Pericles and Alcibiades also belonged to the Alcmaeonidae, and during the Peloponnesian War the Spartans referred to the family's curse in an attempt to discredit Pericles. Pericles led Athens from roughly 461 to 429 BCE, in what is sometimes referred to as the "Age of Pericles." He is credited in part by transforming Athens into an empire through the Delian League. Pericles promoted the arts and literature, and it is principally through his efforts that Athens acquired the reputation of being the educational and cultural center of the ancient Greek world. He started an ambitious project that generated most of the surviving structures on the Acropolis, including the Parthenon. This project beautified and protected the city, exhibited its glory, and gave work to its people. Pericles' Funeral Oration is nowadays synonymous with the struggle for participatory democracy and civic pride. He eventually would succumb to the Plague of Athens that ran rampant during this time, killing numerous people.