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8 Fighting His Way Back (Alc. 27-31) Alc. 27-31 deals with the actions Alcibiades undertook in the Hellespont and the Propontis between the fall of the Four Hundred and his return to Athens. Most of the events reported in this section are posterior to the point where Thucydides’ History, the main source for the previous parts of our Life, breaks off. From Alc. 27 onwards, Plutarch probably drew upon Theopompus’ Hellenics, Ephorus’ Histories and Xenophon’s Greek History, the three authorities he refers to at Alc. 32.2 to refute some details in Duris’ description of Alcibiades’ return to Athens1 . The loss of the first two works makes it is impossible to determine which source(s) Plutarch used in each individual episode. Nevertheless, it is worth comparing his account with the corresponding parts of Xenophon’s Greek History and Diodorus Siculus’ Historical Library. This will not only allow us to draw some general conclusions about the way Plutarch constructed the story behind Alc. 27-31 but also help to reveal which aspects of Alcibiades’ character he wanted to bring to the fore. 1. A Quest for Glory (Alc. 27.1-2) It does not come as a surprise that Plutarch only briefly mentions the fall of the Four Hundred (27.1). His statement that “Alcibiades’ friends zealously supported the democrats”2 underscores how radically Alcibiades’ situation has changed: not so long ago, the men who wanted to overthrow the democracy were Alcibiades’ friends (Alc. 26.1). The Athenian demos has changed as well: the very people who once condemned Alcibiades to death now want him to come back (27.1). Alcibiades, however, did not return until three or four years after the fall of the Four Hundred3 . Plutarch explains his decision not to go back immediately in purely psychological terms: Alcibiades, he claims, wanted to return “in a blaze of glory, not with empty hands and without 1 On Plutarch’s knowledge of these authors’ works, see supra, pp. 68-70. 2 Alc. 27.1: τῶν τοῦ Ἀλκιβιάδου φίλων προθύμως συλλαμβανομένων τοῖς τὰ τοῦ δήμου φρονοῦσι. 3 On the date of Alcibiades’ arrival in Piraeus, see supra, p. 34. 310 fighting his way back (ALC. 27-31) any achievement, through the pity and favour of the multitude”4 . It appears that Alcibiades’ love of honour is still at least as strong as before his exile. According to Alc. 27.2, Alcibiades started his quest for glory by sailing to Cnidus and Cos; when he heard that the Spartan and the Athenian fleet had moved to the Hellespont, he hastened to the assistance of his compatriots. Thucydides (VIII 108.1-2) and Diodorus (XIII 42.2-3) both relate that Alcibiades went to Halicarnassus and Cos. They make no mention of Cnidus and maintain that Alcibiades returned to Samos after his journey to Cos. Perhaps Plutarch followed a source now lost in Alc. 27.2 or made a mistake because he relied on his memory5 . Anyway, his account suggests that Alcibiades was very eager to score successes for Athens. The contrast with his cooperation with the Spartan commanders during the Ionian revolt is striking (Alc. 24.2). 2. The Battle of Abydus (Alc. 27.3-6[15] ) When Alcibiades arrived in the Hellespont, the Spartans and the Athenians were already involved in a naval battle near Abydus. This encounter is described by Xenophon (HG I 1.2-7) and Diodorus (XIII 45.1-47.2), and figured in Theopompus’ Hellenics as well6 . On the whole, Plutarch’s version is similar to Xenophon’s7 . According to both authors, the Spartan and the Athenian fleet had been fighting an even battle until evening, when suddenly Alcibiades turned up with eighteen ships (27.3-4; I 1.5); the Spartans headed for the shore, where Pharnabazus came to their aid (27.5; I 1.6); in the end, the Athenians captured thirty ships of their enemies and recovered their own (27.6; I 1.7). Plutarch’s account, however, contains some additional information that cannot be found in Xenophon but does occur in Diodorus: Alcibiades appeared at the right moment by fortune (27.3; XIII 46.2)8 ; 4 Alc. 27.1: αὐτὸς ᾤετο δεῖν μὴ κεναῖς χερσὶ μηδ’ ἄπρακτος οἴκτῳ καὶ χάριτι τῶν πολλῶν, ἀλλ’ ἐνδόξως κατελθεῖν. Transl. Perrin 1916b, slightly modified. Modern historians seek the explanation in Alcibiades’ judicial situation; see e.g. Hatzfeld 1951, 256-260; Kagan 1987, 206-207. 5 It is worth noting that Cnidus is mentioned at Hist. VIII 109, a passage that seems to underlie Alc. 27.7 (see infra, p. 313). 6 See Anon., Vita Thucydidis 5 = FGrHist 115 T 5...

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