
The Glorious and Ruinous Life of Alcibiades - how-about-this
https://www.lawliberty.org/book-review/what-is-a-traitor-the-glorious-and-ruinous-life-of-alcibiades/
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hirundo
All I know about Alcibiades comes from Assassin's Creed Odyssey. That should
be reliable history, right? The game presents him as a beautiful, oversexed,
Machiavelli/Loki character. He practices upon our country bumpkin hero's
credulousness relentlessly.

~~~
knd775
From what I've read, that was an fairly accurate (but dramatized) portrayal of
him. He had a crazy life.

~~~
hmahncke
I read the book reviewed in the link because Alcibiades was such an
interesting character in Assassin's Creed :-).

The book is very enjoyable - it's a non-fiction book, but aimed to be readable
in the style of a historical fiction novel. The events are all true, but the
author takes considerable (and fun) license on the details of the narrative to
flesh out the events. Highly recommended, and yes - what an amazing life.

------
pmoriarty
_" He lived the life of a sexual libertine, yet also that of an austere
Spartan. He was an Athenian aristocrat, scornful of the Athenian people, but
also a champion of Athenian democracy. Whether delivering speeches in Athens,
commanding an army on land or a navy at sea, riding horses in Thrace,
navigating the intrigues of the Persian court, or (evidently) seducing the
wife of one of the Spartan kings, he seems to have excelled at all, only to be
assassinated in a village in central Phrygia. Speculation as to who wanted him
dead confirms his chameleon-like existence, for Athenians, Spartans, and
Persians had their reasons. He was both praised for being a heroic general and
defender of Athens, and vilified for being a traitor, betraying Athens to both
Sparta and Persia. It was a life stranger than fiction."_

Anyone interested in a life of such contrasts might enjoy reading of the life
of Casanova:

 _" Casanova excelled in mathematics no less than in philosophy. He was a
competent theologian, preaching his first sermon in a Venetian church when he
was not yet 16 years old. As a violinist, he earned his daily bread for a
whole year in the San Samuele theatre. When he was 18 he became doctor of laws
at the University of Padua -- though down to the present day the Casanovists
are still disputing whether the degree was genuine or spurious... He was well
informed in chemistry, medicine, history, philosophy, literature, and, above
all, in the more lucrative (because perplexing) sciences of astrology and
alchemy... As universal dilettante, indeed, he was perfect, knowing an
incredible amount of all the arts and all the sciences; but he lacked one
thing, and this lack made it impossible for him to become truly productive. He
lacked will, resolution, patience."_

