Alcibiades and the Fate of Athens: A Tale of Ambition and Tragedy

In Athens, a new group of democratic leaders had come to power. One of them was Nicias, possibly the wealthiest entrepreneur in the city, who owned a thousand slaves and leased them to the managers of the silver mines at Laurion. However, the most promising figure was the young Alcibiades—a controversial character, a brilliant politician and strategist, born into the Alcmaeonid family, a friend of Pericles, and a student of the philosopher Socrates. Alcibiades was extremely ambitious, willing to build his popularity at any cost, and was suspected by his fellow citizens of immorality and impiety.
Alcibiades developed a bold, far-reaching strategy: his plan was to take the war to Sicily, defeat Syracuse and other Dorian cities that were sympathetic to Sparta, and seize control of the island's vast resources. In 415 BCE, the largest expedition ever sent out from Athens set sail from the port of Piraeus, aiming to besiege Syracuse.
At the same time, a shocking scandal rocked Athens, plunging the city into turmoil. Along the streets of Athens, it was common to see herms—stone pillars with a bust of the god Hermes, protector of travelers, which were adorned with large, protruding phalluses as symbols of fertility. The night before the fleet's departure, unknown vandals mutilated these statues. The deeply religious Athenian populace was horrified by this sacrilegious act, fearing that it would provoke divine wrath. Suspicion fell on the small intellectual elite that followed the philosophers, who had long been accused of impiety by the common people. Eventually, even Alcibiades was accused of being involved. Rather than face trial and a likely death sentence, he fled to Sparta.

Roman copy of a late fifth-century BC Athenian herma. Vandalizing hermai was one of the crimes of which Alcibiades was accused.
Roman copy of a late fifth-century BC Athenian herma. Vandalizing hermai was one of the crimes of which Alcibiades was accused.

In 413 BCE, the Sicilian expedition ended in disaster. Under the command of the Spartan general Gylippus, the Syracusans annihilated the Athenian forces. Thousands of prisoners were sold into slavery or imprisoned in the notorious stone quarries of Syracuse, the Latomiae. Nicias, who led the expedition, was executed after being captured.
Athens suddenly found itself in a grave situation as Sparta resumed the war and most of Athens's allies revolted. During the conflict, Athenian rule had become increasingly oppressive: all the cities in the Delian League were forced to adopt Athenian currency, weights, and measures, and the tribute was doubled. Resentment against Athens was so widespread that the Spartans began to promote their war as a campaign to "liberate Hellas." The Spartan army once again invaded Attica, and the Athenians were forced to retreat behind the Long Walls, watching helplessly as their lands were ravaged. Even the Great King of Persia decided to take advantage of the situation, joining the effort to dismantle the Athenian empire, and Sparta agreed to ally with him—a shocking alliance that showed how deeply the war had transformed Greek values.
Athens was in a state of chaos, and its political landscape was more tumultuous than ever, culminating in an oligarchic coup known as the rule of the "Four Hundred," which briefly overthrew the democratic government. However, democracy was restored after just four months.
Alcibiades, who had meanwhile left Sparta and sought refuge with the Persians, was elected commander by the Athenian fleet stationed in Asia Minor during the coup. Following the restoration of democracy, he was forgiven and invited to return. This decision proved successful; between 411 and 407 BCE, Alcibiades led the war effort with considerable success, securing several naval victories against both the Peloponnesians and the Persians, temporarily reversing Athens's fortunes. However, when a new military and political talent, Lysander, emerged in Sparta, the situation deteriorated. After his first defeat, Alcibiades was not re-elected as a general and, fearing for his life, fled Athens once more.
The Athenians managed to stave off disaster for a time, winning a major naval battle at Arginusae in 406 BCE, but their victory was followed by a tragedy that highlighted the hysteria of Athenian politics. The victorious generals were put on trial and condemned to death for failing to rescue the survivors of shipwrecked Athenian sailors. The following year, in 405 BCE, Lysander surprised the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami in Asia Minor, capturing it entirely and executing 3,000 prisoners. Deprived of its navy, Athens was doomed to starvation and surrendered to Sparta in 404 BCE, marking the end of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE).
Sparta's allies, such as Corinth and Thebes, called for Athens to be destroyed, but the Spartans refused, recalling the city's contributions during the Persian Wars. Nevertheless, they imposed harsh conditions on Athens, including the dismantling of the Long Walls and the abolition of the democratic regime, replaced by an oligarchic dictatorship known as the Thirty Tyrants. For a year, these oligarchs ruled the city with an iron fist, executing hundreds of political opponents and imposing a reign of terror that made them widely despised. In 403 BCE, a rebellion led by Thrasybulus overthrew the regime and restored democracy, with even the Spartans acknowledging the unpopularity of the Thirty.
In this restored democracy, a new measure was introduced: a daily stipend for those who participated in the Assembly, extending beyond the members of the Council (boule) and the jurors, who were chosen by lot. This meant that any citizen, especially the poorer ones, could choose to dedicate their day to political life instead of working.
Athens, like all of Greece, emerged from the long war impoverished and dispirited, never regaining the vibrant political and intellectual life of its earlier era. It was during this difficult time that one of the most dramatic episodes in Athenian history occurred: the trial and execution of Socrates. Many Athenians feared that his teachings were corrupting the youth and leading to atheism, and the fact that both Alcibiades and Critias, the leader of the Thirty Tyrants, had been his students did not help his case. In 399 BCE, Socrates was sentenced to death. He was executed in a relatively humane manner by drinking a cup of poisonous hemlock.



Last update: October 9, 2024

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