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173-752: During the course of the Peloponnesian War, Alcibiades changed his political allegiance several times. In his native Athens in the early 410s BC, he advocated an aggressive foreign policy and was a prominent proponent of the Sicilian Expedition . After his political enemies brought charges of sacrilege against him, he fled to Sparta , where he served as a strategic adviser, proposing or supervising several major campaigns against Athens. However, Alcibiades made powerful enemies in Sparta too, and defected to Persia . There he served as an adviser to

346-690: A "war party" led by Alcibiades. The peace established in Sicily at the Congress of Gela did not last long. Shortly after the Congress, Syracuse intervened in an episode of civil strife between the democratic and oligarchic parties in Leontini , supporting the oligarchs. Before too long, the prospect of foreign domination had united the Leontinians, and the two parties united in war against Syracuse. Athens had sent an emissary to Sicily in 422 to sound out

519-413: A broader plan: the conquest of the whole West. He intended to conquer Carthage and Libya , then to attack Italy and, after winning these, to seize Italy and Peloponnesus. 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. Kagan criticizes Alcibiades for failing to recognize that the large size of

692-544: A child by one of these enslaved women. In 415 BC, delegates from the Sicilian city of Segesta ( Greek : Egesta ) arrived at Athens to plead for the support of the Athenians in their war against Selinus . During the debates on the undertaking, Nicias was vehemently opposed to Athenian intervention, explaining that the campaign would be very costly and attacking the character and motives of Alcibiades, who had emerged as

865-688: A death sentence in absentia , his guilt seemingly proven. In Sparta, Alcibiades gave the members of the Peloponnesian League critical information on the Athenian Empire. In Sicily, the fleet was redivided into two parts. The first contingent, commanded by Nicias, sailed to Segesta and forced the Segestans to pay the thirty talents they had promised the Athenians for their assistance against their rival Selinus . The second contingent, under Lamachus, sailed to and stormed Hyccara,

1038-457: A disaster." After lengthy preparations, the fleet was ready to sail. The night before they were to leave, someone destroyed many of the hermai —the stone markers representing Hermes , placed around the city for good luck. This event was taken very seriously by the Athenian people as it was considered a bad omen for the expedition, as well as evidence of a revolutionary conspiracy to overthrow

1211-475: A fear for the safety of the political order. Therefore, Andocides said of him that "instead of holding that he ought himself to conform with the laws of the state, he expects you to conform with his own way of life". Central to the depiction of the Athenian statesman is Cornelius Nepos ' famous phrase that Alcibiades "surpassed all the Athenians in grandeur and magnificence of living". Even today, Alcibiades divides scholars. For Malcolm F. McGregor, former head of

1384-419: A force to Sicily, and warned that they would be opening hostilities with enemies too difficult and numerous to conquer and rule. Nicias also attacked Alcibiades's credibility, claiming that he and his allies were inexperienced and self-aggrandizing young men eager to lead Athens into war for their own ends. In response, Alcibiades dismissed the attack on himself by pointing to the good he had done for Athens as

1557-478: A great degree because of the person who first brought them news of it. For a certain stranger, it seems, coming to Piraeus, and there sitting in a barber's shop, began to talk of what had happened, as if the Athenians already knew all that had passed; which the barber hearing, before he acquainted anybody else, ran as fast as he could up into the city, addressed himself to the Archons , and presently spread it about in

1730-517: A great obstacle. Tissaphernes would not make an agreement on any terms, wanting to follow his policy of neutrality. As Kagan points out, Tissaphernes was a prudent leader and had recognized the advantages of wearing each side out without direct Persian involvement. Alcibiades realized this and, by presenting the Athenians with stiffer and stiffer demands on Tissaphernes's behalf, attempted to convince them that he had persuaded Tissaphernes to support them, but that they had not conceded enough to him. Although

1903-657: A hundred ships. He failed to take Andros and then he went on to Samos. Later he moved to Notium , closer to the enemy at Ephesus . Meanwhile, Tissaphernes had been replaced by Cyrus the Younger (son of Darius II of Persia ) who decided to financially support the Peloponnesians. This new revenue started to attract Athenian deserters to the Spartan navy. Additionally the Spartans had replaced Mindarus with Lysander ,

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2076-641: A long time, but the balance tipped towards the Athenians when Alcibiades sailed into the Hellespont with eighteen triremes. The Persian satrap Pharnabazus , who had replaced Tissaphernes as the sponsor of the Peloponnesian fleet, moved his land army to the shore to defend the ships and sailors who had beached their ships. Only the support of the Persian land army and the coming of night saved the Peloponnesian fleet from complete destruction. Shortly after

2249-457: A major modern Greek historian, underlines his "spiritual virtues" and compares him with Themistocles , but he then asserts that all these gifts created a "traitor, an audacious and impious man". Walter Ellis believes that his actions were outrageous, but they were performed with panache . For his part, David Gribble argues that Alcibiades's actions against his city were misunderstood and believes that "the tension which led to Alcibiades's split with

2422-536: A major supporter of the expedition. On the other hand, Alcibiades argued that a campaign in this new theatre would bring riches to the city and expand the empire, just as the Persian Wars had. In his speech Alcibiades predicted (over-optimistically, in the opinion of most historians) that the Athenians would be able to recruit allies in the region and impose their rule on Syracuse , the most powerful city of Sicily . In spite of Alcibiades's enthusiastic advocacy for

2595-465: A motion allowing the generals to arrange for a force of over 100 ships and 5,000 hoplites. Nicias's ploy had failed badly. His misreading of the assembly had altered the strategic situation; whereas the loss of 60 ships would have been painful but bearable, the loss of the larger force would be catastrophic. "Without Nicias's intervention," wrote Donald Kagan , "there would have been an Athenian expedition against Sicily in 415, but there could not have been

2768-642: A number of warriors, it provided crucial support to the Athenians. Athens and Syracuse also tried to gain assistance from the Greek cities in Italy. In Corinth, representatives from Syracuse met with Alcibiades, who was working with Sparta. Alcibiades informed Sparta that there would be an invasion of the Peloponnese if Sicily was conquered, and that they should send help to Syracuse and also fortify Decelea near Athens. The Athenians, he said, feared nothing more than

2941-473: A personal following, whose votes were determined by the wishes of the leaders. Alcibiades was not one of the generals involved in the capture of Melos in 416–415 BC, but Plutarch describes him as a supporter of the decree by which the grown men of Melos were killed and the women and children enslaved. An oration urging Alcibiades' ostracism, "Against Alcibiades" (historically attributed to the orator Andocides but not in fact by him), alleges that Alcibiades had

3114-478: A policy that he had supported since before the coup. Then he sailed to retrieve Alcibiades and returned with him to Samos. The aim of this policy was to win away Persian support from the Spartans, as it was still believed that Alcibiades had great influence with Tissaphernes. Plutarch claims that the army sent for Alcibiades so as to use his help in putting down the tyrants in Athens. Kagan argues that this reinstatement

3287-438: A private citizen and public leader. He rebutted Nicias's warnings about the plan for the expedition by reminding the Athenians of their obligation to their Sicilian allies, appealing to the enterprising spirit that had won Athens her empire, and pointing out that many states on Sicily would support Athens in her operations there. The assembly was clearly leaning towards Alcibiades's side, so Nicias, judging them unlikely to cancel

3460-461: A pro-Athenian party within the city and offered the Selymbrians reasonable terms, imposing strict discipline on his men to see that they were observed. He did the Selymbrians's city no injury whatsoever, but merely took a sum of money from it, set a garrison there and left. Epigraphical evidence indicates the Selymbrians surrendered hostages until the treaty was ratified in Athens. His performance

3633-531: A reward of one talent was promised to whoever succeeded in killing any who had fled. Meanwhile, the Athenian force in Sicily, after a few early victories, moved against Messina , where the generals expected their secret allies within the city to betray it to them. Alcibiades, however, foreseeing that he would be outlawed, gave information to the friends of the Syracusans in Messina, who succeeded in preventing

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3806-404: A second assembly was held to arrange the logistics of the expedition. There, Nicias attempted to persuade the assembly to overturn its previous decision regarding whether to send an expedition at all. Over the course of several speeches, Nicias raised a series of different arguments against the expedition. He reminded the Athenians that they would be leaving powerful enemies behind them if they sent

3979-699: A significant role in Athens's undoing; the capture of Decelea and the revolts of several critical Athenian subjects occurred either at his suggestion or under his supervision. Once restored to his native city, however, he played a crucial role in a string of Athenian victories that eventually brought Sparta to seek a peace with Athens. He favored unconventional tactics, frequently winning cities over by treachery or negotiation rather than by siege . Alcibiades's military and political talents were frequently proved valuable to whichever state currently held his allegiance, but his propensity for making powerful enemies ensured that he never remained in one place for long; and, by

4152-639: A small Syracusan force guarding the river Anapus , but other Syracusan cavalry and light troops continually harassed them. Near the Erineus river, Demosthenes and Nicias became separated, and Demosthenes was attacked by the Syracusans and forced to surrender his 6,000 troops. The rest of the Syracusans followed Nicias to the Assinarus river, where Nicias's troops became disorganized in the rush to find drinking water. Many Athenians were trampled to death and others were killed while fighting with fellow Athenians. On

4325-452: A small city allied to Selinus, and enslaved its populace. The Athenian army then marched through the Sicilian interior, to impress and negotiate with the Sicels , and returned to Catania. There they wintered and made preparations for their upcoming siege of Syracuse. When the campaigning season started, the Syracusans moved against the Athenians while they were still encamped at Catania. While

4498-452: A son named Alcibiades the Younger and a daughter. Alcibiades was famed throughout his life for his physical attractiveness, of which he was inordinately vain. Alcibiades first rose to prominence when he began advocating aggressive Athenian action after the signing of the Peace of Nicias . That treaty, an uneasy truce between Sparta and Athens signed midway through the Peloponnesian War, came at

4671-504: A stable anti-Spartan alliance in the Peloponnese. That attempt, largely orchestrated by the Athenian nobleman Alcibiades, would have destroyed Sparta's control over the Peloponnesian League had it succeeded. Alcibiades rebounded politically from this defeat, and was elected as a general in the spring of 417. Control of Athens' foreign policy remained divided between a "peace party" (or pro-Spartan party) led by Nicias , and

4844-421: A sudden Spartan attack; the remaining ships of the decoy force were then chased headlong back toward Notium, where the main Athenian force was caught unprepared by the sudden arrival of the whole Spartan fleet. In the ensuing fighting, Lysander gained an entire victory. Alcibiades soon returned and desperately tried to undo the defeat at Notium by scoring another victory, but Lysander could not be compelled to attack

5017-675: A sudden attack, he felt, would catch the Syracusans off guard and possibly induce their quick surrender. Eventually, however, Lamachus settled the three-way division of opinion by endorsing Alcibiades's plan. The Athenian fleet first sailed to Corcyra to meet up with their allies, and the ships were divided into three sections, one for each commander. Three of the ships were sent ahead to look for allies in Sicily. The fleet at this point consisted of 134 triremes (100 of which were from Athens), 5,100 hoplites (of which 2,200 were Athenians), 480 archers , 700 slingers , 120 other light troops, and 30 cavalry , as well as 130 other supply ships and all

5190-424: A very capable admiral. These factors caused the rapid growth of the Peloponnesian fleet at the expense of the Athenian. In search of funds and needing to force another decisive battle, Alcibiades left Notium and sailed to help Thrasybulus in the siege of Phocaea . Alcibiades was aware the Spartan fleet was nearby, so he left nearly eighty ships to watch them under the command of his personal helmsman Antiochus , who

5363-475: A wealthy Athenian. His bride brought with her a large dowry, which significantly increased Alcibiades' already substantial family fortune. According to Plutarch, Hipparete loved her husband but attempted to divorce him because he consorted with courtesans , but he prevented her from appearing at court. He seized her in court and carried her home again through the crowded Agora . She lived with him until her death, which came soon after, and gave birth to two children,

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5536-422: Is dead. The men are starving. We know not what to do". A short time later Sparta petitioned for peace, but their appeals were ultimately rejected by the Athenians. After their victory, Alcibiades and Thrasybulus began the siege of Chalcedon in 409 BC with about 190 ships. Although unable to attain a decisive victory or induce the city to surrender, Alcibiades was able to win a small tactical land battle outside of

5709-427: Is judged as skillful by historians, since it saved time, resources, and lives and still fully achieved his goal. From here Alcibiades joined in the siege of Byzantium along with Theramenes and Thrasyllus. 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. On the designated night the defenders left their posts, and

5882-517: The Battle of Delium in 424 BC, but this appears to have been an error, either on Andocides' part or a later transcriber, for Thucydides reported that the general at Delium was Hippocrates. According to Athenaeus , Hipponicus died shortly before Eupolis exhibited his comedy Flatterers during the archonship of Alcaeus ( 422/1). Aelian , in his Varieties of History, reports this anecdote about Hipponicus: Hipponicus son of Callias would erect

6055-497: The Ceramic Gulf where he collected 100 talents. He finally sailed to Gytheion to make inquiries, partly about the reported preparations of the Spartans there, and partly about the feelings in Athens regarding his return. His inquiries assured him that the city was kindly disposed towards him and that his closest friends urged him to return. Therefore, he finally sailed into Piraeus where the crowd had gathered, desiring to see

6228-537: The Delian League began to contemplate revolt. In the wake of Athens's disastrous defeat in Sicily, Alcibiades sailed to Ionia with a Spartan fleet and succeeded in persuading several critical cities to revolt. In spite of these valuable contributions to the Spartan cause, around this time Alcibiades fell out of favor with the government of king Agis II . Leotychides , the son born by Agis's wife Timaea, Queen of Sparta (or Queen Timonassa), shortly after this,

6401-480: The Eleusinian Mysteries . Later his opponents, chief among them being Androcles and Thessalus, Cimon 's son, enlisted orators to argue that Alcibiades should set sail as planned and stand trial on his return from the campaign. Alcibiades was suspicious of their intentions, and asked to be allowed to stand trial immediately, under penalty of death, in order to clear his name. This request was denied, and

6574-509: The Peace of Nicias had brought the Archidamian War to a close. The terms of that peace, however, had never been fulfilled; Sparta had never surrendered Amphipolis to Athens, as required by the treaty, and in return the Athenians had held Pylos . More recently, Athenian and Spartan troops had fought at the Battle of Mantinea in 418, with Athens supporting Argos , Mantinea , and other Peloponnesian cities in an attempt to establish

6747-471: The Peloponnesian War between Athens on one side and Sparta , Syracuse and Corinth on the other. The expedition ended in a devastating defeat for the Athenian forces, severely impacting Athens. The expedition was hampered from the outset by uncertainty in its purpose and command structure—political maneuvering in Athens swelled a lightweight force of twenty ships into a massive armada, and

6920-420: The assembly , where debate over the proposal quickly divided along traditional factional lines. The assembly eventually approved an expedition composed of sixty triremes , without hoplite accompaniment, commanded by Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus . Thucydides reports that Nicias had been appointed against his preference, but offers no further detail regarding that debate. Five days after that first debate,

7093-532: The ecclesia (the Athenian Assembly) and told them that the Assembly was haughty and had great ambitions. He urged them to renounce their diplomatic authority to represent Sparta, and instead allow him to assist them through his influence in Athenian politics. The representatives agreed and, impressed with Alcibiades, they alienated themselves from Nicias, who genuinely wanted to reach an agreement with

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7266-403: The hermai , heads of the god Hermes on a plinth with a phallus , were mutilated throughout Athens. This was a religious scandal, resulted in a charge of asebeia (impiety) against Alcibiades, and was seen as a bad omen for the mission. Plutarch explains that Androcles, a political leader, used false witnesses who accused Alcibiades and his friends of mutilating the statues, and of profaning

7439-449: The satrap Tissaphernes until Athenian political allies brought about his recall. He served as an Athenian general ( strategos ) for several years, but enemies eventually succeeded in exiling him a second time. Scholars have argued that had the Sicilian expedition been under Alcibiades's command instead of that of Nicias , the expedition might not have met its eventual disastrous fate. In the years when he served Sparta, Alcibiades played

7612-478: The "richest man in Greece". Shortly after 455 BC, Hipponicus married the former wife of Pericles , whose name is unknown. By her, he had two children: Callias III and a daughter, Hipparete who later married Alcibiades . A second son, Hermogenes was probably illegitimate since he received none of his father's estate. Hipponicus' wealth came from, among other things, his owning six hundred slaves working at

7785-476: The Achaemenid king ( Darius II ), and therefore he may have traveled to Susa or Babylonia to encounter him. Alcibiades seemed to assume that the "radical democracy" would never agree to his recall to Athens. He exchanged messages with the Athenian leaders at Samos and suggested that if they could install an oligarchy friendly to him he would return to Athens and bring with him Persian money and possibly

7958-522: The Aegean to join them for what might be a decisive next engagement. While Alcibiades was still en route, the Athenians fought off the arrival of the Rhodian admiral Dorieus who appeared with 14 ships and was forced into Rhoeteium . The Spartans sailed to assist him and the two fleets clashed at Abydos , where the Peloponnesians had set up their main naval base. The battle was evenly matched, and raged for

8131-426: The Athenian center under Menander eventually broke and was routed. Instead of pursuing their fleeing opponents, Pythen turned his Corinthian ships to attack the now-vulnerable Athenian right wing under Euthydemus. Beset from multiple sides, the right wing was defeated and largely destroyed; Euthydemus was killed as he tried to escape on the nearby shore. The destruction of Euthydemus' contingent shattered what remained of

8304-429: The Athenian expedition undermined the diplomatic scheme on which his strategy rested. Sicilian Expedition Original expedition: 414 BC reinforcements: 413 BC reinforcements: Initially: Gylippus's relief force: 413 BC relief force from Greece: 413 BC Sicilian relief force: The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian military expedition to Sicily , which took place from 415–413 BC during

8477-407: 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 members of the group assembled and prepared to send Pisander , one of their number, on an embassy to Athens to treat for the restoration of Alcibiades and the abolition of democracy in

8650-474: The Athenian fleet's order. The Athenian ships were subsequently pushed toward the coast; most Athenian crews abandoned their trapped vessels and fled to the camp behind their wall. Seeing the vulnerable Athenians running from their beached vessels, Gylippus ordered a furious but disorganized attack on land to catch his enemies before they could reach their base. However, the Spartan-led force was confronted by

8823-414: The Athenian ships (25 of which were triremes) in the harbour. Gylippus commanded a simultaneous attack on the Athenian land forces. In the harbour, the Athenians were successful, losing only three ships while the Syracusans lost eleven. However, Gylippus defeated the Athenians on land and captured two Athenian forts. Afterwards, Gylippus succeeded in convincing all the neutral cities on Sicily to join him, but

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8996-435: The Athenian troops at Samos formed themselves into a political assembly, deposed their generals, and elected new ones, including Thrasybulus and Thrasyllus. 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. After a time, Thrasybulus persuaded the assembled troops to vote Alcibiades's recall,

9169-420: The Athenian wall useless. The Corinthian fleet also arrived, under the command of Erasinides . Nicias, exhausted and suffering from illness, now believed it would be impossible to capture Syracuse. He wrote a letter to Athens, not trusting messengers to give an accurate report, and suggested that they either recall the expedition or send out massive reinforcements. He hoped they would choose to recall him, if not

9342-403: The Athenians attacked the Peloponnesian garrison in the city and their boats in the harbor. The portion of the citizenry that remained loyal to the Peloponnesians fought so savagely that Alcibiades issued a statement in the midst of the fighting which guaranteed their safety and this persuaded the remaining citizens to turn against the Peloponnesian garrison, which was nearly totally destroyed. It

9515-470: The Athenians ceded the initiative to their newly energized opponents, the tide of the conflict shifted. A massive reinforcing armada from Athens briefly gave the Athenians the upper hand once more, but a disastrous failed assault on a strategic high point and several crippling naval defeats damaged the Athenian soldiers' ability to continue fighting and maintain morale. The Athenians attempted a last-ditch evacuation from Syracuse. The evacuation failed, and nearly

9688-406: The Athenians condemned him to death in absentia and confiscated his property. In the debate at Sparta over whether to send a force to relieve Syracuse, Alcibiades spoke and instilled fear of Athenian ambition into the Spartan ephors by informing them that the Athenians hoped to conquer Sicily, Italy, and even Carthage . Yale historian Donald Kagan believes that Alcibiades knowingly exaggerated

9861-399: The Athenians devised a plot to draw the enemy into battle. According to Diodorus Siculus , Alcibiades advanced with a small squadron in order to draw the Spartans out to battle, and, after he successfully deceived Mindarus with this ploy, the squadrons of Thrasybulus and Theramenes came to join him, cutting off the Spartans' retreat. The Spartan fleet suffered losses in the flight and reached

10034-487: The Athenians inside. Outside Syracuse, the Athenians built a smaller walled enclosure for their sick and injured, and put everyone else (including many of the soldiers remaining on land) on their ships for one last battle, on September 9. The fleet was now commanded by Demosthenes, Menander, and Euthydemus , while the Syracusan fleet was led by Sicanus and Agatharchus of Syracuse on the wings and Pythen from Corinth in

10207-416: The Athenians were preparing to sail home, on August 28, there was a lunar eclipse , and Nicias, described by Thucydides as a particularly superstitious man, asked the priests what he should do. They suggested the Athenians wait for another 27 days, and Nicias agreed. The Athenians were now in a desperate situation. On September 3, the Syracusans began to completely blockade the entrance to the port, trapping

10380-528: The Athenians were proud of their role in the conflict. For instance, the Spurinna family of Tarquinia possibly continued to honor their involvement in the Sicilian Expedition for centuries. In Athens, the citizens did not, at first, believe the defeat. Plutarch, in his Life of Nicias , recounts how the news reached the city: It is said that the Athenians would not believe their loss, in

10553-470: The Athenians' choice are not recorded, but the assembly may have been seeking to balance the aggressive young leader with a more conservative older figure, with Lamachus added for his military expertise. In practice, each of the three generals proposed a different strategy. Nicias proposed a narrowly circumscribed expedition; he felt that the fleet should sail to Selinus and force a settlement between Selinus and Segesta. After that, he proposed to briefly show

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10726-531: The Athenians, "considering that in case of defeat the blame would attach to them and that in case of success all men would attribute it to Alcibiades", asked him to leave and not come near the camp ever again. Days later the fleet would be annihilated by Lysander. After the Battle of Aegospotami, Alcibiades crossed the Hellespont and took refuge in Hellespontine Phrygia , with the object of securing

10899-482: The Circle, which was defended by Nicias. After Nicias defeated the attack, the Athenians finally extended their wall to the sea, completely blockading Syracuse by land, and their fleet entered the harbour to blockade them from sea. The Syracusans responded by removing Hermocrates and Sicanus as generals and replacing them with Heraclides, Eucles, and Tellias . Soon after this, the Spartan general Gylippus , responding to

11072-558: The Department of Classics in the University of British Columbia , Alcibiades was rather a shrewd gambler than a mere opportunist. Evangelos P. Fotiadis, a prominent Greek philologist , asserts that Alcibiades was "a first class diplomat" and had "huge skills". Nevertheless, his spiritual powers were not counterbalanced with his magnificent mind and he had the hard luck to lead a people susceptible to demagoguery. K. Paparrigopoulos ,

11245-492: The Four Hundred was overthrown and replaced by a broader oligarchy, which would eventually give way to democracy. Presently Alcibiades sailed to Tissaphernes with a detachment of ships. According to Plutarch, the supposed purpose of this mission was to stop the Persian fleet from coming to the aid of the Peloponnesians. Thucydides is in agreement with Plutarch that the Persian fleet was at Aspendus and that Alcibiades told

11418-408: The Persian satrap Tissaphernes , who had been supporting the Peloponnesian forces financially in 412 BC. On his arrival in the local Persian court, Alcibiades won the trust of the powerful satrap and made several policy suggestions which were well received. According to Thucydides , Alcibiades immediately began to do all he could with Tissaphernes to injure the Peloponnesian cause. At his urging,

11591-466: The Persian fleet of 147 triremes. Alcibiades set about winning over the most influential military officers, and achieved his goal by offering them a threefold plan: the Athenian constitution was to be changed, the recall of Alcibiades was to be voted, and Alcibiades was to win over Tissaphernes and the King of Persia to the Athenian side. Most of the officers in the Athenian fleet accepted the plan and welcomed

11764-510: The Persians; from now on his authority would depend on what he actually could accomplish rather than on what he promised to do. After an interlude of several months in which the Peloponnesians constructed new ships and the Athenians besieged cities and raised money throughout the Aegean, the next major sea battle took place the spring of 410 BC at Cyzicus . Alcibiades had been forced to flee from Sestos to Cardia to protect his small fleet from

11937-474: The Spartans cut the Athenians off entirely from their homes and crops and the silver mines of Sunium . This was part of Alcibiades's plan to renew the war with Athens in Attica . The move was devastating to Athens and forced the citizens to live within the long walls of the city year round, making them entirely dependent on their seaborne trade for food. Seeing Athens thus beleaguered on a second front, members of

12110-492: The Spartans. The next day, during the Assembly, Alcibiades asked them what powers Sparta had granted them to negotiate and they replied, as agreed, that they had not come with full and independent powers. This was in direct contradiction to what they had said the day before, and Alcibiades seized on this opportunity to denounce their character, cast suspicion on their aims, and destroy their credibility. This ploy increased Alcibiades's standing while embarrassing Nicias, and Alcibiades

12283-487: The Syracusan counter-wall on Epipolae in a risky night engagement (against the advice of Nicias). He succeeded in breaching the wall, routing or killing some of the first Syracusan defenders but was defeated by a force of Boeotians in the Spartan contingent. Many Athenians fell off the cliff to their deaths, and some of the rest were killed as they fled down the slope. Plutarch claims the casualties from this action numbered 2,000. Demosthenes' arrival provided little relief to

12456-494: The Syracusans were marching to Catania, they learned the Athenians had boarded their ships and sailed into the Great Harbour at Syracuse. The Syracusans quickly hurried back and prepared for battle. The Athenian army landed to the south of Syracuse and fortified their position. When the Syracusan army finally arrived both sides waited for the other to make the first move. Eventually the Syracusans withdrew and made camp for

12629-603: The Syracusans, whose greater proximity and potential victory they feared more than that of the Athenians. Athens then sent for help from the Carthaginians and the Etruscans , as both were long-standing opponents of Syracuse. Carthage opted to stay out of the conflict, but several Etruscan cities banded together and organized a small force to aid Athens. Though the Etruscan force only included three large warships and

12802-548: The accusations could arrive, told the army that he had received information of an enemy plan to attack the camp and that they should fortify Samos as quickly as possible. Despite these events, Pisander and the other envoys of the conspirators arrived at Athens and made a speech before the people. Pisander won the argument, putting Alcibiades and his promises at the center. The Ecclesia deposed Phrynichus and elected Pisander and ten other envoys to negotiate with Tissaphernes and Alcibiades. At this point, Alcibiades's scheme encountered

12975-566: The admission of the Athenians. With the death of Lamachus in battle some time later, command of the Sicilian Expedition fell into the hands of Nicias, admired by Thucydides (however a modern scholar has judged him to be an inadequate military leader). After his disappearance at Thurii, Alcibiades quickly contacted the Spartans, "promising to render them aid and service greater than all the harm he had previously done them as an enemy" if they would offer him sanctuary. The Spartans granted this request and received him among them. Because of this defection,

13148-580: The aid of the Achaemenid King Artaxerxes against Sparta. Alcibiades was one of several Greek aristocrats who took refuge in the Achaemenid Empire following reversals at home, other famous ones being Themistocles , Hippias , Demaratos and Gongylos . For the most part, they were generously welcomed by the Achaemenid kings, and received land grants to support them, and ruled in various cities of Asia Minor . Much about

13321-555: The allies of Athens killed 800 Corinthians, including all but one of the Corinthian ambassadors. Demosthenes and Eurymedon then arrived with 73 ships and 5,000 hoplites. On their arrival, 80 Syracusan ships attacked 75 of the Athenian ships in their harbour. This battle went on for two days with no result, until the Syracusans pretended to back away and attacked the Athenians while they were eating. However, only seven Athenian ships were sunk. Demosthenes landed his forces and attacked

13494-413: The army in Sicily, the Athenians would have avoided disaster and, had his countrymen followed his advice at Aegospotami, Lysander would have lost and Athens would have ruled Greece. On the other hand, Paparrigopoulos believes that the Sicilian Expedition, prompted by Alcibiades, was a strategic mistake. In agreement with Paparrigopoulos, Platias and Koliopoulos underscore the fact that the Sicilian expedition

13667-464: The authorities at Samos a letter against Phrynichus, stating what he had done, and requiring that he should be put to death. Phrynichus in desperation wrote again to Astyochus, offering him a chance to destroy the Athenian fleet at Samos. This also Astyochus revealed to Alcibiades who informed the officers at Samos that they had been betrayed by Phrynichus. Alcibiades however gained no credit, because Phrynichus had anticipated Alcibiades's letter and, before

13840-467: The bargain without demanding exorbitantly high concessions of them and they accordingly abandoned their plans to restore him to Athens. In spite of the failure of the negotiations, the conspirators succeeded in overthrowing the democracy and imposing the oligarchic government of the Four Hundred , among the leaders of which were Phrynichus and Pisander. At Samos, however, a similar coup instigated by

14013-437: The battle, Tissaphernes had arrived in the Hellespont and Alcibiades left the fleet at Sestos to meet him, bringing gifts and hoping once again to try to win over the Persian governor. Evidently Alcibiades had gravely misjudged his standing with the satrap, and he was arrested on arrival. Within a month he would escape with another Athenian, Mantitheos , and resume command. It was now obvious, however, that he had no influence with

14186-482: The call for help, landed at Himera . He marched towards Syracuse with 700 armed sailors, 1,000 hoplites from Himera and Selinus , 100+ cavalry, and 1,000 Sicels . They built another counter-wall on the Epipolae, but were driven back by the Athenians; in a second battle, however, Gylippus defeated the Athenians by making better use of his cavalry and javelin-throwers. The Syracusans completed their counter-wall, making

14359-509: The celebration of the Eleusinian Mysteries) by land for the first time since the Spartans had occupied Decelea. The procession had been replaced by a sea voyage, but this year Alcibiades used a detachment of soldiers to escort the traditional procession. His property was restored and the ecclesia elected him supreme commander of land and sea ( strategos autokrator ). In 406 BC Alcibiades set out from Athens with 1,500 hoplites and

14532-515: The centre. Each side had about 100 ships participating. The Athenian ships were extremely cramped and had no room to manoeuvre. Collisions were frequent, and the Syracusans could easily ram the Athenian ships head-on, without the Athenians being able to move to ram them broadside, as they preferred. Javelin throwers and archers shot from each ship, but the Syracusans deflected Athenian grappling hooks by covering their decks with animal hides. The battle went on for some time with no clear victor, but

14705-432: The charge brought against Socrates". Even more critically, Athanasios G. Platias and Constantinos Koliopoulos, professors of strategic studies and international politics , state that Alcibiades's own arguments "should be sufficient to do away with the notion that Alcibiades was a great statesman, as some people still believe". Writing from a different perspective, psychologist Anna C. Salter cites Alcibiades as exhibiting "all

14878-431: The circumstances of Alcibiades's death is uncertain, as there are conflicting accounts. According to the oldest of these, the Spartans and specifically Lysander were responsible. Though many of his details cannot be independently corroborated, Plutarch's version is that Lysander sent an envoy to Pharnabazus who then dispatched his brother to Phrygia where Alcibiades was living with his mistress, Timandra. In 404 BC, as he

15051-570: The city gates and Theramenes concluded an agreement with the Chalcedonians. Afterwards they concluded a temporary alliance with Pharnabazus which secured some much needed immediate cash for the army, but despite this Alcibiades was still forced to depart in search for more booty to pay the soldiers and oarsmen of the fleet. In pursuit of these funds he traveled to the Thracian Chersonese and attacked Selymbria . He plotted with

15224-452: The city was between purely personal and civic values". Russell Meiggs , a British ancient historian, asserts that the Athenian statesman was absolutely unscrupulous despite his great charm and brilliant abilities. According to Meiggs his actions were dictated by selfish motives and his feud with Cleon and his successors undermined Athens. The same scholar underscores the fact that "his example of restless and undisciplined ambition strengthened

15397-609: The city, and thus to make Tissaphernes the friend of the Athenians. Phrynichus, fearing that Alcibiades if restored would avenge himself upon him for his opposition, sent a secret letter to the Spartan Admiral, Astyochus, to tell him that Alcibiades was ruining their cause by making Tissaphernes the friend of the Athenians, and containing an express revelation of the rest of the intrigue. Astyochus went up to Alcibiades and Tissaphernes at Magnesia and communicated to them Phrynichus's letter. Alcibiades responded in kind, sending to

15570-447: The city. Meanwhile, diplomats from both camps went to Camarina in an attempt to form an alliance with that city. Hermocrates wanted Camarina and the other cities to unite with Syracuse against Athens, but Euphemus, the representative for the Athenians, said Syracuse only wanted to rule Camarina, and they should join with Athens if they wanted to remain free. The Camarinans decided not to join either side, although they quietly sent aid to

15743-462: The classic features of psychopathy ." A similar assessment is made by Hervey Cleckley at the end of chapter 5 in his The Mask of Sanity . Despite his critical comments, Thucydides admits in a short digression that "publicly his conduct of the war was as good as could be desired". Diodorus and Demosthenes regard him as a great general. According to Fotiadis, Alcibiades was an invincible general and, wherever he went, victory followed him; had he led

15916-467: The combatants would become. This would allow the Persians to more easily conquer the region in the aftermath of the fighting. Alcibiades tried to convince the satrap that it was in Persia's interest to wear both Athens and Sparta out at first, "and after docking the Athenian power as much as he could, forthwith to rid the country of the Peloponnesians". Although Alcibiades's advice benefited the Persians, it

16089-452: The command of Laches , in response to an appeal for help from Leontini . That expedition, operating from a base at Rhegium , remained in the area for several years, fighting alongside Athens's local allies against the Syracusans and their allies, without achieving any dramatic successes. In 425, the Athenians planned to reinforce their contingent with an additional forty triremes, but that fleet never reached Sicily, as it became caught up in

16262-478: The conspirators did not go forward so smoothly. Samian democrats learned of the conspiracy and notified four prominent Athenians: the generals Leon and Diomedon, the trierarch Thrasybulus, and Thrasyllus, at that time a hoplite in the ranks. With the support of these men and the Athenian soldiers in general, the Samian democrats were able to defeat the 300 Samian oligarchs who attempted to seize power there. Further,

16435-459: The cost of sending a fleet, offering 60 talents of uncoined silver up front, and tricking Athenian ambassadors into believing that the city was more prosperous than it actually was, by making sure that the ambassadors saw all their golden and other valuable objects in a way as if these were just part of what they had. At Athens, the Segestan ambassadors presented their case for intervention to

16608-531: The crews of the triremes and other non-combatants. They had little luck finding allies along the coast of southern Italy and, when the three other ships returned, they learned that Segesta did not have the money they promised. Nicias had expected this, but the other commanders were dismayed. Nicias suggested they make a show of force and then return home, while Alcibiades said they should encourage revolts against Syracuse, and then attack Syracuse and Selinus. Lamachus said they should attack Syracuse right away, as it

16781-406: The disaster. The specific fate of Nicias and Demosthenes is not clearly recorded, but according to Thucydides' account, both were executed after their surrender, Demosthenes due to his earlier role in the war at Pylos, Nicias due to worries of a possibility of escape through bribery and possibility of causing later harm. Some historians have said that the Sicilian expedition was fatally flawed from

16954-596: The end of seven years of fighting during which neither side had gained a decisive advantage. Historians Arnold W. Gomme and Raphael Sealey believe, and Thucydides reports, that Alcibiades was offended that the Spartans had negotiated that treaty through Nicias and Laches , overlooking him on account of his youth. Disputes over the interpretation of the treaty led the Spartans to dispatch ambassadors to Athens with full powers to arrange all unsettled matters. The Athenians initially received these ambassadors well, but Alcibiades met with them in secret before they were to speak to

17127-469: The end of the war that he had helped to rekindle in the early 410s, his days of political relevance were a bygone memory. He is remembered in art and literature as a student of Socrates . Alcibiades was born in Athens . The family of his father, Cleinias , had old connections with the Spartan aristocracy through a relationship of xenia , and the name "Alcibiades" was of Spartan origin. Alcibiades' mother

17300-399: The entire expedition was captured or was destroyed in Sicily. The effects of the defeat were immense. Two hundred ships and thousands of soldiers, an appreciable portion of Athens' total manpower, were lost in a single stroke. The city's enemies on the mainland and in Persia were encouraged to take action, and rebellions broke out in the Aegean. Some historians consider the defeat to have been

17473-403: The envoys were angered at the audacity of the Persian demands, they nevertheless departed with the impression that Alcibiades could have brought about an agreement among the powers if he had chosen to do so. This fiasco at the court of Tissaphernes, however, put an end to the negotiations between the conspirators and Alcibiades. The group was convinced that Alcibiades could not deliver his side of

17646-442: The expedition if he argued against it directly, chose a different tactic. He described the wealth and power of the Sicilian cities Athens would be challenging, and stated that a larger expedition than previously approved would be required, expecting that the prospect of approving such a massive expenditure would prove unappealing to the citizenry. Contrary to Nicias's plan, the assembly enthusiastically embraced his proposal, and passed

17819-413: The expedition in Sicily in order "to gain in wealth and reputation by means of his successes". Alcibiades is not held responsible by Thucydides for the destruction of Athens, since "his habits gave offence to every one, and caused the Athenians to commit affairs to other hands, and thus before long to ruin the city". Plutarch regards him as "the least scrupulous and most entirely careless of human beings". On

17992-479: The expedition's primary proponent, Alcibiades , was recalled from command to stand trial before the fleet even reached Sicily. Still, the Athenians achieved early successes. Syracuse, the most powerful state in Sicily, responded exceptionally slowly to the Athenian threat and, as a result, was almost completely invested before the arrival of back-up in the form of Spartan general Gylippus , who galvanized its inhabitants into action. From that point forward, however, as

18165-493: The extravagant hopes that his successes of the previous summer had created were a decisive element in his downfall. Consequently, Alcibiades condemned himself to exile. Never again returning to Athens, he sailed north to the castles in the Thracian Chersonese, which he had secured during his time in the Hellespont. The implications of the defeat were severe for Athens. Although the defeat had been minor, it occasioned

18338-466: The famous Alcibiades. He entered the harbor full of fear until he saw his cousin and others of his friends and acquaintances, who invited him to land. Upon arriving on shore he was greeted with a hero's welcome. Nevertheless, some saw an evil omen in the fact that he had returned to Athens on the very day when the ceremony of the Plynteria (the feast where the old statue of Athena would get cleansed)

18511-410: The favour by rescuing Socrates at the Battle of Delium in 424 BC. Alcibiades had a particularly close relationship with Socrates, whom he admired and respected. Plutarch and Plato describe Alcibiades as Socrates's beloved, the former stating that Alcibiades "feared and reverenced Socrates alone, and despised the rest of his lovers". Alcibiades was married to Hipparete , the daughter of Hipponicus ,

18684-455: The figure of the great man during the glorious days of the Athenian democracy and became a rhetorical symbol. One of Isocrates ' speeches, delivered by Alcibiades the Younger, argues that the statesman deserved the Athenians' gratitude for the service he had given them. Lysias , on the other hand, argued in one of his orations that the Athenians should regard Alcibiades as an enemy because of

18857-437: The first counter-wall, but the Syracusans began to build another one, this time with a ditch, blocking the Athenians from extending their wall to the sea. Another 300 Athenians attacked this wall and captured it, but were driven off by a Syracusan counter-attack in which Lamachus was killed, leaving only Nicias from the three original commanders. The Syracusans destroyed 300 m (1,000 feet) of the Athenian wall, but could not destroy

19030-408: The flag around Sicily and then return home, unless the Segestans were willing to pay for the full cost of the expanded expedition. Alcibiades proposed to first attempt to win over allies on the island through diplomacy, and then attack Selinus and Syracuse. Lamachus, meanwhile, proposed taking advantage of the element of surprise by sailing directly to Syracuse and giving battle outside the city. Such

19203-465: The fleet again. Responsibility for the defeat ultimately fell on Alcibiades, and his enemies used the opportunity to attack him and have him removed from command, although some modern scholars believe that Alcibiades was unfairly blamed for Antiochus 's mistake. Diodorus reports that, in addition to his mistake at Notium, Alcibiades was discharged on account of false accusations brought against him by his enemies. According to historian Antony Andrewes ,

19376-479: The fleet set sail soon after, with the charges unresolved. 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. According to Thucydides , the Athenians were always in fear and took everything suspiciously. When the fleet arrived in Catania , it found

19549-556: The general tenor of his life, as "he repays with injury the open assistance of any of his friends". In the Constitution of the Athenians , Aristotle does not include Alcibiades in the list of the best Athenian politicians, but in Posterior Analytics he argues that traits of a proud man like Alcibiades are "equanimity amid the vicissitudes of life and impatience of dishonor". Alcibiades excited in his contemporaries

19722-478: The government which succeeded the Four Hundred in 411, but it is most likely that he waited until 407 BC to actually return to the city. Plutarch tells us that, although his recall had already been passed on motion of Critias , a political ally of his, Alcibiades was resolved to come back with glory. While this was certainly his goal, it was again a means to an end, that end being to avoid prosecution upon his return to Athens. The next significant part he would play in

19895-422: The government. According to Plutarch, Androcles, a political enemy of Alcibiades, used false witness to claim that Alcibiades and his friends were responsible. Alcibiades volunteered to be put on trial under penalty of death in order to prove his innocence (wanting to avoid his enemies charging him, in his absence, with more false information), but this request was denied. He was otherwise extremely popular and had

20068-464: The hands of the enemy than by those of his countrymen. He hoped the Syracusans would soon run out of money, and he had also been informed that there were pro-Athenian factions in Syracuse who were ready to turn the city over to him. Demosthenes and Eurymedon reluctantly agreed that Nicias might be right, but when reinforcements from the Peloponnese arrived, Nicias agreed that they should leave. Just as

20241-401: The last attested fact of his career, Alcibiades recognized that the Athenians were anchored in a tactically disadvantageous spot and advised them to move to Sestus where they could benefit from a harbor and a city. Diodorus, however, does not mention this advice, arguing instead that Alcibiades offered the generals Thracian aid in exchange for a share in the command. In any case, the generals of

20414-405: The loss of ships. Although Athens had never involved itself deeply in Sicilian affairs, it had ties there before the onset of the Peloponnesian War, dating back to at least the mid-5th century BC. To small Sicilian cities, Athens was a potential counter to the powerful city of Syracuse, which was strong enough to potentially dominate the island. Syracuse, like Sparta and its Peloponnesian allies,

20587-486: The marketplace. On which, there being everywhere, as may be imagined, terror and consternation, the Archons summoned a general assembly, and there brought in the man and questioned him how he came to know. And he, giving no satisfactory account, was taken for a spreader of false intelligence and a disturber of the city, and was, therefore, fastened to the wheel and racked a long time, till other messengers arrived that related

20760-475: The night. The next morning the Athenians lined up eight men deep, with the Argives and Mantineans on the right, the rest of the allies on the left, and the Athenians themselves in the centre. The Syracusans were deployed sixteen men deep, in order to offset the advantage of the Athenians in experience. They also had 1,200 cavalry, vastly outnumbering the Athenian cavalry, although the total numbers of men were about

20933-468: The occupation of Decelea. The Spartans took this advice into consideration, and appointed Gylippus to command their fleet. In the spring of 414 BC, reinforcements arrived from Athens, consisting of 250 cavalry, 30 mounted archers, and 300 talents of silver, which was used to pay for 400 more cavalry from their Sicilian allies. In the summer, they landed on the Epipolae , the cliff above Syracuse, which

21106-470: The other Athenians. Their camp was located near a marsh and many of them had fallen ill, including Nicias. Seeing this, Demosthenes thought they should all return to Athens to defend Attica against the Spartan invasion that had taken Decelea. Nicias, who had opposed the expedition at first, now did not want to show any weakness either to the Syracusans and Spartans, or to the Athenians at home who he thought would have him executed, stating he would rather die by

21279-516: The other hand, Diodorus argues that he was "in spirit brilliant and intent upon great enterprises". Sharon Press of Brown University points out that Xenophon emphasizes Alcibiades's service to the state, rather than the harm he was charged with causing it. Demosthenes defends Alcibiades's achievements, saying that he had taken arms in the cause of democracy, displaying his patriotism, not by gifts of money or by speeches, but by personal service. For Demosthenes and other orators, Alcibiades epitomized

21452-505: The other side of the river a Syracusan force was waiting, and the Athenians were almost completely massacred, by far the worst defeat of the entire expedition in terms of lives lost. Nicias personally surrendered to Gylippus, hoping the Spartan would remember his role in the peace treaty of 421. The few who escaped found refuge in Catana. The prisoners, now numbering only 7,000, were held in the stone quarries near Syracuse which were considered

21625-410: The others. He roused them so much that they proposed to sail at once for Piraeus and attack the oligarchs in Athens. It was primarily Alcibiades, along with Thrasybulus, who calmed the people and showed them the folly of this proposal, which would have sparked civil war and would have led to the immediate defeat of Athens. Shortly after Alcibiades's reinstatement as an Athenian general, the government of

21798-438: The outset, that the Athenian attempt to conquer Sicily was an example of mad arrogance. Others however argue that there was nothing inherently wrong with the plan strategically, and that it would have succeeded if the Athenian leadership had not made a succession of bad tactical decisions. J. B. Bury judged that by far the biggest single reason for the expedition's catastrophic failure was the incompetence of Nicias, aggravated by

21971-441: The patronage of Thrasybulus. In his first speech to the assembled troops, Alcibiades complained bitterly about the circumstances of his exile, but most of the speech was boasting of his influence with Tissaphernes. The primary motives of his speech were to make the oligarchs at Athens fear him and to increase his credit with the army at Samos. Upon hearing his speech the troops immediately elected him general alongside Thrasybulus and

22144-544: The pivotal Battle of Pylos on the way there. By the time that fleet reached Sicily in late summer, Athens's Sicilian allies had grown weary of stalemated warfare, and agreed to negotiate with Syracuse and its allies. At the Congress of Gela , the Sicilian cities made peace on the basis of "Sicily for the Sicilians", and the Athenian fleet left for home. In 415, Athens and Sparta had been formally at peace since 421, when

22317-478: The plan, it was Nicias, not he, who turned a modest undertaking into a massive campaign and made the conquest of Sicily seem possible and safe. It was at his suggestion that the size of the fleet was significantly increased from 60 ships to "140 galleys, 5,100 men at arms, and about 1300 archers, slingers, and light armed men". Philosopher Leo Strauss underscores that the Sicilian expedition surpassed everything undertaken by Pericles. Almost certainly Nicias's intention

22490-437: The plans of the Athenians to convince the Spartans of the benefit they stood to gain from his help. Kagan asserts that Alcibiades had not yet acquired his "legendary" reputation, and the Spartans saw him as "a defeated and hunted man" whose policies "produced strategic failures" and brought "no decisive result". If accurate, this assessment underscores one of Alcibiades's greatest talents, his highly persuasive oratory. After making

22663-480: The possibility of renewing the war against Syracuse, but achieved nothing. In 416, however, a second Sicilian conflict provided the invitation Athens had sought in 422. The city of Segesta —an Athenian ally in the 420s—went to war against Selinus and, after losing an initial battle, sent to Athens for help. In order to win the Athenians' support, the Segestaeans claimed that they were capable of funding much of

22836-405: The prospect of a narrower constitution, which would allow them a greater part in determining policy. According to Thucydides, only one of the Athenian generals at Samos, Phrynichus , opposed the plan and argued that Alcibiades cared no more for the proposed oligarchy than for the traditional democracy. The involvement in the plot of another general, Thrasybulus , remains unclear. These officers of

23009-406: The rebuilt Peloponnesian navy, but as soon as the Athenian fleet was reunited there its commanders led it to Cyzicus, where the Athenians had intelligence indicating that Pharnabazus and Mindarus , the Peloponnesian fleet commander, were together plotting their next move. Concealed by storm and darkness, the combined Athenian force reached the vicinity without being spotted by the Peloponnesians. Here

23182-475: The recall of Alcibiades. For Athens, the expedition was a "human disaster as painful as the plague [as well as a] political disaster" which severely harmed the city's war efforts and hegemony over its allies. Sparta exploited this weakness to greatly increase the pressure on its rival over the next years, though it could not achieve a strategic breakthrough. In contrast, the Etruscans who had fought alongside

23355-420: The removal of not only Alcibiades but also his allies such as Thrasybulus , Theramenes , and Critias . These were likely the most capable commanders Athens had at the time, and their removal would help lead to the Athenian surrender only two years later, after their complete defeat at Aegospotami . With one exception, Alcibiades's role in the war ended with his command. Prior to the Battle of Aegospotami , in

23528-507: The richest and most powerful city of Sicily, felt that the Athenians were in fact coming to attack them under the pretense of aiding Segesta in a minor war. The Syracusan general Hermocrates suggested that they ask for help from other Sicilian cities, and from Carthage . He also wanted to meet the Athenian fleet in the Ionian Sea before they arrived. Others argued that Athens was no threat to Syracuse, and some people did not believe there

23701-412: The roadblocks that did not yet exist, and the Syracusans burned or towed away the Athenian ships on the beach, so that they had no way off the island. On September 13, the Athenians left camp leaving their wounded behind and their dead unburied. The survivors, including all the non-combatants, numbered 40,000, and some of the wounded crawled after them as far as they could go. As they marched they defeated

23874-477: The safest prison for such a number of men. Demosthenes and Nicias were executed, against the orders of Gylippus. The rest spent ten weeks in horrible conditions in their makeshift prison, until all but the Athenians, Italians, and Sicilians were sold as slaves . The remaining Athenians were left to die slowly of disease and starvation in the quarry. In the end some of the very last survivors managed to escape and eventually trickled to Athens, bringing first-hand news of

24047-401: The sailors and marines on the beach. 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. A letter dispatched to Sparta by Hippocrates, vice-admiral under Mindarus, was intercepted and taken to Athens; it ran as follows: "The ships are lost. Mindarus

24220-442: The same. The Athenians attacked first, believing themselves to be the stronger and more experienced army, and after some unexpectedly strong resistance, the Argives pushed back the Syracusan left wing, causing the rest to flee. The Syracusan cavalry prevented the Athenians from chasing them, thereby averting a catastrophe for the Syracusans, who lost about 260 men, and the Athenians about 50. The Athenians then sailed back to Catania for

24393-401: The satrap reduced the payments he was making to the Peloponnesian fleet and began delivering them irregularly. Alcibiades next advised Tissaphernes to bribe the generals of the cities to gain valuable intelligence on their activities. 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

24566-469: The second assembly. Alcibiades was the expedition's leading proponent, and the leader of the war party, Nicias its leading critic and the leader of the peace party. Lamachus, meanwhile, was a fifty-year-old career soldier, of whom the longest extant portrayal is a series of scenes in Aristophanes ' The Acharnians that satirize him as a braggadocious, perpetually impoverished warrior. The reasons for

24739-458: The ships again and attempt to force their way out, as now both fleets had lost about half their ships and Nicias agreed. The men themselves did not want to board the ship because they were afraid. They then decided to retreat by land. Hermocrates sent some supposed informers to the Athenians to falsely report that there were spies and roadblocks further inland, so the Athenians would be safer if they did not march away. Gylippus used this delay to build

24912-469: The shore with the Athenians in close pursuit. Alcibiades' troops, leading the Athenian pursuit, landed and attempted to pull the Spartan ships back out to sea. The Peloponnesians fought to prevent their ships from being towed away, and Pharnabazus's troops came up to support them. Thrasybulus landed his own force to temporarily relieve pressure on Alcibiades, and meanwhile ordered Theramenes to join up with Athenian land forces nearby and bring them to reinforce

25085-466: The silver mines at Laurion in southern Attica. In 445/4 BC he was secretary of the Athenian Council ( boule ) and was still active as late as 426 BC when he, Nicias and Eurymedon commanded Athenian regiments in an incursion into Boeotian territory where they successfully engaged Tanagran and Theban forces at Tanagra . Hipponicus was reported by Andocides to have been slain at

25258-419: The small unit of Etruscans who had been sent to aid Athens; these warriors managed to stop Gylippus's assault. Using this respite, the Athenians rallied and returned to fight alongside the Etruscans, securing several of their ships on the beach and preventing a complete catastrophe. Historian David Abulafia concluded that the Etruscans had "saved the day" for the Athenians. Demosthenes suggested that they man

25431-526: The state trireme Salaminia waiting to bring Alcibiades and the others indicted for mutilating the hermai or profaning the Eleusinian Mysteries back to Athens to stand trial. Alcibiades told the heralds that he would follow them back to Athens in his ship, but in Thurii he escaped with his crew; in Athens he was convicted in absentia and condemned to death. His property was confiscated and

25604-493: The support of the entire army; he had also gained the support of Argos and Mantinea during the preparations. He was not charged, and the fleet sailed the next day. His opponents, however, waited for Alcibiades to set sail before they leveled the charges against him. This was because the army, his main source of support, would be absent, and his supporters would be outnumbered when the votes were cast. Many people in Syracuse ,

25777-408: The threat seem imminent, Alcibiades advised the Spartans to send troops and most importantly, a Spartan commander to discipline and aid the Syracusans. Alcibiades served as a military adviser to Sparta and helped the Spartans secure several crucial successes. He advised them to build a permanent fort at Decelea , just over ten miles (16 km) from Athens and within sight of the city. By doing this,

25950-419: The troops he would bring the fleet to their side or prevent it from coming at all, but Thucydides further speculates that the real reason was to flaunt his new position to Tissaphernes and try to gain some real influence over him. According to the historian, Alcibiades had long known that Tissaphernes never meant to bring the fleet at all. Alcibiades was recalled by the "intermediate regime" of The Five Thousand,

26123-418: The turning point in the war, though Athens continued to fight for another decade. Thucydides observed that contemporary Greeks were shocked not that Athens eventually fell after the defeat, but rather that it fought on for as long as it did, so devastating were the losses suffered. Athens managed to recover remarkably well from the expedition materially, the principal issue being the loss of manpower rather than

26296-503: The war would occur at the Battle of Abydos . Alcibiades had remained behind at Samos with a small force while Thrasybulus and Thrasyllus led the greater part of the fleet to the Hellespont . During this period, Alcibiades succeeded in raising money from Caria and the neighboring area, with which he was able to pay the rowers and gain their favor. After the Athenian victory at Cynossema , both fleets summoned all their ships from around

26469-404: The whole disaster particularly. So hardly was Nicias believed to have suffered the calamity which he had often predicted. Hipponicus Hipponicus III ( / h ɪ ˈ p ɒ n ɪ k ə s / ; Greek : Ἱππόνικος ; c. 485 BC – 422/1 BC) was an Athenian military commander. He was the son of Callias II of the deme Alopece and Elpinice of Laciadae (sister of Cimon ). He was known as

26642-450: The whole expedition, but instead they chose to send reinforcements, under Demosthenes and Eurymedon . Eurymedon left immediately with ten ships, and Demosthenes left sometime later with a much larger force. Meanwhile, in early 413 BC Sparta acted on Alcibiades's advice to fortify Decelea, and the Athenian force sent to relieve it was destroyed. While Eurymedon was sailing, Gylippus's 80 Syracusan ships, including 35 triremes, attacked 60 of

26815-405: The winter. Hermocrates suggested that the Syracusans reorganize their army. He wanted to reduce the number of generals from fifteen to three; Hermocrates, Heraclides , and Sicanus were elected and Hermocrates sent for help from Corinth and Sparta . During the winter the Athenians also sent for more money and cavalry, while the Syracusans built some forts, and a wall extending the territory of

26988-569: Was Deinomache , the daughter of Megacles , head of the powerful Alcmaeonid family, and could trace her family back to Eurysaces and the Telamonian Ajax . Alcibiades thereby, through his mother, belonged to the powerful and controversial family of the Alcmaeonidae ; the renowned Pericles and his brother Ariphron were Deinomache's cousins, as her father and their mother were siblings. His paternal grandfather, also named Alcibiades,

27161-497: Was a Dorian city, while most of Athens's allies on the island were Ionian . Another source of conflict was the close relationship of Syracuse and other Dorian cities of the west to Athens's great commercial rival, Corinth. To the Athenians, Sicily was a threat—an unencumbered Syracuse might send grain or other aid to the Peloponnesians—as well as a venue for possible conquests. In 427 BC, Athens had sent twenty ships, under

27334-414: Was a disappointment to Alcibiades, who had hoped for a glorious return to Athens itself but found himself only restored to the rebellious fleet, where the immunity from prosecution he had been granted "protected him for the time being but not from a reckoning in the future"; furthermore, the recall, which Alcibiades had hoped to bring about through his own prestige and perceived influence, was achieved through

27507-418: Was a fleet at all, because Athens would not be so foolish as to attack them while they were still at war with Sparta. Athenagoras accused Hermocrates and others of attempting to instill fear among the population and trying to overthrow the government. At the first assembly that authorized the expedition, the Athenians named Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus as its commanders; that decision remained unchanged at

27680-468: Was a friend of Cleisthenes , the famous constitutional reformer of the late sixth century BC. After the death of Cleinias at the Battle of Coronea (447 BC) , Pericles and Ariphron became his guardians. According to Plutarch , Alcibiades had several famous teachers, including Socrates , and was well trained in the art of rhetoric . He was noted, however, for his unruly behavior, which was mentioned by ancient Greek and Latin writers on several occasions. It

27853-500: Was a strategic blunder of the first magnitude, resulting from a "frivolous attitude and an unbelievable underestimation of the enemy". For his part, Angelos Vlachos, a Greek Academician , underlines the constant interest of Athens for Sicily from the beginning of the war. According to Vlachos, the expedition had nothing of the extravagant or adventurous and constituted a rational strategic decision based on traditional Athenian aspirations. Vlachos asserts that Alcibiades had already conceived

28026-487: Was about to set out for the Persian court, his residence was surrounded and set on fire. Seeing no chance of escape he rushed out on his assassins, dagger in hand, and was killed by a shower of arrows. According to Aristotle , the site of Alcibiades's death was Elaphus, a mountain in Phrygia. In ancient Greece , Alcibiades was a polarizing figure. According to Thucydides, Alcibiades, being "exceedingly ambitious", proposed

28199-475: Was at its lowest". This alliance, however, would ultimately be defeated at the Battle of Mantinea . Somewhere in the years 416–415 BC, a complex struggle took place between Hyperbolos on one side and Nicias and Alcibiades on the other. Hyperbolos tried to bring about the ostracism of one of this pair, but Nicias and Alcibiades combined their influence to induce the people to expel Hyperbolos instead. This incident reveals that Nicias and Alcibiades each commanded

28372-418: Was being celebrated. This was regarded as the unluckiest day of the year to undertake anything of importance. His enemies took note of this and kept it in mind for a future occasion. All the criminal proceedings against him were canceled and the charges of blasphemy were officially withdrawn. Alcibiades was able to assert his piety and to raise Athenian morale by leading the solemn procession to Eleusis (for

28545-447: Was believed by many to be Alcibiades's son. An alternate account asserts that Alcibiades took advantage of King Agis' absence with the Spartan army in Attica and seduced his wife. Alcibiades's influence was further reduced after the retirement of Endius , the ephor who was on good terms with him. It is alleged that Astyochus , a Spartan admiral, was sent orders to kill him, but Alcibiades received warning of this order and defected to

28718-442: Was believed that Socrates took Alcibiades as a student because he believed he could change Alcibiades from his vain ways. Xenophon attempted to clear Socrates's name at trial by relaying information that Alcibiades was always corrupt and that Socrates merely failed in attempting to teach him morality. Alcibiades took part in the Battle of Potidaea in 432 BC, where Socrates was said to have saved his life. Alcibiades later returned

28891-405: Was defended by Diomilus and 600 Syracusans. In the attack, Diomilus and 300 of his men were killed. Both sides then began building a series of walls. The Athenian circumvallation , known as "the Circle" , was meant to blockade Syracuse from the rest of the island, while the Syracusans built a number of counter-walls from the city to their various forts. A force of 300 Athenians destroyed part of

29064-408: Was given express orders not to attack. Antiochus disobeyed this single order and endeavored to draw Lysander into a fight by imitating the tactics used at Cyzicus. The situation at Notium, however, was radically different from that at Cyzicus; the Athenians possessed no element of surprise, and Lysander had been well informed about their fleet by deserters. Antiochus's ship was sunk, and he was killed by

29237-456: Was in the aftermath of these successes that Alcibiades resolved to finally return to Athens in the spring of 407 BC. 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. Thus Alcibiades, rather than going straight home, first went to Samos to pick up 20 ships and proceeded with them to

29410-408: Was merely a means to an end; Thucydides tells us that his real motive was to use his alleged influence with the Persians to effect his restoration to Athens. Alcibiades was one of several Greek aristocrats who took refuge in the Achaemenid Empire following reversals at home, other famous ones being Themistocles , Demaratos or Gongylos . According to Thucydides (Thuc.8.47), Alcibiades also advised

29583-433: Was subsequently appointed general. He took advantage of his increasing power to orchestrate the creation of an alliance between Argos , Mantinea , Elis , and other states in the Peloponnese, threatening Sparta's dominance in the region. According to Gomme, "it was a grandiose scheme for an Athenian general at the head of a mainly Peloponnesian army to march through the Peloponnese cocking a snook at Sparta when her reputation

29756-506: Was the predominant city-state in Sicily. The fleet proceeded to Catania , where an Athenian ship arrived to inform Alcibiades that he was under arrest, not only for the destruction of the hermai, but also for supposedly profaning the Eleusinian Mysteries . Alcibiades agreed to return in his ship, but when they stopped in southern Italy at Thurii , he escaped and sailed to the Peloponnese , where he sought refuge in Sparta. Athens passed

29929-411: Was to shock the assembly with his high estimate of the forces required, but, instead of dissuading his fellow citizens, his analysis made them all the more eager. Against his wishes Nicias was appointed general along with Alcibiades and Lamachus , all three of whom were given full powers to do whatever was in the best interests of Athens while in Sicily. One night during preparations for the expedition,

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