Paralus and Xanthippus ( Gr. and ) were the two legitimate sons of

Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...

, Xanthippus being the older one and Paralus the younger, and hence members of the

Alcmaeonid The Alcmaeonidae or Alcmaeonids ( grc-gre, Ἀλκμαιωνίδαι ; Attic: ) were a wealthy and powerful noble family of ancient Athens, a branch of the Neleides who claimed descent from the mythological Alcmaeon, the great-grandson of Nes ...

family. Xanthippus was named after Pericles' father, while Paralus was named after the sacred trireme and flagship of the Athenian fleet. They were educated by their father with the greatest care, but they both appear to have been of inferior capacity, which was uncompensated by their poor worth of character, although contemporary and some later writers seemed to consider Paralus to have been a somewhat more hopeful youth with more potential than his brother. Both of them had the nickname of ''Blitomammas'' (, literally "cabbage sucker", an epithet for a slow or dim-witted person). Both Xanthippus and Paralus, along with their mother, fell victims to the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

in 429 BC. Pericles himself succumbed shortly thereafter.

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

, xi. p. 505, 506

References

{{SmithDGRBM 429 BC deaths 5th-century BC Athenians 5th-century BC births Alcmaeonidae Ancient Greeks who died from disease