Alcibiades
Christian Jones
Col Sheldon
HI-304-01
Help Received:
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 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 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 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.
Bibliography
- “Alcibiades.” Wikipedia, November 18, 2014.
- Cartwright, Mark. “Alcibiades.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, February 8, 2013.
- Meiggs, Russell. “Alcibiades.” Encyclopedia Britannica, August 27, 2014.
- 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.
- Spell check
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[1] Alcibiades, Wikipedia
[2] Alcibiades, Britannica
[3] Alcibiades, Ancient History Encyclopedia
[4] Alcibiades, Wikipedia
[5] Alcibiades, Wikipedia
[6] Alcibiades, Britannica
[7] Alcibiades, Ancient History Encyclopedia
[8] 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.
[12] Alcibiades, Wikipedia
[13] 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