All Athenian Hat, No Cattle

I HAVE NEVER really understood the extraordinary magnetic charisma generated by Alcibiades, both throughout his lifetime (c. 450-404 BCE) and among the many modern scholars who have continued to be dazzled by it. Whether as spoilt aristocratic brat, narcissistic pretty-boy trading on his looks (and famously trying to seduce Socrates), spendthrift partier and adulterer, smart-alecky backstairs pol, or hit-and-miss (mostly miss) commander, Alcibiades always smells of unswerving egotism and the con-manâ??s self-promoting patter. His betrayalsâ??in turn of Athens (both democrats and oligarchs), Sparta, and at least one Persian satrapâ??show no real convictions, merely a steely determination to look after his own interests. The charm is flyblown, the political and military schemes are mostly hot air with disastrous practical consequences, their long-term damage incalculable. The achievements for which Alcibiades took the credit â??the famous Olympic chariot victories, the naval campaigns around the Hellespontâ??were won by other menâ??s expertise, horses, and money, and in the case of the Olympic teams, continued to spawn lawsuits into the fourth century.