Alcibiades

Alcibiades ( ; grc-gre, Ἀλκιβιάδης; 450 – 404 BC) was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last of the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He played a major role in the second half of that conflict as a strategic advisor, military commander, and politician.

During the course of the Peloponnesian War, Alcibiades changed his political allegiance several times. In his native Athens in the early 410s BC, he advocated an aggressive foreign policy and was a prominent proponent of the Sicilian Expedition. After his political enemies brought charges of sacrilege against him, he fled to Sparta, where he served as a strategic adviser, proposing or supervising several major campaigns against Athens. However, Alcibiades made powerful enemies in Sparta too, and defected to Persia. There he served as an adviser to the satrap Tissaphernes until Athenian political allies brought about his recall. He served as an Athenian general ( strategos) for several years, but enemies eventually succeeded in exiling him a second time.

Scholars have argued that had the Sicilian expedition been under Alcibiades's command instead of that of Nicias, the expedition might not have met its eventual disastrous fate.A. Vlachos, ''Thucydides' Bias'', 59 etc. In the years when he served Sparta, Alcibiades played a significant role in Athens's undoing; the capture of Decelea and the revolts of several critical Athenian subjects occurred either at his suggestion or under his supervision. Once restored to his native city, however, he played a crucial role in a string of Athenian victories that eventually brought Sparta to seek a peace with Athens. He favored unconventional tactics, frequently winning cities over by treachery or negotiation rather than by siege.P. B. Kern, ''Ancient Siege Warfare'', 151. Alcibiades's military and political talents frequently proved valuable to whichever state currently held his allegiance, but his propensity for making powerful enemies ensured that he never remained in one place for long; and, by the end of the war that he had helped to rekindle in the early 410s, his days of political relevance were a bygone memory.

Early years

Timeline of Alcibiades' life (c. 450–404 BC)

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at:450 text:450 BC - Born in Athens
at:447 text:c. 447 BC - Lost his father—Pericles became his guardian
at:434 text:c. 434 BC - Saved while fighting at Potidaea by Socrates
at:424 text:c. 424 BC - Saved Socrates while fighting at Delium
at:422 text:c. 422 BC - Entered politics
at:420 text:420 BC - Led a failed alliance with Argos, Mantinea, and Elis
at:417 text:c. 417 BC - Ostracised Hyperbolos in collaboration with Nicias
at:415 text:415 BC - Led the fleet sailing to Italy—defected to Sparta
at:412 text:412 BC - Fled from Sparta and escaped to Tissaphernes
at:411 text:411 BC - Reinstated as an Athenian general
at:410 text:410 BC - Defeated the Spartans at Abydos and Cyzicus
at:409 text:409 BC - Siege of Chalcedon, Selymria, and Byzantium
at:408 text:408 BC - Successful siege of Byzantium
at:407 text:407 BC - Returned victorious to Athens
at:406 text:406 BC - Sent to exile after the defeat at Notium
at:405 text:405 BC - Tried in vain to help the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami
at:404 text:404 BC - Murdered in Phrygia

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Alcibiades was born in Athens. The family of his father, Cleinias,Plato, ''Alcibiades 1''
103a
had old connections with the Spartan aristocracy through a relationship of '' xenia'', and the name "Alcibiades" was of Spartan origin. Alcibiades' mother was Deinomache, the daughter of Megacles, head of the powerful Alcmaeonid family, and could trace her family back to Eurysaces and the Telamonian Ajax.Plato, ''Alcibiades 1''
121a
Alcibiades thereby, through his mother, belonged to the powerful and controversial family of the Alcmaeonidae; the renowned Pericles and his brother Ariphron were Deinomache's cousins, as her father and their mother were siblings.C.A. Cox, ''Household Interests'', 144. His paternal grandfather, also named Alcibiades, was a friend of Cleisthenes, the famous constitutional reformer of the late sixth century BC. After the death of Cleinias at the Battle of Coronea (447 BC), Pericles and Ariphron became his guardians.N. Denyer, ''Commentary of Plato's Alcibiades'', 88–89.

According to Plutarch, Alcibiades had several famous teachers, including Socrates, and was well trained in the art of rhetoric. He was noted, however, for his unruly behavior, which was mentioned by ancient Greek and Latin writers on several occasions. It was believed that Socrates took Alcibiades as a student because he believed he could change Alcibiades from his vain ways. Xenophon attempted to clear Socrates's name at trial by relaying information that Alcibiades was always corrupt and that Socrates merely failed in attempting to teach him morality.

Alcibiades took part in the Battle of Potidaea in 432 BC, where Socrates was said to have saved his life.Plato, ''Symposium''
220e
Alcibiades later returned the favour by rescuing Socrates at the Battle of Delium in 424 BC. Alcibiades had a particularly close relationship with Socrates, whom he admired and respected.I. Sykoutris, ''Introduction to Symposium'', 159–10.Plato, ''Symposium''
215a–22b
Plutarch and Plato describe Alcibiades as Socrates's beloved, the former stating that Alcibiades "feared and reverenced Socrates alone, and despised the rest of his lovers".Plutarch, ''Alcibiades''
6

Alcibiades was married to Hipparete, the daughter of Hipponicus, a wealthy Athenian. His bride brought with her a large dowry, which significantly increased Alcibiades' already substantial family fortune.W. Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology'', 99 According to Plutarch, Hipparete loved her husband, but she attempted to divorce him because he consorted with courtesans but prevented her from appearing at court. He seized her in court and carried her home again through the crowded Agora. She lived with him until her death, which came soon after, and gave birth to two children, a son named Alcibiades the Younger and a daughter.Plutarch, ''Alcibiades''
8
Alcibiades was famed throughout his life for his physical attractiveness, of which he was inordinately vain.

Political career until 412 BC

Rise to prominence

Alcibiades first rose to prominence when he began advocating aggressive Athenian action after the signing of the Peace of Nicias. That treaty, an uneasy truce between Sparta and Athens signed midway through the Peloponnesian War, came at the end of seven years of fighting during which neither side had gained a decisive advantage. Historians Arnold W. Gomme and Raphael Sealey believe, and Thucydides reports,Thucydides, "The History of the Peloponnesian Wars", 5.43. that Alcibiades was offended that the Spartans had negotiated that treaty through Nicias and Laches, overlooking him on account of his youth.A.W. Gomme, ''A Historical Commentary on Thucydides'', 339.R. Sealey, ''A History of the Greek City States'', 353.

Disputes over the interpretation of the treaty led the Spartans to dispatch ambassadors to Athens with full powers to arrange all unsettled matters. The Athenians initially received these ambassadors well, but Alcibiades met with them in secret before they were to speak to the ecclesia (the Athenian Assembly) and told them that the Assembly was haughty and had great ambitions.Plutarch, ''Alcibiades''
14
He urged them to renounce their diplomatic authority to represent Sparta, and instead allow him to assist them through his influence in Athenian politics. The representatives agreed and, impressed with Alcibiades, they alienated themselves from Nicias, who genuinely wanted to reach an agreement with the Spartans. The next day, during the Assembly, Alcibiades asked them what powers Sparta had granted them to negotiate and they replied, as agreed, that they had not come with full and independent powers. This was in direct contradiction to what they had said the day before, and Alcibiades seized on this opportunity to denounce their character, cast suspicion on their aims, and destroy their credibility. This ploy increased Alcibiades's standing while embarrassing Nicias, and Alcibiades was subsequently appointed General. He took advantage of his increasing power to orchestrate the creation of an alliance between Argos, Mantinea, Elis, and other states in the Peloponnese, threatening Sparta's dominance in the region. According to Gomme, "it was a grandiose scheme for an Athenian general at the head of a mainly Peloponnesian army to march through the Peloponnese cocking a snook at Sparta when her reputation was at its lowest".A.W. Gomme, ''A Historical Commentary on Thucydides'', 70. This alliance, however, would ultimately be defeated at the Battle of Mantinea.Plutarch, ''Alcibiades''

Somewhere in the years 416–415 BC, a complex struggle took place between Hyperbolos on one side and Nicias and Alcibiades on the other. Hyperbolos tried to bring about the ostracism of one of this pair, but Nicias and Alcibiades combined their influence to induce the people to expel Hyperbolos instead.Plutarch, ''Alcibiades''

This incident reveals that Nicias and Alcibiades each commanded a personal following, whose votes were determined by the wishes of the leaders.

Alcibiades was not one of the Generals involved in Melian dialogue, the capture of Melos in 416–415 BC, but Plutarch describes him as a supporter of the decree by which the grown men of Melos were killed and the women and children enslaved.Plutarch, ''Alcibiades''
XVI
An oration urging Alcibiades' ostracism, "Against Alcibiades" (historically attributed to the orator Andocides but not in fact by him), alleges that Alcibiades had a child by one of these enslaved women.Andocides, ''Against Alcibiades''
22

Sicilian Expedition

In 415 BC, delegates from the Sicilian city of Segesta ( el, Egesta) arrived at Athens to plead for the support of the Athenians in their war against Selinus. During the debates on the undertaking, Nicias was vehemently opposed to Athenian intervention, explaining that the campaign would be very costly and attacking the character and motives of Alcibiades, who had emerged as a major supporter of the expedition. On the other hand, Alcibiades argued that a campaign in this new theatre would bring riches to the city and expand the empire, just as the Persian Wars had. In his speech Alcibiades predicted (over-optimistically, in the opinion of most historians) that the Athenians would be able to recruit allies in the region and impose their rule on Syracuse, the most powerful city of Sicily.Platias-Koliopoulos, ''Thucydides on Strategy'', 237–46. In spite of Alcibiades's enthusiastic advocacy for the plan, it was Nicias, not he, who turned a modest undertaking into a massive campaign and made the conquest of Sicily seem possible and safe. It was at his suggestion that the size of the fleet was significantly increased from 60 ships to "140 galleys, 5,100 men at arms, and about 1300 archers, slingers, and light armed men". Philosopher Leo Strauss underscores that the Sicilian expedition surpassed everything undertaken by Pericles. Almost certainly Nicias's intention was to shock the assembly with his high estimate of the forces required, but, instead of dissuading his fellow citizens, his analysis made them all the more eager.L. Strauss, ''The City and Man'', 104. Against his wishes Nicias was appointed General along with Alcibiades and Lamachus, all three of whom were given full powers to do whatever was in the best interests of Athens while in Sicily.Thucydides, 6.26.

One night during preparations for the expedition, the hermai, heads of the god Hermes on a plinth with a phallus, were mutilated throughout Athens. This was a religious scandal, resulted in a charge of ''asebeia'' (impiety) against Alcibiades, and was seen as a bad omen for the mission. Plutarch explains that Androcles, a political leader, used false witnesses who accused Alcibiades and his friends of mutilating the statues, and of profaning the Eleusinian Mysteries. Later his opponents, chief among them being Androcles and Thessalus, Cimon's son, enlisted orators to argue that Alcibiades should set sail as planned and stand trial on his return from the campaign. Alcibiades was suspicious of their intentions, and asked to be allowed to stand trial immediately, under penalty of death, in order to clear his name.Plutarch, ''Alcibiades''
19
This request was denied, and the fleet set sail soon after, with the charges unresolved.Thucydides, 6.29.

As Alcibiades had suspected, his absence emboldened his enemies, and they began to accuse him of other sacrilegious actions and comments and even alleged that these actions were connected with a plot against the democracy.Thucydides, 6.61. According to Thucydides, the Athenians were always in fear and took everything suspiciously.Thucydides, 6.53. When the fleet arrived in Catania, it found the state trireme ''Salaminia'' waiting to bring Alcibiades and the others indicted for mutilating the hermai or profaning the Eleusinian Mysteries back to Athens to stand trial. Alcibiades told the heralds that he would follow them back to Athens in his ship, but in Thurii he escaped with his crew; in Athens he was convicted ''in absentia'' and condemned to death. His property was confiscated and a reward of one talent was promised to whoever succeeded in killing any who had fled. Meanwhile, the Athenian force in Sicily, after a few early victories, moved against Messina, where the Generals expected their secret allies within the city to betray it to them. Alcibiades, however, foreseeing that he would be outlawed, gave information to the friends of the Syracusans in Messina, who succeeded in preventing the admission of the Athenians.Thucydides, 6.74 With the death of Lamachus in battle some time later, command of the Sicilian Expedition fell into the hands of Nicias, admired by Thucydides (however a modern scholar has judged him to be an inadequate military leader).

Defection to Sparta

After his disappearance at Thurii, Alcibiades quickly contacted the Spartans, "promising to render them aid and service greater than all the harm he had previously done them as an enemy" if they would offer him sanctuary.Plutarch, ''Alcibiades''
23
The Spartans granted this request and received him among them. Because of this defection, the Athenians condemned him to death ''in absentia'' and confiscated his property. In the debate at Sparta over whether to send a force to relieve Syracuse, Alcibiades spoke and instilled fear of Athenian ambition into the Spartan ephors by informing them that the Athenians hoped to conquer Sicily, Italy, and even Carthage.Thucydides, 6.89–90. Yale historian Donald Kagan believes that Alcibiades knowingly exaggerated the plans of the Athenians to convince the Spartans of the benefit they stood to gain from his help. Kagan asserts that Alcibiades had not yet acquired his "legendary" reputation, and the Spartans saw him as "a defeated and hunted man" whose policies "produced strategic failures" and brought "no decisive result". If accurate, this assessment underscores one of Alcibiades's greatest talents, his highly persuasive oratory.D. Kagan, ''The Peloponnesian War'', 282–83. After making the threat seem imminent, Alcibiades advised the Spartans to send troops and most importantly, a Spartan commander to discipline and aid the Syracusans.

Alcibiades served as a military adviser to Sparta and helped the Spartans secure several crucial successes. He advised them to build a permanent fort at Decelea, just over ten miles (16 km) from Athens and within sight of the city.Thucydides, 7.18. By doing this, the Spartans cut the Athenians off entirely from their homes and crops and the silver mines of Sunium. This was part of Alcibiades's plan to renew the war with Athens in Attica. The move was devastating to Athens and forced the citizens to live within the long walls of the city year round, making them entirely dependent on their seaborne trade for food. Seeing Athens thus beleaguered on a second front, members of the Delian League began to contemplate revolt. In the wake of Athens's disastrous defeat in Sicily, Alcibiades sailed to Ionia with a Spartan fleet and succeeded in persuading several critical cities to revolt.Plutarch, ''Alcibiades''
24
Thucydides, 8.26.

In spite of these valuable contributions to the Spartan cause, Alcibiades fell out of favor with the Spartan government at around this time, ruled by Agis II

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