Alcibiades: Athenian Playboy, General and Traitor

by P.J. Rhodes

Alcibiades is one of the most famous (or infamous) characters of Classical Greece. A young Athenian aristocrat, he came to prominence during the Peloponnesian War (429-404 BC) between Sparta and Athens. Flamboyant, charismatic (and wealthy), this close associate of Socrates persuaded the Athenians to attempt to stand up to the Spartans on land as part of an alliance he was instrumental in bringing together. Although this led to defeat at the Battle of Mantinea in 418 BC, his prestige remained high. He was also a prime mover in Athens' next big strategic gambit, the Sicilian Expedition of 415 BC, for which he was elected as one of the leaders. Shortly after arrival in Sicily, however, he was recalled to face charges of sacrilege allegedly committed during his pre-expedition reveling. Jumping ship on the return journey, he defected to the Spartans.

Alcibiades soon ingratiated himself with the Spartans, encouraging them to aid the Sicilians (ultimately resulting in the utter destruction of the Athenian expedition) and to keep year-round pressure on the Athenians. He then seems to have overstepped the bounds of hospitality by sleeping with the Spartan queen and was soon on the run again. He then played a devious and dangerous game of shifting loyalties between Sparta, Athens and Persia. He had a hand in engineering the overthrow of democracy at Athens in favor of an oligarchy, which allowed him to return from exile, though he then opposed the increasingly-extreme excesses of that regime. For a time he looked to have restored Athens' fortunes in the war, but went into exile again after being held responsible for the defeat of one of his subordinates in a naval battle. This time he took refuge with the Persians, but as they were now allied to the Spartans, the cuckolded King Agis of Sparta was able to arrange his assassination by Persian agents.

There has been no full length biography of this colorful and important character for twenty years. Professor Rhodes brings the authority of an internationally recognized expert in the field, ensuring that this will be a truly significant addition to the literature on Classical Greece.

Genres: History, Ancient History, Biography, Greece, Biography Memoir, Nonfiction

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2011

About the author

P. J. Rhodes is Honorary Professor and Emeritus Professor of Ancient History at the University of Durham. He has written widely on Thucydides and ancient Greece; one of his most recent books is A History of the Classical Greek World 478-323 BC (2005).

Reviews

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's kind of a shame because Alcibiades is one of those dudes that should never be boring or fade into the background. And yet Rhoades somehow managed to do just that.

This book is the first biography that I've read of the man Alcibiades so the expectations were low, and I'll admit freely that I found this book a pretty enjoyable read. I learned a great deal about the life of Alcibiades and the world he inhabited, and by the end, I feel as if I've received a passable introduction to the life of Alcibiades. The problem is that this book is far more interested in exploring the work of Thucydides and Xenophon and their reporting of the Peloponnesian war. Alcibiades and his antics are really only appreciated or understood in relation to this massive event in Greek history, and this bums me out because even in the middle of a generational defining war Alcibiades always managed to steal the show...except in this book.

P.J. Rhodes isn't a bad writer, and he's clearly done his research, but his problem is ultimately keeping his focus on the namesake of his book. Readers interested in Greek history will find something to enjoy in this text, but readers curious of the life of Alcibiades should probably start somewhere else.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely only readable if you are already familiar with the subject matter. Rhodes made some interesting points, but I feel that the editor let both the audience and the author down. It's a shame too, because I find Alcibiades fascinating.

[Filippos Mintiloglitis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though Alcibiades is definitely one of the most fascinating political characters of not only classical Athens and the Peloponnesian war, but of all times, this book proved to be very difficult to read / follow due to its main focus on the various ancient sources and its quest to conclude which of the sources was probably more accurate than others. This way, I felt the focus was taken away from Alcibiades, his personality, actions and potential motives. All in all, a difficult book to read and for me, personally, not enjoyable at all. I respect the author’s thorough research, but I wouldn’t recommend it, especially to readers interested in getting a smooth narrative of Alcibiades’ fascinating life.

[Evelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like someone else said, this is fine if you're already familiar with Alcibiades but he was overwhelmingly a background character for a lot of this book and the way Rhodes delivered the information was a bit trying. It felt like important information and context was downplayed while unimportant information was overplayed.

It's fine, but I would definitely recommend an introduction to Alcibiades through another book before this one.

[I · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book but as other readers already mentioned you have to know more about Alcibiades to appreciate this work. I would have liked to know more about Alcibiades (sea)battles, political and personal life. The book tells us more about the Peleponesian war then about the main character.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful to gain more of an insight into Alcibiades. My history students found it accessible however would've liked maps throughout and some notes on the key people.

[Daniel Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done

Good research, great notes. Over all a good factual breakdown of the historic records on an intriguing person. Worth the time if you are interested in the character.

[Masen Production · Rating 4 out of 5]

“For those who might just pick this up and read BEWARE its a serious biography of Alcibiades from Athens a friend of socrates and lived during the Penopolesian wars. After ages a modern historian has written about the most controversial character in Greek history the first who is infamous to be a double turncoat. Its a very serious book for those who are aware of the nuances of the Greek state during the 30 years of war. Superb book... ”

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps inevitably, this is as much a history of the Peloponnesian War as it is a biography of Alcibiades, which meant that (for me) it fell short of doing either goal justice. Many passages are dense enough that unless you already know the Peloponnesian War in some detail they will be hard to follow -- and if you do already know the Peloponnesian War that thoroughly, I'm not sure this book will offer anything new.