Alcibiades
Alcibiades (c. 450 – 404 BC) was an Athenian general and politician of the Peloponnesian War. The son of a great family brought up by his guardian Pericles, he is famous for his changes of side: recalled on a charge of sacrilege while leading the Sicilian Expedition, he fled to Sparta, then to a Persian satrap, and finally came back to Athens. He is also remembered as the pupil and friend of Socrates.
| Lived | c. 450 BC – 404 BC |
|---|---|
| Active in | Athens · Sicily · Sparta · Ionia · Phrygia |
| Known for | The Sicilian Expedition; the Athenian general who changed sides three times |
| Game start | 415 BC · age 35 · General of Athens (cavalry class) — The Night of the Herms |
Life at a glance
- c. 450 BC Born in Athens into the family of the Eurysakidai. His mother Deinomache came from the Alcmaeonid clan.
- 447 BC His father Cleinias is killed at the Battle of Coronea, and Pericles, a relative on his mother's side, becomes his guardian.
- 432 BC Plato says Socrates saved him when he was wounded at the siege of Potidaea. At Delium in 424 BC it was the other way round: he protected the retreating Socrates.
- 420 BC Elected general (strategos) for the first time, he makes alliances with Argos and Mantinea and shakes the Peace of Nicias.
- 416 BC Enters seven chariots in the chariot race at the Olympic Games and takes first, second and fourth place.
- 415 BC Becomes a general of the Sicilian Expedition with Nicias and Lamachus. Just before sailing he is accused of mutilating the Herms and profaning the Eleusinian Mysteries; recalled from Sicily, he escapes at Thurii. Athens sentences him to death in his absence.
- 413 BC Advises Sparta to help Syracuse and to fortify Decelea in Attica. The same year the Athenian expedition is destroyed at Syracuse.
- 411 BC Escaping Spartan suspicion, he goes to the Persian satrap Tissaphernes, and is then elected general by the Athenian fleet at Samos. The next year he defeats the Spartan fleet at Cyzicus.
- 407 BC After retaking Byzantium he returns to Athens as general with full powers, but the next year, when his subordinate is beaten at Notium, he is driven out again and withdraws to Thrace.
- 404 BC In the year Athens surrenders, he is killed by assassins in a village in Phrygia.
Family
The family members who appear with this character when you start the game. Years follow the historical record; where none survives, a ? is shown.
| Relation | Name | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Father | Cleinias | ? – 447 BC | Killed at the Battle of Coronea, 447 BC |
| Mother | Deinomache | Dates unknown | Of the Alcmaeonid clan |
| Guardian | Pericles | c. 495 BC – 429 BC | Relative on his mother's side; leader of Athens |
| Younger brother | Cleinias | Dates unknown | |
| Wife | Hipparete | Dates unknown | Daughter of Hipponicus. In the game she has died two years before the start |
| Son | Alcibiades | Dates unknown | Named after his father; a small child at the start |
In the game
You begin in early summer 415 BC as a general of thirty-five. You have no land, but plenty of gold, renown and wit, and with Nicias and Lamachus you lead the Sicilian Expedition of 134 triremes. The first event is the accusation on the morning the Herms are found broken, and the next year the state ship Salaminia comes to fetch you.
This scenario's turning point is “If the Sicilian Expedition had succeeded”. Vanish at Thurii and go to Sparta, and the road of real history opens through Decelea and Chios, the gardens of Tissaphernes, Samos and Cyzicus, the return and Notium; put off the trial and stay with the expedition, or go home and be acquitted, and you take another branch, into a world where Athens holds Syracuse, faces Carthage and is urged to make you tyrant.
Real people such as Timaea, queen of Sparta, Thrasybulus at Samos and the hetaira Timandra come into this life in turn. The real ending is a night in Phrygia in 404 BC, but depending on your choices that day you may survive it.
- Scenario guide The Night of the Herms
- Era guide Classical Greece
- Related turning points What if the Athenian expedition to Sicily had succeeded?
Frequently asked questions
Why did Alcibiades go over to Sparta?
In 415 BC he was recalled from Sicily on charges of mutilating the Herms and profaning the Mysteries. Expecting a death sentence if he went home, he escaped at Thurii in Italy. When Athens condemned him to death in his absence, he went to Sparta and advised it to send a general to Syracuse and to build a fort at Decelea.
How did Alcibiades die?
After Athens surrendered in 404 BC he was living in a village in Phrygia when he was attacked and killed. Plutarch says the assassins set fire to his house and shot him down with arrows and javelins as he ran out, and holds that the Thirty at Athens and the Spartan Lysander were behind it.
What was his relationship with Socrates?
He was Socrates' most famous young friend. In Plato's Symposium he bursts in drunk and delivers a eulogy of Socrates, and the two protected each other at Potidaea and Delium. His later betrayals are often mentioned as part of the background to Socrates' trial.
Sources
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, books 6–8; Xenophon, Hellenica, book 1; Plutarch, Life of Alcibiades; Plato, Symposium.