Alcibiades: A Patron For Whom?
Alcibiades was a talented and flamboyant Athenian statesman and general whose treachery during the Peloponnesian War in the 5th century BCE gave him a reputation for being cunning and manipulative . He was very handsome and rich and was notorious for his extravagant lifestyle and loose morals. He had many enemies, as well as many admirers. Because of how many times he switched sides, the question is, Who was he really a Patron for? “Theophrastus noted long ago that the strongest desire of men who have attained to leadership in a popularly governed state is not so much the acquirement of personal wealth as the gradual establishment of their own sovereignty at the expense of popular sovereignty.”(Michels 349)
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. He was also a student of Socrates. Alcibiades was very handsome and could persuade almost anyone to do anything. Alcibiades beauty is said to have bloomed with him through all the ages of his life, in his infancy, in his youth, and in his manhood; peculiar characters becoming to each of these periods, gave him, in every one of them, a grace and a charm. Euripides is quoted as saying ---”Of all fair things the autumn, too, is fair,” ---this was true about Alcibiades by reason of his happy constitution and natural vigor of his body. His lisping, when he spoke, became him well, and gave a grace and persuasiveness to his rapid speech. Among the many strong passions of his real character, the most prevailing of all was his ambition and desire of superiority. It was manifested that the many well-born persons who were continually seeking his company, and making their court to him, were attracted and captivated by his brilliant and extraordinary beauty