to’s Symposium , was to add that extra spark, unlike anything else, that
further enhanced the individual and his reputation. From the beginning,
this young man is not just the archetypal “golden boy.”
The very phrase “young man” calls for an additional comment. We
think of Alcibiades as a young man. And it is partly Plato’s fault if this
label has stayed with him and added to his charm.
Youth
Alcibiades was never old: he wasn’t fi fty years old when he died. How-
ever, at the time of the Symposium he was no longer a young man. He was
probably born between 452 and 450 BCE. When the Peloponnesian War
began, he had just left the tutelage of Pericles. He had his own house, his
own slaves. He would soon assume political responsibilities. But his char-
acter was still that of an adolescent—brilliant, bold, a little irresponsi-
ble, the way he would always be seen. The events in the Symposium are
thought to have occurred in 416, when Alcibiades was thirty-fi ve years
old. But he was still seen as a “boyfriend,” someone other men pursued, 19
and as a spoiled child, one who could say anything and was forgiven ev-
erything. This adolescent view has, in some way, permeated our image of
him, and is imprinted there forever.
In 416, it should be said, Plato was twelve years old. He never knew the
young Alcibiades. There was a generation between them. But the legend of
Alcibiades is etched in our minds. And in relation to Socrates he is always
19 . The story he tells of a failed seduction, which we will return to in the next chapter, is obviously prior to the supposed date of the banquet; but it is not presented as an old story.
Richly
Endowed 13
seen as an adolescent. Plato, who was never very faithful to chronology,
portrays him thus, at the expense of realism.
It should be added that Alcibiades, even while remaining very hand-
some as he aged, eagerly projected youthfulness.
He assumed major political roles as soon as his age permitted, and he
made a strength of his youth. When opposing Nicias, in that very same
year of 416, he spoke for youth and claimed the right of young people to
speak and offer advice.
That claim occurred during the debate about the Sicilian expedition.
Nicias, who opposed the expedition, viciously attacked the ambitious
young Alcibiades. Nicias was himself more than fi fty years old. He did
not mince words: “And if there be any man here, overjoyed at being cho-
sen to command, who urges you to make the expedition, merely for ends
of his own—especially if he is still too young to command . . .” And he
summarized: “When I see such a person now sitting here at the side of
that same individual and summoned by him, alarm seizes me; and I, in
my turn, summon any of the older men.” 20 There it is, in fi fth-century Athens, the contrast between old and young that we know well. The same
theme occurs in the theater fairly often. It is something we might call a
social phenomenon. But Alcibiades was not to be intimidated. Yes, he was
young. He points to his success and declares: “Thus did my youth and
so-called monstrous folly fi nd fi tting arguments to deal with the power of
the Peloponnesians, and by its ardor win their confi dence and prevail. And
do not be afraid of my youth now, but while I am still in its fl ower and
Nicias appears fortunate, avail yourselves to the utmost of the services of
us both.” 21
Later in his speech he repeats scornfully: “Do not let the passive policy
which Nicias advocates, or his setting of the young against the old, turn
you from your purpose, but in the good old fashion by which our fathers,
old and young together, by their united counsels brought our affairs to
their present height. . .; neither youth nor old age can do anything the one
without the other.”
As in the Symposium , youth will continue symbolizing the young man
of thirty-fi ve. And in his hands, his youth became an advantage, another
20 . 6.12.2, 6.13.1.
21 . 6.17.1; the following quote is at 6.18.6.
14 Chapter
1
means of persuading individuals and mobs, another means of making ev-
erything about himself.
He had everything. He had too much. Why would he not think that
he was more important than anyone else? He became a symbol worthy of
refl ection for all time, and the most dazzling symbol of all. In every era
there are brilliant boys whose youth seems a golden age. There are many
gifted young men with talent for political life. But Alcibiades had all these
qualities and more. His nobility, his beauty, his boldness were incompa-
rable; what is more, his country had attained the highest degree of power
and culture. His ambition was boundless. Moreover, the teacher who was
drawing him to the good demanded absolute truth and justice. Thus, the
life of Alcibiades represents an ideal and an unforgettable symbol. It has
meaning for every era. And perhaps more than in any other age, it has
meaning in ours. Alcibiades, as a fi gure of selfi sh ambition in a democracy
in crisis, reveals, through the betrayals and scandals of his own time, crises
of our times—even though there would seem to be no discernible Alcibi-
ades among modern politicians.
Actually, as in a blueprint, we see his destiny leading him and Athens. It
began with small scandals of an insolent selfi shness and grew into plots of
political audacity—up to the day when the scandals swept violently over
him. In a democracy, scandal is and always has been dangerous.
Alcibiades’s scandals began early and continued for a very long time.
2
Insults and Scandals
A gilded youth is no friend of self-discipline, and the young Alcibiades was
too gifted not to become spoiled by success. Insolence was part of his na-
ture, and it conformed to circumstances. He was confi dent and was not
going to let anyone get in his way.
These are traits that were no doubt less threatening for the future than
his ambition but, when combined with ambition, fi rst encouraged it and
then, owing to scandals, thwarted it, and led to failure.
He was no more moderate in his fl aws than in his talents. So while the
self-control, reserve, and piety of an Alexander were extolled, posterity
would remember Alcibiades with a litany of the most exaggerated re-
proaches. Cornelius Nepos exclaimed, in a Latin phrase that even today
needs no translation:
“Luxuriosus, dissolutus, libidinosus, intemper-
ans!” (1.1).
We will not go that far, but let the reader decide. The anecdotes col-
lected by Plutarch are suffi cient to suggest Alcibiades’s character—and all
the dangers therein.
16 Chapter
2
Plutarch recounts anecdotes randomly; and he has retained those that
lack any grounds: a person like Alcibiades excited passions, myths, and
tall tales. But the anecdotes agree among themselves, and the individual
is unmistakable.
Admittedly, the stories are entertaining. We read them with the indul-
gence an older generation often s
hows toward youthful pranks, for they
express a certain courage, gaiety, and freedom. But we should be wary be-
cause, little by little, the stories go from cheerful insolence to real affronts
to people and disdain for rules. Indulgence has no place when you realize
that the slope can be slippery: it certainly was for Alcibiades.
His character can be detected as early as the description in Plato’s Sym-
posium. Was he drunk, this fellow Alcibiades? Was he not yelling at the
top of his lungs? Should he not have been subdued by the fl ute player? Oh,
but it was his charmed youth. Oh well, everyone admired him. But they
should have recognized in the beautiful Alcibiades what could already be
seen, his inseparable other side, the intolerable Alcibiades.
His insolence went very far back, to childhood and early adolescence.
One of Plutarch’s fi rst anecdotes tells us about an incident in a busy street.
It is the kind of thing one can imagine in any small city of our own time. Al-
cibiades is a small child ( mikros ); he is playing with little bones in the street when a vehicle arrives loaded with merchandise. “First, he ordered the driver
to stop because his little bones had dropped in the path of the vehicle. The
man, who was a bit boorish, didn’t listen and kept going. The other children
scattered.” What did Alcibiades do? He lay down in front of the truck and
yelled: “You can continue now if you want.” At that, the driver withdrew,
frightened, and the bystanders ran, crying in fear, toward the child (2.4).
Of course, he should have allowed the truck to pass. That was obvious.
But what presence of mind. What courage. Alcibiades never lacked cour-
age. He was always taking risks—in war and in politics, even at the mo-
ment of his death. But this early view illustrates his almost reckless valor;
and perhaps readers today are thinking, in the backs of their minds, about
a young man all alone in front of a tank, on the great square in China. In
any case, the heart of all the Athenians who were present that day went
out to that child, despite his arrogance and foolhardiness.
And then we see him, a very young man, learning to wrestle. He bit his
opponent, who let go, yelling: “You bite like a girl, Alcibiades!” Was he
ashamed? Not at all. Proudly, he retorted “No! Like a lion” (2.3). Plutarch
Insults
and
Scandals 17
quotes it as one of Alcibiades’s famous sayings, one worthy of a Spartan. 1
In any case, it suited him. Obviously, Alcibiades should not have bitten the
boy, but the boldness of his reply was admired. So what if he was violent?
Alcibiades’s “words” would often become famous. Intelligence helped,
but so did the total lack of timidity and consideration for others.
With such a temperament, young Alcibiades was bound for a lifetime
of insolence. And in fact, it is clear that the many assets he enjoyed gave
rise to increasingly serious faults in his day-to-day life.
Handsome, rich, noble, he took no account of others and felt entitled
to everything.
This attitude appeared fi rst in his manners. As noted already, there
were the long, purple robes. But that wasn’t all. We know that he was the
fi rst to wear a new shoe style known as the “Alcibiades.” 2 People say that he raised fi ghting cocks; he enjoyed leading the life of a spoiled youth.
In relations with others, this meant an attitude of deliberate arrogance.
From this came a series of small insults, at times friendly, and at other
times hateful, revealing a total contempt for others.
Once, for example, he met a schoolteacher and asked for a book of
Homer. The man didn’t have one. What did Alcibiades do then? Apolo-
gize and say thank you? No, he simply slapped the man. 3 Not everyone can defend the study of Homer in this way, even if sometimes tempted to
do so. The difference is that Alcibiades never resisted temptation: he was
quick to strike a blow.
At another time, it was a choregos who was a competitor of Alcibiades:
another slap (16.5).
And then there was an artist—a painter—whom he kept sequestered
until he fi nished his work (again, one might wish to do the same, without
claiming that such behavior is acceptable . . .).
1 . Apophthegms 186d, 234d.
2. Athenaeus 12.534 c.
3. Plutarch, Life of Alcibiades 7.1. Someone else, meriting a reprimand in the form of a smack, received compliments full of irony (7.2). Montaigne, noting the fi rst anecdote (2.36), related it very nicely, calling Alcibiades “that silly man,” and compared the gesture to that of someone calling out “a priest without a prayer book.”
18 Chapter
2
He criticized, he insulted. It was said 4 he was so sure of himself that he would have criticized even the twelve gods . . .
What’s more, he could, out of pure insolence, ridicule the very rules
of the city. One anecdote—frankly a rather dubious one—relates how he
supposedly tore up and destroyed a bill of accusation against one of his
protégés. 5 Even if it is made up, the story is still symbolic of what it meant to feel so free to do as one pleased.
At the very least we can understand the ferocity of the words of his
adversaries. The author of Against Alcibiades , which is falsely attributed
to Andocides, exaggerated: “Some he robbed, others he beat, or locked
up and held for ransom. He showed that democracy was nothing, for he
spoke like an advocate for the people and acted like a tyrant” (27).
This refusal to respect the rules was emboldened by the two great ad-
vantages of wealth and beauty. With the fi rst came the outrageous behav-
ior, and with the second, moral scandals.
Alcibiades was rich. Because he enjoyed being talked about, he was
also a big spender. As a result, he always needed money; and perhaps
at times he counted on his fame and notoriety to excuse his lack of
scruples.
Three anecdotes bring vividly to life this love of ostentation and this
lack of scruples, either admitted or demonstrated.
The fi rst is innocent and almost endearing. According to Plutarch, his
entry into public life came during an assembly where the people collected
gifts and acclaimed public donors. Ah! Such a beautiful noise, all this
acclamation. Alcibiades hastened to an offi cial and offered his contribu-
tion. It must have been large, because “the people applauded and shouted
cries of joy.” 6 Alcibiades, delighted, released a quail he was carrying under his coat. And with that the Athenians scrambled to catch the bird of the
stylish young man. The quail suggested levity, the gift implied generosity,
while the acclamations are a reminder of Alcibiades’s appetite for popu-
larity and attention.
Very quickly though, we turn to something more serious. One day
when he went to see his mentor, Alcibiades was told that he was busy;
4. Aeschines of Sphettos: about him, see below, chapter 12.
5 . This anecdote comes from a certain Chamaileon; for a critical view of this and other cases, see Hatzfeld, 132.
6. Plutarch, Life of Alcibiades 10.1. See later in this chapter and below, chapter 10.
Insults
and
Scandals 19
he was trying to
prepare his account for the people of Athens. (The mag-
istrates had to do this at the end of each year, and some people claimed
that Pericles had taken certain liberties.) Alcibiades is said to have replied:
“Better to fi nd a way to avoid giving an account!” 7 How promising in the future politician! In fact, throughout his life, Alcibiades showed a disturbing unwillingness to be accountable—diplomatic lies or fi nancial trickery,
the pleasant youth had some unpleasant ways.
And then the third and most famous of the anecdotes on this subject is
equally revealing. It concerns the dog with its tail cut off. Alcibiades had a
valuable dog with a very beautiful tail, which he cut off. An appalling and
reprehensible act. But he was delighted: “It is exactly what I wanted, for the
Athenians to blabber about it.” Why? Because he liked to be talked about?
Because he liked to attract attention? Of course, but not only for that rea-
son. Alcibiades always had a plan, and there was also always something he
wanted to be forgotten; he went on: “I want the Athenians to blabber about
this so that they won’t say something worse about my accounts” (9.1).
The scandal pleased him because it satisfi ed his vanity; it also pleased
him because it provided a smoke screen to distract from other aspects of
his ambition or misbehavior.
Are we any better now, in the twentieth century?
In any case, the rumors continued, rightly or wrongly. Plutarch, com-
paring Alcibiades and Coriolanus, wrote: “As for money, there are reports
that Alcibiades often took money, illegally, from people seeking to corrupt
him and that he used the money to line his pockets and pay for his de-
baucheries” (3). Just slander? Have we never heard such charges against
other statesmen? Even the Athenian democracy let itself be tainted by cor-
ruption. In this, we are hardly unique.
We know where this extravagance and the desire for fame would lead
Alcibiades: just as in other epochs, he sought fame in athletic success;
he maintained a stable of racehorses and ran into legal trouble over the
money invested in this operation. We will return to this later, but the
meaning of it all is clear.
7. Plutarch, Life of Alcibiades 7.3. These words appear in Diodorus and recall an old view that Pericles might have taken the advice of his ward in starting the war (12.38). This is still cited in Plutarch in Apophthegms 186e.
The Life of Alcibiades Page 4
