Alcibiades of Athens

Athenian general

• Born: c. 450 b.c.e.
• Birthplace: Athens?, Greece
• Died: 404 b.c.e.
• Place of death: Phrygia, Asia Minor (now in Turkey)

Although it might be argued that Alcibiades was a demagogue, a traitor, a heretic, and morally dissolute, he was a gifted politician and military leader—and certainly one of the most romantic figures of the Peloponnesian War.

Early Life

Alcibiades (al-suh-BI-uh-deez) was born around 450 b.c.e., the son of Cleinias, a wealthy aristocrat and participant in the Battle of Artemisium. His mother, Deinomache, was a member of the Alcmaeonid clan and a cousin of Pericles, in whose house the youth was raised after the death of his father in 447. Unfortunately, Alcibiades proved to be a difficult boy and failed to acquire any of his guardian’s noble qualities—except, perhaps, some political ambition. Even so, according to Plutarch, Alcibiades was uniquely equipped for success. He was tall, handsome, wealthy, charming, imaginative, and one of the best orators of the day, having qualities that endeared him to the masses. At the same time, he was impious, insolent, and incurably egocentric.

Alcibiades’ military training began at the outset of the Peloponnesian War. He served with distinction in battles at Potidaea (432 b.c.e.) and Delium (424 b.c.e.), and, as a result, he became quite popular in Athens and elsewhere. He acquired numerous admirers—among whom was the great philosopher Socrates, who saved the youth’s life in battle and then later had the favor returned. A lasting friendship was formed, although Socrates must have found his protégé’s rapacious lifestyle intolerable at times. It was during this period that Alcibiades married Hipparete of the house of Hipponius, who, after an unsuccessful attempt at divorce, closed her eyes to his infidelity and proved a dutiful wife. Together, they had a son named Axiochus, who apparently acquired some of the father’s less desirable traits.

Life’s Work

Alcibiades began his political career in 420 b.c.e., when he was elected one of the ten generals of the state, a position of great importance. Unlike Pericles, who had served on the same board for more than thirty years, Alcibiades was less devoted to Athens than to himself. Realizing that war with Sparta was the quickest route to fame and fortune, he cast his lot with the radicals of the state. This political decision placed him at odds with Nicias, the leader of the conservative faction, who had effected a peace treaty with the Spartans in 421. Displeased with the lull in fighting, Alcibiades formed an alliance with Argos, Elis, and Mantinea against Sparta. He was successful and was reelected in 419 to his seat on the board of generals. When the alliance with Argos eventually failed, Alcibiades’ popularity suffered, and he lost his generalship. It was only through a brief political amicitia with his enemy Nicias that he averted ostracism.

His political demise did not last long. In 416, another opportunity presented itself when a delegation from the city of Egesta in Sicily appealed to Alcibiades and the radicals in Athens for assistance in war against the neighboring state of Selinus, which was supported by Syracuse. The promise of wealth and the possibility of a western empire struck a responsive chord in Alcibiades. Under his influence and over the strenuous objections of Nicias, Athens prepared to send a large amphibious force against Syracuse.

The expedition was doomed from the start. Alcibiades, selected as one of the leaders, was accused by his detractors of impiety; the likelihood of his acquittal, however, prompted the opposition to postpone the trial, and Alcibiades was free, for the moment, to resume his position within the triumvirate of leadership designated for the Sicilian campaign. One of those with whom he would rule was Nicias, his former political adversary. It is not surprising that their inability to agree on strategy hindered field operations. Moreover, the siege had just begun when Athens dispatched a galley to bring Alcibiades back for his trial. Although he offered no resistance, the possibility of a death sentence in Athens led Alcibiades to escape at Thurii. From Thurii he made his way to Sparta, where he would remain for two years. While there, he earned the admiration of the Spartans with abstemious behavior. He plunged into politics, urging the Spartans to assist Syracuse in its war with Athens. He also convinced the Spartans to fortify Decelea, from which they could strike into Attica.

Although Alcibiades adapted to the Spartan way and rendered valuable services, he had not abandoned all the vices of earlier years. He seduced the Spartan queen while her husband, King Agis, was away at Decelea. The queen became pregnant and gave birth to a son. By the summer of 412, it was clear that Alcibiades could no longer remain in Sparta. From there, he fled to the court of the Persian satrap of Sardis, Tissaphernes, who, like others before him, was very impressed with his peripatetic guest.

Alcibiades worked hard to effect an alliance with Tissaphernes and Persia, which would prove injurious to Sparta and enable him to return to power in Athens. First the democracy must be overthrown and an oligarchy established in its place, he reasoned. In the deliberations that followed, many Athenians were receptive to the plan, and in 411 an oligarchic faction took control of the government. Unfortunately, the satrap’s demands were too great, and the oligarchy quickly lost faith in Alcibiades. Even so, a number of generals remained loyal to Alcibiades, who continued to control the bulk of Athenian military forces on the island of Samos.

The threat of a Spartan invasion, however, soon threw Athens into chaos; the oligarchy was toppled, and Alcibiades was recalled. He did not return immediately, choosing instead to remain in the eastern Aegean Sea area, where he achieved significant victories at Cynossema and Cyzicus. In the latter engagement, all Spartan ships were either destroyed or captured, and a Spartan admiral was killed. Between 410 and 408, Alcibiades enjoyed other successes—in the Bosporus Thracius, the Hellespontus, the area neighboring the Propontis Sea, and the area north of the Aegean Sea—as he struggled to keep Athenian food supplies flowing from the Black Sea area.

By the autumn of 408, Alcibiades was supreme in the Aegean area and was now ready to return triumphant to Athens. He reached the city in the following year and was given ultimate authority over Athenian military forces. It was at this time, during the peak of his power, that he probably intended to establish a tyranny. The Spartan commander Lysander, however, turned the tide of battle in the Aegean again, with a victory at Notium over one of Alcibiades’ subordinates. Even though Alcibiades was not wholly responsible for the defeat, the capricious Athenians could not forgive him. Deprived of his command, Alcibiades went into exile in Thrace. Ignored by his former countrymen and hounded by his enemies, he fled to Phrygia, where, at the insistence of Lysander, he was assassinated in 404.

Significance

When Pericles died in 429, a void was left in Athenian leadership. Into this void stepped Alcibiades. Endowed with the physical and intellectual requisites for greatness, he might have been the leader—indeed, the hero—for whom Athens was looking. Certainly Alcibiades was a great general whose judgment in military matters carried him from victory to victory and earned for him the admiration of Spartans, Athenians, and Persians. It might be argued that his superior generalship in the eastern Aegean prolonged the Peloponnesian War for the Athenians and, if the Athenian leadership had accepted his advice from exile in Thrace, Athens might not have lost the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 b.c.e.

However, military victories are not always sufficient to attain greatness. In the opinion of most scholars, Alcibiades, although a gifted individual, was a traitor, a heretic, and an opportunist. In all arenas, he was determined to win, regardless of the cost. In the Olympic Games of 416, he entered seven four-horse teams in the chariot race and came away with all the top prizes. He was a demagogue who tempted Athens into costly schemes—such as the Syracusan expedition of 415, which resulted in the loss of about fifty thousand men and more than two hundred triremes. He also conspired to overthrow the democracy and dreamed of the day when he might become a dictator.

Bibliography

Benson, E. F. The Life of Alcibiades. New York: D. Appleton, 1929. The standard biography of Alcibiades, old but still very useful. Written in large part from primary materials, especially Thucydides and Plutarch. A sympathetic study that, at times, reads like a novel. Should appeal to scholars and students alike.

Bury, J. B., and Russell Meiggs. A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991. An excellent one-volume survey of Greek history to the time of Alexander the Great. The main events of Alcibiades’ life are treated in the chapter “The Decline and Downfall of the Athenian Empire.” Includes maps, illustrations, and copious bibliographical notes.

Henderson, Bernard W. The Great War Between Athens and Sparta: A Companion to the Military History of Thucydides. London: Macmillan, 1927. Excellent study of the Peloponnesian War. One of the better sources for the life of Alcibiades. A sympathetic survey from boyhood to death. Written in large part from primary materials.

Meiggs, Russell. The Athenian Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979. Excellent political and military history of the fifth century b.c.e. Athens. Treats the important events in Alcibiades’ career. Includes a good bibliography.

Plutarch. The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Great Lives. Translated by I. Scott-Kilvert. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1975. Plutarch was a first century c.e. Greek historian whose biographies of Greek and Roman heroes are an indispensable resource. This edition contains nine of those biographies, including that of Alcibiades. Especially useful for getting a sense of Alcibiades’ character.

Thucydides. The Peloponnesian War. Translated by J. S. Rusten. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Written by a famous Greek historian of the fifth century b.c.e., this book is a valuable source of information on the Peloponnesian War. Chronicles the main events of Alcibiades’ life in scattered references, from his role in the alliance with Argos to the Athenian victory at Cynossema in 411. Most secondary accounts of Alcibiades begin with Thucydides and Plutarch.