Is Alcibiades in love with Socrates?
Alcibiades was so in love with Socrates—“it was obvious,” the Symposium (222c1–2) tells us—that when asked to speak of love, he speaks of his beloved.
Did Alcibiades sleep with Socrates?
Plato, however, in one of his dialogues (Protagoras) has an unknown friend of Socrates ask him, “Where have you been? Not that I need ask, you’ve been chasing after that gorgeous Alcibiades”. It was by all accounts, an intimate relationship and, according to Plato’s Symposium, they did sleep together.
Why does Alcibiades love Socrates?
Once Socrates and Alcibiades had rested themselves upon the couches, Alcibiades put it straight to Socrates, telling him that Socrates was the only lover good enough for him and that he would gratify Socrates in any way he wished if Socrates would help to make him a better person.
Who was Alcibiades lover?
Socrates
Plato presents Alcibiades as a youthful student and lover of Socrates who would, in time to come, be the ruin of Athens through his change of allegiance in war.
How did Alcibiades betray Athens?
Alcibiades tried to convince the satrap that it was in Persia’s interest to wear both Athens and Sparta out at first, “and after docking the Athenian power as much as he could, forthwith to rid the country of the Peloponnesians”.
How did Socrates save Alcibiades?
From what we know, it appears Socrates was already viewed as a competent and courageous hoplite. During one intense battle, the Athenian lines broke, and their troops began to scatter in retreat. Alcibiades was wounded but Socrates single-handedly rescued him and saved his life.
Why did Alcibiades betray Athens?
Alcibiades could not practice his master’s virtues, and his example of undisciplined and restless ambition strengthened the charge brought against Socrates in 399 of corrupting the youth of Athens.
How did Alcibiades betray Athens and Sparta?
What role does Alcibiades play in Plato’s Symposium?
In the Symposium, Alcibiades claims that Socrates, while always playing with people about matters of virtue, was in earnest with him about them (216d4–217a6). The Phaedrus, in which play and earnestness about such matters are obsessively contrasted, has obvious critical bearing on his claim.
Why does Socrates reject Alcibiades?
By showing indifference to lesser pleasures such as sexual arousal, Socrates deconstructs and subverts Alcibiades’ expectations and assumptions about how lovers should interact. Socrates’ behavior leaves Alcibiades similarly puzzled and humiliated, and forced to rethink his assumptions about love.
Who was Alcibiades and what did he do?
Alcibiades, (born c. 450 bce, Athens [Greece]—died 404, Phrygia [now in Turkey]), brilliant but unscrupulous Athenian politician and military commander who provoked the sharp political antagonisms at Athens that were the main causes of Athens’ defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 bce).
Why did Alcibiades switch sides?
Alcibiades was blamed for negligence in leaving only a helmsman in charge of the main fleet and was not re-elected strategos. Consequently, he left to live in Thrace, whilst the Spartans went on to finally win the Peloponnesian War in 404 BCE with Lysander’s victory over the Athenian fleet at Aigospotamoi.
Why is Alcibiades important?
How did Alcibiades betray Sparta?
What role does Alcibiades play in the dialogue and what is the significance of his sudden appearance near the end?
What role does Alcibiades play in the dialogue and what is the significance of his sudden appearance near the end? Alcibiades played the role of ignorance in the book because he seems uneducated to what love is because he feels that love is strictly physical.
What role does Alcibiades play in Plato’s symposium?
What is Alcibiades known for?
What was Alcibiades plan?
Alcibiades set about winning over the most influential military officers, and achieved his goal by offering them a threefold plan: the Athenian constitution was to be changed, the recall of Alcibiades was to be voted, and Alcibiades was to win over Tissaphernes and the King of Persia to the Athenian side.
Does Alcibiades make a speech in Plato’s Symposium?
Alcibiades ends his speech abruptly at 222b with a warning to Agathon that many beautiful young men have loved Socrates but been hurt by his rejecting them as lovers. Alcibiades’ speech takes up about one fifth of the entire content of the Symposium.
What is Alcibiades policy for Athens?
Alcibiades chose extreme democracy and an aggressive, imperialistic policy. In 420 B.C., during an uneasy peace with Sparta, by clever tactics he drove Athens into an alliance with Argos and other Greek states against Sparta.
What role does Alcibiades play in the symposium?
Alcibiades and his speech play a crucial role in the Symposium, because they serve as a platonic image complementing Socrates’ speech.
How does Thucydides contrast Nicias and Alcibiades?
In contrast to Nicias’s moderation, Thucydides also shows us Alcibiades, the demagogic follower of Socrates and bombastic son of the old Athenian aristocracy, who successfully takes up the mantel of Pericles. Alcibiades rouses the passions of the Athenian public by claiming an either/or situation with regard to Sicily.
What did Nicias do for Athens?
Nicias was the voice for moderation in Athens. Nicias had negotiated the aptly-named Peace of Nicias previously in 421 BC which paused the ongoing conflict between Athens and Sparta until the Athenian Sicilian Expedition 421 BC.
What was the Peace of Nicias in 421 BC?
Nicias had negotiated the aptly-named Peace of Nicias previously in 421 BC which paused the ongoing conflict between Athens and Sparta until the Athenian Sicilian Expedition 421 BC.