Alcibiades and the Charge of Aiming at Tyranny

Author(s): Robin Seager

Source: Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Bd. 16, H. 1 (Mar., 1967), pp. 6-18
Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag
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 ALCIBIADES AND THE CHARGE OF AIMING AT TYRANNY

I
Tyranny is the opposite of constitutional government,' which at Athens of
course is equivalent to democracy.2 Democracy safeguards freedom by the
rule of law, but to freedom and laws, Demosthenes says, all kings and tyrants
are hostile.3 Herodotus and Isocrates too contrast tyranny and freedom,
whilst Lysias equates the establishment of freedom with the putting down of
tyrants.4 Demosthenes dilates on the distinction between partisans of tyranny
and those who have no desire to rule others by force but are content to live on
equal terms with their fellow-citizens in freedom and obedience to the laws.'
The tyrant on the other hand deprives his subjects of the laws laid down by
the city, putting men to death without trial and governing in general according
to his private whim.6 His aim is to further his own advantage rather than that
of the city, whilst the city has no control over his actions, for the tyrant need
render no account of himself.7 There are exceptions which prove the rule:
Pisistratus acted in all things according to the laws, and Aristotle explains the
lengthy duration of the tyranny at Sicyon by the large subservience of the
tyrants to the laws-" But in the main the tyrant spurns equality before the
law, or indeed equality in any form. In Herodotus laovoju4v,La-jyopL-and
CFOXpoX,L are all contrasted with tyranny.' The conduct of Pausanias, which
was judged to be more fitting for a tyrant than for a general, made men think
him unwilling to be placed on an equality with others."'The aim of the Thirty
was to make themselves tyrants of the city; failure would condemn them to
endure equality with the people." So s)eoves[m is characteristic of the tyrant,
though Pisistratus, with his respect for the laws, is again held up as an ex-
ception.'2 It was the opportunity for nkeove\?cxthat Solon by refusing a tyranny
rejected in favour of the safety of the city."'

My thanks are due to Prof. A. Andrewes, Mr. E. L. Bowie and Mr. P. A. Brunt for
their criticisms of various forms of this paper.
1 Isoc. 4. I25, 8. 99, Dem. I. 5, 6. 21, Ar. Pol. 1289b2.
2 Thuc. 6. 89. 4, Dem. 2. 30, 6. 21 cf. 24, 10. 4, Ps.-Dem. 17. 14.
8 Dem. 6. 25.
4 Hdt. i. 62. I, 5. 91. i, 6. 5. I, Isoc. 4. io6, II7, Lys. 33. 6. 5 Dem. IO. 4.
S Hdt. 3. 80. 5, Arist. Vesp. 464 ff., Ps.-Dem. I 7. 3, Aesch. I. 4fff., 3. 6.
7 Ar. Pol. 1279b6, 1295a21, I3iIa2; Hdt. 3. 80. 3, Ar. Pol. 1295a20.
8 AthP. i6. 8, Ar. Pol. 13I5bI4. 9 Hdt. 5. 37. 2, 78, 920. I; cf. 3. 8o. 6.
10 Thuc. I. 95. 3, 132. 2. 11 Lys. 12. 35. In general cf. Dem. 10. 4.
12 Isoc. 12. 243, AthP. i6. 8. 13 AthP. 6. 3.

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 Alcibiadesand the Chargeof Aiming at Tyranny 7

Such behaviour is an expression of jvaoqLL, of which democracy tends to

be suspicious if the power is not the people's.14In the abstract tyranny and
86va,utt;or 8uvatetm appear frequently together."5Nor are particular instances
lacking. In Thebes a condition very close to tyranny was produced by the
oligarchs, who were eager to reinforce their personal power.16 Aristogiton
feared the 815vay. of Hipparchus, whilst an unsuccessful hankerer after
tyranny, Cylon, is described as e1 xTcx 8uvor6.17
tE

The actions which spring from the tyrant's despotic power display a number
of standard vices. Chief among these is u,Spcgwhich in the constitutional
debate in Herodotus takes pride of place among the defects of the absolute
ruler.18For the orators too the link between tyranny and u,fpq is a common-
place.19The Pisistratids of course provide the supreme example: in Thucydides
Harmodius is iS,ptsLa.voq,for Demosthenes Hippias and Hipparchus are
'roy pp4ov'ro, and Aristotle ascribes the fall of the tyranny to iS5pG.2With
Ur3pLqare connected violence and lawlessness.21His 7oapavoCua. and imitation
of Persian manners fostered the suspicions of the allies against Pausanias.22
He is also characterised as 3'lotoc, and rule by violence too is part of the
Demosthenic picture.23As in the case of ,BPpLq and 7opxvoulx, the context of
,Bcais often sexual, whether its objects are female or, as in the notorious
instance of Harmodius, male.24
The elements which make up the portrait of the tyrant determine the
context in which the charge of tyranny is made. It is a favourite stratagem of
the orators to defend a client by representing him as a good citizen and loyal
democrat, and conversely to attack an opponent as a bad citizen and enemy
of democracy. The tyrant or would-be tyrant is the limiting case: since tyranny
is the opposite of 7ro?aL'rLac,
the tyrant is no citizen at all. Hence the force of the
paradox by which Pisistratus is praised for conducting the affairs of the city
ro?xrLXZc,iX?ov 1 nUp(vvLx7C4.2'The accusations made against Alcibiades,
which include that of tyrannical ambitions, show the charge of tyranny as an
integral part of a wider judgment on his qualities as a citizen.

14 For the abuse of personal 8vvoqLL to subvert democratic values cf. Lys. 7. 21,
27. 6, Dem. 21. 66, I42, Din. i. ii. Properly founded and properly applied, 8KvoaLLqmay
of course be a virtue, cf. Thuc. I. 138. 3, I39. 4, 2. 65. 8. For celebration of the 8&UVOqCLL
of the city cf. e.g. Thuc. 2. 41. 2ff., 43. i, And. 3. 5, 7, 12, 29f., 37, 39.
15 Thuc. 6. 89. 4 (in the mouth of Alcibiades himself), Isoc. 6. 45, 63, 8. 89, I42, I2. 148,
Dem. 10. 4, i8. 66f. `6Thuc. 3. 62. 3f.
17 Thuc. 6. 54. 3, I. 126. 3. 18 Hdt. 3. 8o. 2f., 8i. 2.
19 Lys. 33. 2, Isoc. 4. 8o, Ps.-Dem. I7. 3, I2.
20 Thuc. 6. 57. 3, Dem. 21. 170, Ar. Pol. 13I2b3o.
21 Ps.-Dem. 17. I2. 22 Thuc. I. 132. 2
23 Thuc. 1.95. I Cf. 3, Dem. I0. 4. 24 Hdt. 3. 8o. 5, Thuc. 6. 54. 3.
25 AthP. 14. 3, i6. 2. Later (I6. 8) he remarks that Pisistratus deserved
commendation
for being 8%?ortx6s by nature.

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8 ROBIN SEAGER

II
The earliest discussion of the character of Alcibiades appears in Thucydides'
account of the debate on the Sicilian expedition and the witch-hunt inspired
by the affairs of the Mysteries and the Hermae. In the debate Nicias employs
a technique which must already have been familiar in the courts at this time.
He tries to show that Alcibiades' aims are entirely selfish, that he has no
interest in the welfare of the city, which he is ready to expose to danger for
the sake of his personal splendour.28The attitude of Alcibiades prefigures
Aristotle's insistence on the self-seeking nature of tyrants,27though this vice,
like others associated with the tyrant, is frequently ascribed to undistinguished
opponents who could never be plausibly accused of tyrannical designs. He
insists in his answer to Nicias that his conduct, although it wins him fame,
reflects glory also on the city, whilst his advice will bring the city advantage
without danger or expense.Y8He makes however no attempt to conceal certain
more sinister aspects of his position. His achievements at Olympia demonstrate
his 8t6v=4L; indeed he comes perilously close to suggesting that his power is
more impressive than that of the city.29 He also admits that he is not equal
with his fellows and insists that his superiority is right and proper.3?The
lengths to which his views on this point might carry him have already been
made ominously clear; it was vo[A'&cov &?oaao5ao-Lthat he set to work to
destroy the Peace of Nicias.3'
Alcibiades' political notions as revealed in this debate display some features
of the standard portrait of the tyrant, but the suspicions entertained against
him by the people rested not upon any specifically political actions but upon
the nature of his private life. Although publicly he excelled in the conduct of
the war, privately men were displeased by his eLTrm48e4,, notably by his
bodily 7apmvo[Aoc.The profanation of the Mysteries and the mutilation of the
Hermae were believed to be part of a plot to overthrow democracy, and those
who claimed that Alcibiades was responsible pointed precisely to T'v -XXjv
)
t)TOU ' e'7
tr=c8et,uar ov &%LortLXnV 7rapavopdcv.82 Thucydides is not

26 Thuc. 6. 12. 2, cf. Plut. Nic. 12.

27 Cf. supra, n. 7. 28 Thuc. 6. 12. 2 f., 6.
29 Thuc. 6. 12. 2. The access of 8&vocptto his enemies which followed from the Spartan

rejection of his services as proxenos inspired in him considerable resentment, cf. Thuc.
6. 89. 2. 30 Thuc. 6. i6. 6. 31 Thuc- 5. 43. 3.
32 Thuc. 6. I5. 4, 28. 2. For the connection between Tcapwvo.dm and tyranny cf. Plut.
Alc. i6. The accusations probably had no foundation in fact: in Thuc. 6. 89. 3-6 Alcibi-
ades at Sparta heaps scorn upon democracy and maintains his readiness to overthrow it,
but the alternative envisaged is clearly oligarchy. For the historian's own judgment cf.
8. 48. 4. It is disputed whether Thuc. 6. I5. 3f. refers only to the events of 4I5 (J. Hatz-
feld, Alcibiade, 156f., i9g n. 2; P. A. Brunt, REG 65, 1952, 6of.) or looks forward to the
Ionian War and the ultimate defeat of Athens (A. W. Gomme, JHS 71, 1951, 74; F. E.
Adcock, Thucydides and his history, I32 Hf.; E. Delebecque, Thucydide et Alcibiade, 205).

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 Alcibiadesand the Chargeof Aiming at Tyranny 9

elsewhere concerned with men's private lives; that he is so here testifies to the
importance of Alcibiades' private affairs in determining his public fortunes.-"

III
The Hellenica of Xenophon also offer examples of the arguments used to
attack Alcibiades and, rather more fully, to defend him. The uniqueness of
Alcibiades' situation is accepted by both sides. For his friends he is xp&r=ao6
'WwrCo?tTL'v and his exile is a unique injustice; his enemies hold him solely
responsible for the recent misfortunes of the city." His superiority leads to the
desire 7x6ov XeLv or ,u- 0eavroUOao6L, but its recognition is made firmly
dependent on the good will towards him of the demos.36 His 86vOtc,L too is
acknowledged, but as a force for good, used to augment the common weal; it
is not he but lesser men, envious of his power, who pursue their private
advantage.36Thus the theme of 8iavocj is used to refute the charge of selfish
motivation. Xenophon's own opinion was somewhat different. In the Memora-
bilia Alcibiades and Critias are both described as puffed up on account of
their power, and Alcibiades is typified as PpLto6tEro4o, though here two other
characteristics of the tyrant, rteovestac and violence, are assigned to Critias.37

IV
The defence of Alcibiades which constitutes the sole surviving section of
Isocrates' De Bigis likewise concerns itself with the question WroZO6q
rtq hv o
7tOrCp =o?L7.38 It is urged in Alcibiades' favour that even in exile he com-
mitted no offence against the city and that after his return he did the city
much good, an attitude summed up in the assertion that he preferred to
endure any hardship percx rr6hqo'Xethan to prosper in company with the
Spartans.39The question just asked is at once equated with another, olo4 0v
7tpLV (puyev 7rep'.X0' nXiOoq.40From the beginning of his defence the speaker
prepares for the connection, maintained throughout, between the fortunes of
his father and those of democratic Athens, for the same men, he says, were to
blame for the exile of his father as for the oligarchic revolution, and their

The arguments for the first view are strong, and all the standard examples of Alcibiades'
misconduct belong to the period before 4I5. The only serious objection is that oxOehXeV
might perhaps more naturally be taken to allude to 404. (If Ixprrov be read in 8. 86. 4,
Gomme's interpretation would have to be correct, but Brunt's defence of 7rpFOTo;at o. c.
6i n. I seems to me conclusive.)
33 The
concern at Alcibiades' &itTv86 Trmgives the lie to the picture of freedom from
outside interference (cf. Thuc. 2. 37. 2) painted by democratic publicity.
34 X. Hell. I. 4. 13, 17. Note the repeated ,u6voq;for his friends however his uniqueness
does not cut him off from his fellow-citizens, whereas his enemies sharply distinguish his
interests and the city's. 35 X. Hell. I. 4. i6. 36 X. Hell. I. 4- I3.
a7X. Mem. I. 2. 25, I2. For the CapLq of Alcibiades cf. Dem. 21. 143, 146f., Plut. Alc. 4,
i6, 39, Lys. ig. '8 Isoc. i6. 14. 3' Ibid. 9, i6, I9. 40 Ibid. 15.

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IO RoBIN SEAGER

motive for removing Alcibiades from the scene was that they saw that he was
loyal to the people and thought their efforts doomed to failure as long as he
stood in their way.41This identification with the democratic cause is given a
sophistical twist when the speaker equates the motives and aims of his father
with those of the democratic exiles, attempting to conceal the weakness of his
argument beneath a direct emotional appeal to the common misfortunes
allegedly shared by both parties.42On his return Alcibiades found the demos
overthrown and the citizens divided by faction, but he reconciled the con-
flicting parties and restored political power to the hands of the people.43
The speaker goes on to talk of his ancestors, by way of preface to the
treatment of his father's sC'7rc"8e4ara.44They too are praised for their demo-
cratic sentiments and actions. The words 7;p&rroG 'rv InOkLTCtVin the allusion
to the victory of Alcmaeon at Olympia underline the civic nature of his
triumph, whilst Alcmaeon's concern for his fellow-citizens is elegantly demon-
strated, not only by his unwillingness to see them suffer enslavement, but also
by the subtle implication that when Pisistratus became tyrant, Alcmaeon
ceased to regard him as a citizen.45Their hatred of the tyrants made the Alc-
maeonids leaders of the demos, and in due course they effected a liberation
which is seen as the harbinger of that allegedly performed by Alcibiades, and
founded the democracy.
Alcibiades inherited this love of the demos. His father died in battle against
the enemies of the city, and so he was brought up in the house of Pericles,
whose qualities are presented as those of the ideal citizen.46 The public tone
of the account of his first campaign, marked by the phrases xiLouq 'AO-vcxo2v
and ?C's-r 7rXPco4a-rPXre6pevovand the emphasis on the official recognition of
his valour, extends to the description of his distinguished marriage, with its
reference to the place of honour among the citizens occupied by Hipponicus.
His motives for competing at Olympia were likewise patriotic in nature, for
he chose this type of service because it was performed, not to win respect for
the individual from his fellows, but on behalf of the city in the eyes of all
Greece.47This unselfishness was carried over into his activities concerning the
demos,in which, unlike those who foment discord to further their own interest,
he endangered himself on behalf of the people, rejecting the temptation to
seize greater power than that possessed not merely by the demos but also by
his would-be colleagues in oligarchy, and preferring to suffer injustice at the
hands of the city than to betray the democratic constitution.48
Then at last the charge of tyranny is met and rebutted directly, though all
that has gone before may be seen as directed against its implications.49The
41 Ibid. 5. 42 Ibid. 12ff. a Ibid. 16-20. 44 Ibid. 24.
45 Ibid. 25ff. The argument may go back to Alcibiades himself or at least to contem-
porary debate, cf. Thuc. 6. 89. 4.
I6 Ibid. 28. 47 Ibid. 29-33. 48 Ibid. 36f. 4' Ibid. 38ff.

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 Alcibiadesand the Chargeof Aiming at Tyranny II

word 7UoX(r1qis exploited with consummate skill. Alcibiades, who u6svoq r&v
7roM,ttovwas capable of seizing power, nonetheless remained a MoEtrq,the
constitutional equal of those to?Uol Trv 7w?XL(iV, inferior in talent, who accused
him of despotic ambitions. The entwined fates of Alcibiades and the city, in
good and bad fortune alike, are alluded to yet again before the final panegyric
of the democratic hero, who must be judged as a citizen and by that standard
approved.
Not so the prosecutor Tisias, damned as ji.-Kv &iyxo6vnoLaaq n'rv76w,
or Charicleshis kinsman, who wanted to be a slave to the city's enemies and to
rule over his fellows.Y0In exile he did nothing and on his return he harmed the
city. Throughout the speech the criticisms of the prosecution are expressed in
language suggested by the tenor of the charge, attributing to the enemies of
the defendant and his father vices associated with tyranny, which the prose-
cutors no doubt ascribed to Alcibiades. Not only the banishment of Alcibiades,
but also subsequent criticism of his dealings with Sparta are equally condemned
as t43pLq, and later all the accusations against him are dismissed en bloc as
hybristic.51Contempt for the laws is shown not only by the prosecutors, but
also by those who brought about Alcibiades' exile.62This action was an abuse
of their 8voGCuyq, whilst the 86VOC,Ltof the speaker's enemies deprived him of
his land.53The speech ends with a protest against the unjustifiable 86VOCtof
Tisias.54
Isocrates makes no attempt to deny that Alcibiades was unique; instead
he tries to present this fact in such a way that it redounds to his credit. Thus
his extreme importance is first touched on in a context which links it with his
position as a faithful supporter of democratic government. Unless Alcibiades
could be removed, the plotting oligarchs felt that their schemes would be in
vainm.5The situation displays not only Alcibiades' talents but also the goodness
of the cause to which they were devoted. As long as he played a leading role
democracy was secure, therefore every good democrat must approve his pre-
eminence. The desire to excel is then something in which the speaker can take
a pride. It permeates his account of his father's early career and brilliant
marriage to a bride whose father outstripped all the Greeks in wealth and
was second to none of the citizens in birth.68At Olympia too this same desire
govemed his conduct. He could, had he wished, lhave overcome all opposition
in athletic contests, but disdained to match himself with men from small cities,
of low birth and dubious education, prefer-ringthe sphere of the es'kt0oveaTMTOL.
In this he broke all records with achievements unequalled not only by indivi-
duals but even by the greatest cities. Likewise his private expenditure at the
festival exceeded the public contributions of other states.67 His uniqueness is
50Ibid. 50, 42. 51 Ibid. 9f., 22f. 52 Ibid. 2, I0. 58 Ibid. 8, 46.
5"Ibid. 50. 55 Ibid. 5. 56 Ibid. 31.
w Ibid. 33f.; cf. Eurip. ap. Plut. Alc. ii.

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12 ROBIN SEAGER

shown above all in his rejection of the tyranny which he and only he could so
of Alcibiades, and it
easily have seized. This is the first allusion to the &uVoqLLq
is mentioned only to record that it was not used to the city's detriment." When
the Thirty expelled ordinary mortals only from Athens, the whole of Greece
was barred to Alcibiades, whose death was worth as much to Lysander and the
Spartans as the overthrow of Athenian power.59For what good would it do
them to pull down the walls of Athens, unless at the same time they destroyed
the man who was capable of setting them up again? Once more the gu',u of
Alcibiades, though never brought into play, is potentially beneficent to the city.
But these abnormal qualities, even when presented in a favourable light,
work havoc with the aura of democratic solidarity and the notion that their
possessor was just a good citizen like every man on the jury. Isocrates manu-
factures a parallel between Alcibiades' exile and that of the democrats under
the Thirty.60But the equation of his conduct with that of the exiles, at the
same time as it pleads for sympathy, seems to suggest that ,u[et as a body
and kxetvoc as an individual are somehow to be regarded as equals, perhaps
even that the individual is superior, for when he alone had been removed, the
power of the people was insufficient to prevent the establishment of oligarchy.
The jury is told to feel X&pL;towards Alcibiades, since, when he could have
seized a tyrant's power for himself, he refused, thinking that o'LioL should
be allowed an equal share in civil rights.61A democratic sentiment perhaps, but
the citizen might prefer to know that his rights were secured to him by the
laws, as they should be, rather than to have them depend on the good will of
his nominal equal. Such a state of affairs cannot but emphasise the gulf
between Alcibiades' position and the proper relationship of citizen to commu-
nity. When his attitude is summarised, Alcibiades seems to be the political
equal of the demos which he assists, to be the equal partner of the city in
misfortune, and to have the same friends and enemies as the people - almost
as if he were another city.62 The tone of such a panegyric, which arrogates
democratic feelings to its subject but at the same time offends against con-
ventional views on the subordination of the citizen to the city, shows clearly
how easy it would be for a hostile speaker to take the theme of the unique
individual and use it to present him as the rival, not the champion, of the
people.

This opportunity is however rejected by Lysias in his brief invective,

though he too criticises Alcibiades as a citizen. The charge of treasonable
conduct is summed up in the borrowed phrase (8&'axaXo 4 6v 'rn 6o?Xeqxax6v
58 Ibid. 38. 59 Ibid. 40.
60 Ibid. 12ff. The point derives from an attitude which may well have been that of
Alcibiades himself, cf. Thuc. 6. 92. 4. 'l Ibid. 38. ?2 Ibid. 41.

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 Alcibiadesand the Chargeof Aiming at Tyranny 13

and it is in the name of the city that the jurors are called upon to take revenge."
The defence had tried to draw an argument from the gifts which Alcibiades had
received on his return. This must be refuted in order to prove that Alcibiades
was not recognised as Xpqr?s nepl r'v 7r6Xtv;what the demosgave, the demos
later retracted." The crowning accusation is the betrayal of the fleet at
Aegospotami. The charge is without foundation, but the motive is clear.
Alcibiades is stigmatised by it as the author of the two worst evils which had
ever befallen the city: the loss of the command of the sea and the establishment
of the Thirty.65
But in dealing with Alcibiades' alleged uniqueness, Lysias prefers flatly to
deny that he ever enjoyed this fabled superiority, though not without the
pleasing trick of first attributing to the defendant the claim that his father
was possessed of sufficient 8i)voy. to be the cause of all the evils which came
upon the city, an assertion as false as it is outrageously unpatriotic. Any
citizen could have betrayed the same information, had he felt so inclined;
only Alcibiades was bad citizen enough to want to do so. Thus his achievements
for evil were not the result of 86va,uq, whilst his failures after his return
demonstrated all too plainly that he had no 8tvactLtqfor good. The conclusion
is obvious. In 6vat[Lt Alcibiades was no greater than oL &Wo. Only in -xov-%pL
did he attain excellence among the citizens.66
Nevertheless some of his vices as a citizen recall those of the tyrant. The
members of his family cannot claim to be x6awttoLxctl ac'ppoveq;they conduct
themselves OBEX.oq xal irapmv6Xtwc. The grounds for this accusation are
philandering, incest and impiety.67 Like a tyrant, Alcibiades would submit no
account of himself, though in accordance with Lysias' strategy of deflation
this is presented as not arrogancebut a failure of courage." Instead he chose to
go into voluntary exile, preferring to be a citizen of any city rather than his
own.

VI
The most revealing of all the ancient treatments of Alcibiades is the in-
vective falsely attributed to Andocides. Its hypothetical speaker begins in a
manner familiar from both Isocrates and Lysias, defining his own position in
terms of the duty of the good citizen, who will not abstain from public affairs
through fear of incurring private enmities, but will be ready to endanger
U Lys. 14. i6f., 30.
" Ibid. 3I. The point is driven home with some skill. The original gift was 7mp&d 'ro5
8vlLou, and the air of impersonality is enhanced by treatment in terms of receipt rather
than donation, but when the speaker comes to its withdrawal, he switches to the second
person, identifying the jurors of 395 with the making of the second decision, that is with
the recognition of an error on their own part. Thus only by inconsistency with their past
behaviour can they pay attention to this argument for the defence.
*5 Ibid. 39. " Ibid. 35ff. 67 Ibid. 4if. " Ibid. 38.

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14 ROBIN SEAGER

himself for the benefit of the community.69When he prophesies the fall of the
empire and the disasters of the Ionian War, the point is related to his opening
remarks by the antithesis between Aristides, the 7:o?ALrT- oc&yxo&XaL aLxLcoq,
and Alcibiades, the 7rov-poqspo0arCXTi.70 The bulk of the speech is taken up
with the narration of selected incidents from Alcibiades' career to illustrate
his undemocratic treatment of his fellow-citizens. His actions make nonsense
of his claim to be well-disposed towards the demos; in fact he deserves to be
put to death on account of his rteUtn.71 It was his E'7rt8ei'[a,
according to Thucydides, which led the people to suspect that Alcibiades was
aiming at making himself tyrant, and the language that Pseudo-Andocides
uses to describe them exhibits all the features of that used to portray a tyrant.
Neither the existence of democracy nor his status as a free man was of
any help to the painter Agatharchus, imprisoned by Alcibiades.72This is not
surprising, since freedom is secured by law, for which Alcibiades revealed a
sovereign contempt, thinking that the people should be guided by his own
caprice rather than that he should follow the laws of the city.73Caringnothing
himself for laws and oaths, he tried to make others disregard them.74 The
point is illustrated by his usage first of his wife, then of Taureas. His wife
behaved in a proper fashion, appealing to the archon and the law, but Alcibiades
by a display of force showed his scorn for archons, laws and citizens alike.75
The details of the Taureas affair are obscure, but Alcibiades, the self-styled
democrat, prevented Taureas carrying out an action which the latter under-
took xeXeov'oqo -roi3v6wou,whilst the judges were led to break their oath.76But
if the courts cannot reach the culprit the law is powerless.Alcibiades refuses to
submit himself to trial and like the tyrant will give no account of his life to the
city, for he will not be satisfied with less than total freedom from restraint.77
Democracy is the constitution which chiefly aims at XoLV6Tr,78 but Alcibia-
des instead displays 70%ov?Xoc and U'rnpaw?oc, evidenced in his dealings with
Hipponicus on the subject of his wife's dowry. He refuses to accept other
Athenians as his equals, nor will a moderate superiority content him." His
treatment of Diomedes at Olympia made it clear to the Greeks at large what
usage they might expect from him, who treated even his fellow-citizens
o1x &Ktaou.80Agatharchus the painter escaped from his clutches Wa'rp 7rapC
Pocat?low, for Alcibiades used his equals as the Persian might his subjects.8'
69 Ps.-And. 4. x. 70 Ibid. 12. 71 Ibid. i6. 72 Ibid. I7.
73 Ibid. 19. For Alcibiades' disregard of the laws cf. Plut. Alc. 34. Ibid. 39. 74
75 Ibid. I4. He is thus a fitting candidate for ostracism, cf. 35. 76 Ibid. 20f.
n Ibid. 35ff. Cf. the famous anecdote in Plut. Alc. 7. Like Lysias, Pseudo-Andocides
presents this as lack of courage; cf. Dem. 8. 69.
78 Ibid. 13. 79 Ibid. I6. 80 Ibid. 27.
81 Ibid. 17. The theme recurs with the reference to the Persian tent which the Ephesians
erected for him at Olympia (30); its size may be taken to reveal its occupant's judgment
of the relative importance of himself and the city.

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 Alcibiadesand the Chargeof Aiming at Tyranny 15

Lawlessness, violence and ijPp&gare constant themes, typifying Alcibiades'

every action.82They first appear in connection with sexual licence, the rape of
other men's wives, whilst his treatment of his own wife, who is described as
aceppovea,rrnl, reveals first Alcibiades' iv3pLqin bringing his mistresses into
the house and then his violence in abducting her from the agora.83 His un-
repentant use of violence against Agatharchus is contrasted with democracy
and the rights of a free man, and his violent conduct towards Diomedes
showed once more that democracy was powerless against him." But Diomedes
was not the only sufferer; Alcibiades' trick to secure the processional vessels
showed that his v4pps was directed against the whole city.85 His relationship
with the Melian woman is described as rapcxvo[t[cx, as is his behaviour at
Olympia.86The allusion to the incest of Cimon and his sister, which is also
na,c.vo[La, reaffirms the criterion of 'r&&cL a . The vice apparently
ran in the family: only Alcibiades succeeded in excelling his grandfathers
Megacles and Alcibiades.88
Much is made of the vaUVtqof Alcibiades, the personal power which he
used to overcome the laws, the forces of propriety and the rights of citizens.
Thus in doubling the tribute he proved himself 9opepov xOCL,ukyacgvO'2VoV
in defiance of the just arrangements of Aristides.8"The snatching of his wife
from the protection of the archon displayed his 8Uvaoitq,which enabled him
to spurn constituted authority, whilst in striking Taureas he again outraged
the law, but fear and influence made the judges disregard their oath. For
this an excuse is offered: it was reasonable for them to do so when they saw
the perpetrator of such lawlessness Lkytarov8uvMtvevov.9? The theme reaches
its climax in the narrative of events at Olympia, where Alcibiades was able
in the first place to wrong Diomedes, 7cotLriv6VTa.,because of his influence
over the officials in charge, and in the sacred procession Athens was made
a laughing-stock in the eyes of all the Greeks, when they saw a single man
tetueov &cbrarc, rq corXec6 8uvMLevov.91Very different is the position of the
hypothetical speaker, who is not ashamed to be less powerful than the laws.'2

VII
In all the accusations against Alcibiades no action or practical plan is
attributed to him which might have as its objective the establishment of
tyranny. Nothing is said about the form of the political position for which he
is alleged to have yearned, or of the technical means, constitutional or other-

82 In general cf. ibid. 2I. For 'akXyEtacf. 39f., Plut. Alc. 8.

83 Ibid. i4f. 84 Ibid. 26f. 85 Ibid. 29.
86 Ibid. 22f., 30. For sexual 7cmpovola at an earlier stage in his career cf. Ant. fr. 67.
87 Ibid. 33 88 Ibid. 34 cf. 40. 89 Ibid. iI. 90 Ibid. 14, 21.
91 Ibid. 26, 29. Stress is laid on the honourable motive of Diomedes, who wanted to
win renown for the city and his family. 92 Ibid. 42.

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i6 ROBIN SEAGER

wise, by which it was to be achieved. Aristotle gives as the prerequisite of

tyranny that the same man be both demagogue and general." Alcibiades
filled the bill extremely well, yet such considerations do not seem to be of
paramount importance." The charge was brought because of his r
it was his enLTrreJ4M which Isocrates promised to defend and which
Pseudo-Andocides attacked.95This entailed the application to his public and
private life of criteria which tested devotion to the principles of democratic
equality. His enemies judged that Alcibiades failed this test for reasons which
recalled the general notion, not of how a tyrant came to power, but of how a
tyrant behaved when established. It was this, not any precise political design,
which they held to justify the charge of tyrannical ambitions. Alcibiades was
to be feared as a dangerously anti-social force in the life of Athens, not because
of some suspected coup d'etat. This is stated most clearly in the words of
Pseudo-Andocides, t& spyocwup&vvou 7rapexcov.6If men believe that Alcibiades
wants to be tyrant, it is because he acts as if he were tyrant already. Plutarch
sums up his character in the words r6 ph6vtxov xm 'o 90,67npwov.'7
Democracy, like tyranny, distrusted the desire to excel." The warning to the
people to be on its guard against sobs U'epxuEocvo[6vou4 T-v 7tco)rCv" is
only a prosaic adaptation of the vivid precept of Thrasybulus of Miletus.

Appendix
Isocrates' De Bigis and the Fourteenth Speech of Lysias
The relationship between the speeches of Isocrates and Lysias is at first
sight perfectly clear. Lysias three times attributes to his opponent arguments
which make their appearance in Isocrates. First, Isocrates puts into the mouth
of his client the claim that it is highly illogical for his enemies to attack him
on account of his father's exile when Alcibiades, on his return, was rewarded
with gifts by the people. Secondly, he argues that the efforts of his client's
father while in exile to bring about his return are justified by those of the
exiled democrats under the Thirty. Thirdly, he rebukes his client's enemies for
denving that Alcibiades excelled his fellow-men.100All three of these points
o3 Ar. Pol. 1305a7.
9 They may explain why Alcibiades was accused when lesser men were not; Midias for
instance has all the faults of the tyrant, but Demosthenes stops short of the charge of
tyranny, though he invokes as parallels the Pisistratids and Alcibiades.
96 Thuc. 6. i5. 4, 28. 2, Isoc. i6. 24, Ps.-And. 4. i6 cf. 39. Brunt remarks (o. c. 62)
that Thucydides "seems to ignore the real gravamen of the charge brought against Alci-
biades; this was not his private conduct but his supposed political designs." I hope to
have shown that this dichotomy is false and that Thucydides' emphasis was fully justified.
9 Ps.-And. 4. 27. 97 Plut. Alc. 2, cf. Thuc. 5. 43. 2.
" So Alcibiades himself complains in the Sicilian debate (Thuc. 6. 12. 2, 5). Cf. Ps.-
And. 4. 24. It is worth noting that Isocrates, in monarchistic vein, bases the position of
the absolute ruler on excellence and superiority over others (9. 46, 7 I).
" Ps.-And- 4. 24. loo Isoc. i6. II ff.

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 Alcibiades and the Chargeof Aiming at Tyranny 17

are alluded to by Lysias, who offers refutations of the first and second and
tums the third by admitting that Alcibiades was outstanding among men, but
only in moral turpitude, not in talent.10' The natural interpretation of these
passages is that the speech of Isocrates preceded that of Lysias, who, when
selecting arguments that might be put forward by the defence in order to
rebut them in advance, referred, not surprisingly, to those employed by
Isocrates, which might well be used again, either because they had made a good
impression, or simply because they were already commonplaces in discussions
of the virtues and vices of Alcibiades.
This relationship has however been called into question in favour of one of
much greater complexity, which impugns the forensic status not only of the
De Bigis but also of the speech of Lysias, at least in the form in which it now
survives.'02 On this view the speech of Isocrates was conceived as a purely
literary reply to the speech which Lysias' client delivered in court, as is
allegedly shown by allusions in it to points made by Lysias. Thus Isocrates
begins by rejecting firmly the view maintained by Lysias, that the sins of the
father should be paid for by the son, and castigates the enemies of Alcibiades
for describing him as T(v noXeCdcovMLkaxaXoo,whilst Lysias uses the phrase
W(azaXoc x&v ti7r0'Xe6 c xaxiv.103 The apparent conflict of priority thus
produced is circumvented by the supposition that the original version of
Lysias' speech, which was used by Isocrates in composing his exercise, was
revised and considerably altered by its author after the publication of the
De Bigis. The passages of pure invective against father and son would not
have been tolerated by forensic etiquette in the time of Lysias and must
therefore in any case have been added later, and in these passages occur all
three of the citations from Isocrates.
This reconstruction is not even internally convincing, for if, as it insists, the
Lysian invective against Alcibiades the elder was added after Isocrates had
published his speech, it is difficult to understand what incentive the original
version can have provided for Isocrates to compose a full encomium in reply.
Moreover, it is inspired by a theory of Athenian forensic manners,104the
extreme strictness of which, though somewhat mollified by carefully graded
exceptions, is hardly justified in view of the small amount of evidence at our
disposal, and is strangely reluctant to make allowance for the peculiar situation
created by the nullity of the younger Alcibiades and the extreme eminence of his
father and, what is even more important, the extremely debatable character
of that eminence. Nowhere else in the surviving forensic literature is a protag-
onist's father or other close relative treated with such violence and at such
length, but no other protagonist's father had ever aroused such powerful and
01 Lys- I4. 31ff., 37-
12 I. Bruns, Das literarische Portrlt der Griechen 493-505.
108Isoc. i6. 2, io; Lys. 14. 30. 104 Bruns, 0- C. 467-488.
2 HistoriaXVI/z

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I8 ROBIN SEAGER, Alcibiadesand the Chargeof Aiming at Tyranny

conflicting passions, so that no other protagonist's fate depended so completely

on the judgment passed upon his father. There is no parallel in literature for
the simple reason that there is no parallel in history. The insignificance of
Alcibiades the younger explains both invectives, for the son was to be condem-
ned largely for hiis father's crimes, which must therefore be treated at some
length, but for this device to be effective it must be demonstrated from his
own character and actions that the son had inherited all his father's wickedness.
There is thus no ground for the belief that the speech of Lysias could not
have been delivered as we have it. Nor will the supposed citations from it in
Isocrates withstand a close examination. The characterisation of Alcibiades
as a 8UaxotXo4 of evil and misfortune may have been coined by Isocrates'
opponent, if he had one, or it may already, when Isocrates was writing, have
been part of the stock-in-trade of critics of Alcibiades. There is no reason
whatever to suppose that the enemies to whom Isocrates refers must be
Lysias' clients. The phrase in Lysias is rather more sophisticated and has the
air of another of his allusions to his predecessor. It is even less plausible to
suppose that, when Isocrates refuses to admit the responsibility of the son for
offences which may have been committed by his father, it must again be
Lysias to whom he is replying. The point was a vital one, on which any case
involving the younger Alcibiades was likely to turn, and it would have been
as necessary for Tisias to make it as for Lysias' client, more so in fact, since the
earlier case was concerned precisely with the misdeeds of the father, for which
reparation was now being sought from the son, whilst if Isocrates' speech was a
mere exercise, it would be needful for him to pretend that the fictional accusers
had attacked Alcibiades the elder, in order to justify his own device of pre-
senting his encomium of the father in the guise of a speech by the son in his
own defence, a device which is hard to reconcile with the view that such
practices were rigidly excluded by convention from the courts.
No reason remains to doubt the obvious, that the speech of Isocrates
preceded a single complete version of the speech of Lysias. This remains true
even if the De Bigis is not a forensic speech. But its forensic character has
never been convincingly assailed. The presence of a full encomium is extra-
ordinary, but if the speech is forensic it is also incomplete, and we cannot
know how large a proportion of the complete oration was taken up by the
encomium. It may have been relatively small, just as the invective against
Alcibiades occupies no more than a quarter of the speech of Lysias, which was
itself preceded by a lost speech of unknown length which for all we know may
not have mentioned him at all.
Liverpool ROBIN SEAGER

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