Alcibiades, << `al` suh BY uh `deez` >> (450?-404 B.C.), was an Athenian general. He became a central figure in the Peloponnesian War, which was fought between Athens and Sparta from 431 to 404 B.C.
Alcibiades was the ward of the Athenian leader Pericles and a favorite pupil of Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher. He entered politics in 420 B.C. and soon became popular for his aggressive foreign policy.
Alcibiades’ policy led Athens to a battle with Sparta in 418 B.C., which Athens lost. Later, he convinced the Athenians to invade Sicily. In 415 B.C., just before the invasion began, citizens accused Alcibiades of defacing statues of the god Hermes and of mocking the religious rituals known as the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Athenians refused his request for an immediate trial, so he sailed on to Sicily. Shortly after arriving in Sicily, Alcibiades was called back to Athens for trial. But he escaped to Sparta. He advised the Spartans to aid the Sicilians, and the Athenians were defeated in Sicily.
Later, the Spartans grew suspicious of Alcibiades. Alcibiades then became an adviser to the Persian leader Tissaphernes. In 411 B.C., the Athenians asked Alcibiades to lead their fleet at Samos. With this navy, he defeated the Spartans in several battles and became a hero. In 406 B.C., however, the Spartan general Lysander defeated Alcibiades’ fleet. After Athens’ final defeat in the war, Alcibiades fled to Asia Minor (now part of Turkey). There, his enemies set fire to his house, and he died trying to escape.
