical mirror, and Christophe Brun, who, with his customary humor and his salutary objectivity, toppled many of my firm convictions.
Finally, nothing would have been possible without Cécile Chainais, who was at my side throughout the gestation of this Pericles and thanks to whom I discovered the keys to paternity.