In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

9 At the Height of his Glory (Alc. 32-34) 1. Alcibiades’ Return to Athens (Alc. 32.1-34.2) 1.1. Pride and Fear (Alc. 32.1-2) Alc. 32.1-34.2 deals with Alcibiades’ return to Athens. This section of the Life can be compared with the accounts of Xenophon, Diodorus and Cornelius Nepos, who names Theopompus as one of his sources for his biography of Alcibiades (Alc. 11.1-2) and no doubt drew upon Ephorus too1 . First of all, however, one should note Plutarch’s silence on the period between the capture of Byzantium and Alcibiades’ arrival in Piraeus. It does not come as a surprise that he makes no mention of the movements of the other Athenian generals (cf. X., HG I 4.9-10; D.S. XIII 68.1), but he also omits Alcibiades’ own valuable undertakings , such as his collection of a large sum of money in Caria (cf. X., HG I 4.8), his intelligence work at Gytheium (cf. X., HG I 4.11) and his election as general in Athens (cf. X., HG I 4.10). In Xenophon, this last event is very important: together with some private messages from his friends, the news of his commission makes Alcibiades finally set sail to Piraeus (HG I 4.12). Plutarch, on the other hand, explains Alcibiades’ decision to return to Athens in purely psychological terms: he claims that Alcibiades had a strong desire to see his homeland again and an even stronger desire to be seen by his compatriots after having gained so many victories over their enemies (32.1). This analysis is completely in line with the beginning of the previous section (Alc. 27.1-2): it reaffirms that Alcibiades desired to come home in a blaze of glory and reinforces the idea that he engaged upon the military operations in the Hellespont and the Propontis with that end in view. In fact, Plutarch’s omission of the actions carried out by Alcibiades between the capture of Byzantium and his return to Athens creates the impression that he entirely relied on his victories in the East. According to Alc. 32.1, Alcibiades made an impressive entry into Piraeus: he brought along more than two hundred captured ships and 1 See supra, p. 241 n. 68. 332 at the height of his glory (ALC. 32-34) figureheads of triremes which he had destroyed, while his own triremes were decorated with numerous shields and other spoils of war (cf. D.S. XIII 68.32 ). By underlining the large quantity of each sort of trophies, Plutarch not only reminds us of the overwhelming character of Alcibiades’ victories in the Hellespont and the Propontis but also makes him appear as a man who wanted to show off his success. On the other hand, he explicitly rejects Duris’ version of the event (32.2). The Samian historian apparently maintained that Chrysogonus the victor at the Pythian Games played the pipes for the rowers, while the tragic actor Callipides called the time; both performers wore their full ceremonial dresses and Alcibiades’ flagship carried a purple sail. Plutarch points out that Duris’ account is not confirmed by Theopompus, Ephorus or Xenophon, but his main argument is that the whole story is “implausible” (οὔτ’ εἰκὸς ἦν), i.e. irreconcilable with his own view of Alcibiades3 . Whereas the ostentation of Alc. 32.1 looks only natural for a general driven by so strong a love of honour, Duris’ version makes his return look “like a drunken revel”4 and turns it into “an outrageous display of luxuriousness”5 . By rejecting Duris’ version in such terms, Plutarch suggests that Alcibiades no longer behaved like he did before he became an exile. In this respect, one should note the great number of subtle but significant reversals vis-à-vis Alc. 16.1, where the young Alcibiades was characterized as a luxurious man who often went into insolent actions under the influence of alcohol, loved parading through the agora in a purple dress and looked more keen on making a show of his own shield and trireme than on capturing and displaying those of the enemy. More specifically, Alc. 32.1-2 reminds 2 Given the emphasis on quantity in Alc. 32.1, it is noteworthy that Plutarch relates the figure “two hundred” to the sum of the triremes captured and those destroyed, whereas Diodorus, Justin (V 4.8) and Athenaeus (XII 535cd) suggest that this was the number of Peloponnesian ships brought to Athens. Cf...

Share