Alcibiade (latină: Alcibiades Cleiniou Scambonides, greacă: Αλκιβιάδης Κλεινίου Σκαμβωνίδης) (n. 450 î.Hr. Alcibiades is one of the most famous (or infamous) characters of Classical Greece. Even in the wake of his recent victories, Alcibiades was exceedingly careful in his return, mindful of the changes in government, the charges still technically hanging over him, and the great injury he had done to Athens. Nor can you look at inaction from the same point of view as others, unless you are prepared to change your habits and make them like theirs. Nicias and Alcibiades – the tale is a tragi-comedy. Nevertheless, his spiritual powers were not counterbalanced with his magnificent mind and he had the hard luck to lead a people susceptible to demagoguery. [7] His maternal grandfather, also named Alcibiades, was a friend of Cleisthenes, the famous constitutional reformer of the late 6th century BC. He was the last famous member of his mother's aristocratic family, the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. [152] Writing from a different perspective, psychologist Anna C. Salter cites Alcibiades as exhibiting "all the classic features of psychopathy. [8] After the death of Cleinias at the Battle of Coronea (447 BC), Pericles and Ariphron became his guardians. [103] Epigraphical evidence indicates the Selymbrians surrendered hostages until the treaty was ratified in Athens. 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. [107], Therefore, he finally sailed into Piraeus where the crowd had gathered, desiring to see the famous Alcibiades. But he was ignored, and, when the Athenians lost their whole fleet in a surprise attack by the Spartan admiral Lysander, Alcibiades was no longer safe in his Thracian castle. [136], Plutarch asserts that "Alcibiades was a most able speaker in addition to his other gifts", while Theophrastus argues that Alcibiades was the most capable of discovering and understanding what was required in a given case. Astyochus went up to Alcibiades and Tissaphernes at Magnesia and communicated to them Phrynichus's letter. This new revenue started to attract Athenian deserters to the Spartan navy. [14] Alcibiades was famed throughout his life for his physical attractiveness, of which he was inordinately vain. The army, stating that they had not revolted from the city but that the city had revolted from them, resolved to stand by the democracy while continuing to prosecute the war against Sparta. [b] He was noted, however, for his unruly behavior, which was mentioned by ancient Greek and Latin writers on several occasions. His bride brought with her a large dowry, which significantly increased Alcibiades' already substantial family fortune. [157] The initial decision of the ecclesia provided however for a reasonable military force, which later became unreasonably large and costly because of Nicias's demands. [24], Alcibiades was married to Hipparete, the daughter of Hipponicus, a wealthy Athenian. Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford; Lecturer in Ancient History, University of Oxford, 1939–70. Most of the officers in the Athenian fleet accepted the plan and welcomed the prospect of a narrower constitution, which would allow them a greater share in determining policy. Therefore, the orator was "the institution of the city talking to—and loving—itself". Because of this defection, the Athenians condemned him to death in absentia and confiscated his property. The Spartans and Persians, overwhelmed by the arrival of multiple forces from several directions, were defeated and driven off, and the Athenians captured all the Spartan ships which were not destroyed. [f], These officers of the Athenian fleet formed a group of conspirators, but were met with opposition from the majority of the soldiers and sailors; these were eventually calmed down "by the advantageous prospect of the pay from the king". The battle was evenly matched, and raged for a long time, but the balance tipped towards the Athenians when Alcibiades sailed into the Hellespont with eighteen triremes. Lastly, and most importantly, he told the satrap to be in no hurry to bring the Persian fleet into the conflict, as the longer the war dragged out the more exhausted the combatants would become. During the 420s Alcibiades was best known for his personal extravagance and his courage in battle; but he had also become a recognized speaker in the Ecclesia (assembly), and as Athens moved toward peace, he hoped that the ties that had once existed between his family and Sparta would enable him to secure the credit for bringing peace to Athens. This ploy increased Alcibiades's standing while embarrassing Nicias, and Alcibiades was subsequently appointed General. General for the first time in 420, he opposed the aristocratic leader Nicias, who had negotiated peace, and steered Athens into an anti-Spartan alliance with Argos, Elis, and Mantineia, three city-states of the Peloponnese. Alcibiades, (born c. 450 bc, Athens [Greece]—died 404, Phrygia [now in Turkey]), brilliant but unscrupulous Athenian politician and military commander who provoked the sharp political antagonisms at Athens that were the main causes of Athens’ defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 bc). Nicias opposed the campaign to Sicily, yet led it; Alcibiades propounded it and was recalled. Well-born and wealthy, Alcibiades was only a small boy when his father—who was in command of the Athenian army—was killed in 447 or 446 bc, at Coronea, Boeotia. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. According to the historian Thucydides, who knew Alcibiades well and judged him dispassionately, it was the fact that the Spartans instead chose to negotiate through established political leaders that dictated Alcibiades’ subsequent choice of policies. [149] Kagan acknowledges his rhetorical power, whilst Thomas Habinek, professor of Classics at the University of Southern California, believes that the orator Alcibiades seemed to be whatever his audience needed on any given occasion. [115] Consequently, Alcibiades condemned himself to exile. A portion of the citizens of the city, demoralized and hungry, decided to surrender the city to Alcibiades for similar terms as the Selymbrians had received. The implications of the defeat were severe for Athens. Miltiades the Younger, (born c. 554 bc, Athens [Greece]—died probably 489 bc, Athens), Athenian general who led Athenian forces to victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490..
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