Alcibiades

Alcibiades was an Athenian statesman and general whose changing loyalties made him one of the most controversial figures of the Peloponnesian War. He promoted the Sicilian Expedition, fled Athens after being recalled for trial, advised Sparta and later sought Persian support before returning to Athenian command and winning victories at Abydos and Cyzicus.

In Steven Pressfield’s Tides of War, Through the recollections of men who knew him, the novel traces the career of Alcibiades, the gifted Athenian commander whose ambition repeatedly altered the Peloponnesian War.

In non-fiction, Alcibiades is discussed in Plutarch’s The Rise and Fall of Athens. In Plutarch’s The Rise and Fall of Athens, this Plutarch collection gives biographical sources for Athens from legendary Theseus through Solon, Themistocles, Aristides, Cimon, Pericles, Nicias, Alcibiades and Lysander.