ALCIBIADES (Gk. Alkibiadt•s) (c. -150404 n.c.). An Athenian politician and general. He was the son of Clinias and Dino mache, and belonged to the class of the Eupatri the. Ile was born at Athens, lost his father in the battle of Coronea in 146 B.C., and was in conse quence educated in the house of Pericles, his uncle. In his youth he gave evidence of his future greatness, excelling both in mental and bodily ex ercises. His handsome person, his distinguished parentage, and the high position of Pericles pro cured him a multitude of friends and admirers. Socrates was one of the former, and gained con siderable influence over him; but was unable to restrain his love of luxury and dissipation. which found ample means of gratification in the wealth that accrued to him by his union with Hipparete, the daughter of Hipponieus. His pith lie displays, especially at the Olympic Gaines, in 420 B.C., were incredibly expensive. He bore arms for the first time in the expedition against l'otidira (432 n.c.), where he was wounded, and where his life was saved by Socrates, a debt which he liquidated eight years after at the bat tle of Delimit by saving, in his turn, the life of the philosopher; but he seems to have taken no considerable part in political matters till after the death of the demagogue Cleon, when Nicias brought about a treaty of peace for fifty years between the Athenians and Lacedtemonians, 421 n.c. Alcibiades. jealous of the esteem in which Nicias was field, set himself at the head of the war party. and persuaded the Athenians to ally themselves with the people of Argos. Ellis, and :\Lintinea. and did all in his power to stir up afresh their old antipathy to Sparta. It was at his suggestion that they engaged in the celebrated en terprise against Syracuse, to the command of which he was elected, with Nicias and Lamachus. But while preparations; were being made, it happened during one night that. all the statues of Hermes in Athens were mutilated. The ene mies of Aleibiades threw the blame of this mis chief upon him, but postponed the impeachment till lie had set sail, when they stirred up the peo ple against him to such a degree that lie was re called in the autumn of 415 B.C. in order to stand his trial.
On his way home, Alcibiades landed at Thurii, fled, and betook himself to Sparta, where, by conforming to the strict manners of the peo ple, he soon became a favorite. He induced the Laeedamonians to send assistance to the Syra cusans, persuaded them to occupy permanently a post at Deeelea in Attica, to form an alliance with the King of Persia, and after the unfo• tunate issue of the Athenian expedition in Sicily, to support the people of Chios in their endeavors to throw off the yoke of Athens. Be went. thither himself, and raised all Ionia in revolt against that city. But Agis and the other leading men in Sparta, jealous of the success of Alcibiades, ordered their gtmerals in Asia to have him as sassinated. Alcibiades discovered this plot and fled to Tissaphernes. a Persian satrap. who had orders to act in concert with the Laeedamonians. He now resumed his old manners, adopted the luxurious habits of Asia, and made himself in dispensable to Tissaphernes. He represented to the latter that it was contrary to the interests of Persia entirely to disable the Athenians. He then
sent word to the commanders of the Athenian forces at Samos that he would procure for them the friendship of the satrap if they would control the extravagance of the people and commit the government to an oligarchy. This offer was accept ed, and in 411 B.C. Pisander was sent to Athens, where he had the supreme power vested in a coun cil of four hundred persons. When it appeared, however, that this council had no intention of re calling Aleibiades. the army at Samos chose him as their commander, desiring him to lead them on instantly to Athens and overthrow the ty rants. But Aleibiades did not wish to return to his native country till he had rendered it some service, and he accordingly attacked and de tented the Lacethemonians by both sea and land. Tissaphernes now ordered him to be arrested at Sardis on his re-turn, the satrap not wishing the King to imagine that he had been accessory to his doings. But Alcibiades found means to escape, placed himself again at the head of the army, beat the Lacedamonians and Persians at Cyzieus, took Cyzieus, Chaleedon, and Byzantium, re stored to the Athenians the dominion of the sea, and then returned to his country (407 n.c.), to which he had been formally invited. He was re ceived with general enthusiasm, as the Athe nians attributed to his banishment all the mis fortunes that had befallen them.
The triumph of Alcibiades, however, was not destined to last. He was again sent to Asia with one hundred ships; but, not being supplied with money for the soldiers' pay, he was obliged to seek assistance at Caria, where he transferred the command in the meantime to Antiochus, who, being lured into an ambuscade by Lysander, lost his life and part of the ships. The enemies of Al cibiades took advantage of this to accuse him and appoint another commander. Alcibiades went into voluntary exile at Pactve in Thrace, one of the strongholds which he hail built out of his ear lier spoils. But being threatened here with the power of Lacedtemonia, he removed to Bithynia, with the intention of repairing to Artaxerxes, to gain him over to the interests of his country. At the request of the Thirty Tyrants of Athens, and with the concurrence of the Spartans, Pharnaba zus,a satrap of Artaxerxes,received orders to put Alcibiades to death. He was living at this time in a castle in Phrygia ; Pharnabazus caused it to be set on fire during the night. As his victim was endeavoring to escape from the flames, he was pierced with a volley of arrows. Thus per ished Alcibiades (404 n.c.), about the forty-fifth year of his age. He was singularly endowed by nature, being possessed of the most fascinating eloquence and having in a rare degree the ability to win and to govern men. Yet in all his trans actions Ile allowed himself to be directed by ex ternal circumstances, without having any fixed principles of conduct. On the other hand, he possessed that boldness which ariAes from eon seious superiority, and he shrank from no diffi culty, because lie was never doubtful concerning the means by which an end might be attained. Consult: The Lires, by Plutarch and Nepos: Grote, History of Greece (New York, 1S53-56) ; Hertzberg, Alkib jades, de). Staatsman 71 /Old Feld herr (Halle, 1S53) Houssaye. Histoire d'Al cibiade, 2 volumes (Paris, 1873).