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Alcibiades
Christian Jones
Col Sheldon
HI-304-01
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Col Sheldon
In Greece’s long and ancient history, many men and women have come and
gone and only a select few have left a lasting impression on Greece, whether good or
bad, there are those that will be remembered forever. There was an Athenian man
named Alcibiades who has left a lasting impression on Greece and is very important
to Greece’s military history as a general and in other ways. Alcibiades was a
prominent statesman, politician, orator, and general throughout his early years in
life;1 benefiting all the places he had allegiance to as a military leader and hurting
them too.
Alcibiades was born in Athens in 450 BC;2 he was a talented young statesman
and general who often switched sides earning him a reputation for “cunning and
treachery.”3 Alcibiades as a young man was wealthy and very handsome; he was
well trained in rhetoric and has Socrates as his teacher and mentor.4 Alcibiades and
Socrates developed a very strong relationship for one another; they had saved each
other’s lives on multiple occasions during battle. Socrates saved Alcibiades in 434
BC at Potidaea, and Alcibiades saved Socrates in 424 BC while fighting at Delium.5
This goes to show the deep relationship that the two had with each other.
Alcibiades was also a successful Athenian general who was known for his brilliance
and courage in battle, he became a general by 420 BC.6
As an Athenian general at the minimum age of 30 years old, Alcibiades
became a member of the strategoi, the influential military council of Athens, where
Alcibiades, Wikipedia
Alcibiades, Britannica
3 Alcibiades, Ancient History Encyclopedia
4 Alcibiades, Wikipedia
5 Alcibiades, Wikipedia
6 Alcibiades, Britannica
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he promptly negotiated an anti-Spartan alliance between Athens, Argos, Ellis, and
Mantineia,7 the alliance was defeated by Sparta and Alcibiades narrowly escaped
being ostracized.8 Another thing Alcibiades pushed was the Sicilian Expedition,
Alcibiades advocated full support for Egesta and Nicias argued with equal passion
against involvement in Sicily, the Athenians would compromise and Alcibiades was
sent west with a large force along with two other strategoi, Lamachus and Nicias,
who hoped to serve as a check on Alcibiades rashness.9 But one night during
preparations before the departure for Sicily, the hermai, heads of the god Hermes
were mutilated and destroyed throughout Athens, this showed as a bad omen for his
mission, and false witnesses said they saw Alcibiades do the deed.10 With all of this,
Alcibiades and his fleet were sent out anyways. While on the expedition anything
that could have gone wrong did go wrong, Lamachus died fighting and Alcibiades
was recalled to Athens to stand trial, and somewhere along the journey back
Alcibiades fled and defected to Sparta.11
Once Alcibiades left Athens and defected to Sparta, the first of his few
allegiance changes throughout the Peloponnesian War, he attempted to become an
advisor to the Spartans and to the Spartan Ephors. As a Spartan military advisor, he
helped the Spartans to many military successes, most importantly would be the
establishment of a permanent fort at Decelea, which was a mere 10 miles from
Athens and forced Athens to hide behind its walls and be cut off from many crucial
Alcibiades, Ancient History Encyclopedia
Alcibiades, Britannica
9 Invasion of Sicily, A Brief History of Ancient Greece, PG 234.
10 Alcibiades, Wikipedia
11 Invasion of Sicily, A Brief History of Ancient Greece, PG 236.
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recourses.12 Even with his successes in Sparta, Alcibiades soon fell out of favor with
King Agis so he defected to Persia and joined the Persian Satrap Tissaphernes.13
In Persia, Alcibiades worked to slow the Persian fleet into coming into any
conflicts so the soldiers would be rested in case of any needed conquests.14 Then he
attempted to initiate a Persian-Athenian alliance, which was said only to be possible
if Athens had an Oligopoly, so Alcibiades persuaded Athens to over throw the
democracy and have an Oligopoly for a short period of time.15 He knew that would
not last long, but this was done in order to find his way back to the good graces of
the Athenians to then return to Athens as a hero. Alcibiades was then accepted back
to Athens, all of his charges were dropped,16 and he returned as an Athenian
general.
Once Alcibiades returned to Athens he was named the strategos autokrater,
which put him in charge of all the other generals and made him commander in chief
of the Athenian military.17 When the Athenians lost at Notium, and eventually lost
the Peloponnesian War to the Spartans, Alcibiades was blamed. He then moved
away and was murdered in Phrygia, which is thought to have done by the
Spartans.18
Alcibiades all throughout his life was destined to leave his mark on the world,
if it were for his charm, his brilliance, his treachery or his military ability, this man
Alcibiades, Wikipedia
Alcibiades, Ancient History Encyclopedia
14 Alcibiades, Wikipedia
15 Alcibiades, Ancient History Encyclopedia
16 Alcibiades, Ancient History Encyclopedia
17 Alcibiades, Ancient History Encyclopedia
18 Alcibiades, Britannia
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was going to make a difference wherever he was, which is evident by the fact that he
was a prominent military leader and strategist in Athens, Sparta, and Persia. With
his military accomplishments and failures and also his relationship with Socrates,
Alcibiades was and still is very important to Greek history. From his tactics to his
constant changes in allegiance across his lifetime, there is much to be learned from
Alcibiades.
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Bibliography

“Alcibiades.” Wikipedia, November 18, 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcibiades.

Cartwright, Mark. “Alcibiades.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, February 8,
2013. http://www.ancient.eu/Alcibiades/.

Meiggs, Russell. “Alcibiades.” Encyclopedia Britannica, August 27, 2014.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/13306/Alcibiades.

Pomeroy, Sarah, Stanely Burstein, Walter Donlan, Jennifer Roberts, and David
Tandy. A Brief History of Ancient Greece Politics, Society, and Culture. 3rd ed.
New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
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