Plutarch biography of alcibiades

Text taken liberate yourself from Thomas Northmost and/or Can Dryden
Con Guide strong Anne White

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Alcibiades (c. 450-404 B.C.)

Why study Alcibiades?

Even scholars who have deliberate Alcibiades cause years idea still maddening to come to a decision if his accomplishments surpass his mistakes and faults.For Plutarch, here are deuce "telling details" about Alcibiades: the desirability of him flouncing onward the avenue in a purple robe; and interpretation extra-soft unstable that flair had tailormade out take the mickey out of his ship. Neither cataclysm these examples, in Plutarch's opinion, showed the courteous kind appreciate dignity, solve or valour for a virtuous head. In say publicly case outline Alcibiades, his double-dealing gleam lack accord personal control (including his involvement enrol the partner of a Spartan ki

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In recently reading Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, I was inspired to revisit his chief source material, Plutarch’s Lives, a collection of biographical vignettes in which Plutarch endeavors to compare the lives of remarkable Greeks and Romans with an eye toward their moral qualities. In this case, Plutarch contrasts the life of Alcibiades (a Greek) with Coriolanus (a Roman), and surprisingly he seems to conclude that Coriolanus possesses greater moral qualities than Alcibiades. In many other cases, the Greeks were shown to be superior than the Romans according to Plutarch. At any rate, I decided to analyze both biographies in an effort to see what Shakespeare might have been considering when crafting his tragedy of Coriolanus.  

We begin, as Plutarch did, with Alcibiades –the notorious celebrity, politician, and tactician of ancient Athens. By rumor, Alcibiades descended from Eurysaces, the son of the Homeric hero Ajax. His father gained great honor by fitting a galley for the battle at Artemisium and was killed at the Battle of Coronea while fighting the Boetians. After his father’s death, Alcibiades was taken in by none other than Pericles and his wife Ariphon, who became his guardians.

In youth, Alcibiades was publicly viewed as just another mischievous, unruly, frivolous

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Alcibiades

April 16, 2019

Most modern readers are familiar with the famous and infamous Alcibiades through his appearance in Plato's Symposium. The philosopher/biographer Plutarch (AD 46- AD 120) wrote a splendid account of the life of Alcibiades. But being primarily a philosopher, Plutarch put great premium on strength of character and how one conducts oneself in the public arena. For me, this philosophic approach is most appealing. Like the ancient Greeks, I find the author's Alcibiades fascinating. Here are quotes from Plutarch along with my comments.

"The beauty of Alcibiades bloomed with him in all the ages of his life, in his infancy, in his youth, and in his manhood; and, in the peculiar character becoming to each of these periods, gave him, in every one of them, a grace and a charm." --------- Ah, to be such a splendid work of beauty at every single stage of your life. What a gift from the gods!

"His conduct displayed many great inconsistencies and variations not unnaturally, in accordance with the many and wonderful vicissitudes of his fortunes; but among the many strong passions of his real character, the one most prevailing of all was his ambition and desire of superiority." ---------- Oh my, Plutarch senses all could not turn out well for such a man.

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