Editing Alcibiades (section)

==Return to Athens, dismissal, and death==
===Return to Athens===
[[File:The multitude saluted him with loud acclamations.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Alcibiades returns in triumph to Athens; illustration from a 1910s history textbook.<ref>Text on page 257, image on the following page. {{cite book |last1=Macgregor |first1=Mary |title=The story of Greece : told to boys and girls |date=190 |publisher=London : T.C. & E.C. Jack |page=257 |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofgreecetol00macg/page/256}}</ref>]]

It was in the aftermath of these successes that Alcibiades resolved to finally return to Athens in the spring of 407 BC. Even in the wake of his recent victories, Alcibiades was exceedingly careful in his return, mindful of the changes in government, the charges still technically hanging over him, and the great injury he had done to Athens. Thus Alcibiades, rather than going straight home, first went to Samos to pick up 20 ships and proceeded with them to the [[Ceramic Gulf]] where he collected 100 talents. He finally sailed to [[Gytheion]] to make inquiries, partly about the reported preparations of the Spartans there, and partly about the feelings in Athens regarding his return.<ref>Xenophon, ''Hellenica'', 1, 4, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0206&layout=&loc=1.4.1 8–12].</ref> His inquiries assured him that the city was kindly disposed towards him and that his closest friends urged him to return.<ref>B. Due, ''The Return of Alcibiades'', 39</ref>

Therefore, he finally sailed into Piraeus where the crowd had gathered, desiring to see the famous Alcibiades.<ref>Xenophon, ''Hellenica'', 1, 4, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0206&layout=&loc=1.4.1 13].</ref> He entered the harbor full of fear until he saw his cousin and others of his friends and acquaintances, who invited him to land. Upon arriving on shore he was greeted with a hero's welcome.<ref name="Plut32">{{cite Plutarch|Alcibiades|32}}</ref> Nevertheless, some saw an evil [[omen]] in the fact that he had returned to Athens on the very day when the ceremony of the [[Plynteria]] (the feast where the old statue of [[Athena]] would get cleansed) was being celebrated.<ref name="Plut34">{{cite Plutarch|Alcibiades|34}}</ref> This was regarded as the unluckiest day of the year to undertake anything of importance. His enemies took note of this and kept it in mind for a future occasion.<ref>D Kagan, ''The Fall of the Athenian Empire'', 290.</ref>

All the criminal proceedings against him were canceled and the charges of [[blasphemy]] were officially withdrawn. Alcibiades was able to assert his piety and to raise Athenian morale by leading the solemn procession to [[Eleusis]] (for the celebration of the Eleusinian Mysteries) by land for the first time since the Spartans had occupied Decelea.<ref>S. Price, ''Religions of the Ancient Greeks'', 54</ref> The procession had been replaced by a sea voyage, but this year Alcibiades used a detachment of soldiers to escort the traditional procession.<ref>Xenophon, ''Hellenica'', 1, 4, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0206&layout=&loc=1.4.1 18]</ref> His property was restored and the ecclesia elected him supreme commander of land and sea ([[Autokrator|strategos autokrator]]).<ref name="Plut33">{{cite Plutarch|Alcibiades|33}}</ref>

===Defeat at Notium===
{{further|Battle of Notium}}

In 406 BC Alcibiades set out from Athens with 1,500 hoplites and a hundred ships. He failed to take [[Andros]] and then he went on to Samos. Later he moved to [[Notium]], closer to the enemy at [[Ephesus]].<ref name="Andrews490">A. Andrewes, ''The Spartan Resurgence'', 490</ref> Meanwhile, Tissaphernes had been replaced by [[Cyrus the Younger]] (son of [[Darius II of Persia]]) who decided to financially support the Peloponnesians. This new revenue started to attract Athenian deserters to the Spartan navy. Additionally the Spartans had replaced Mindarus with [[Lysander]], a very capable admiral. These factors caused the rapid growth of the Peloponnesian fleet at the expense of the Athenian. In search of funds and needing to force another decisive battle, Alcibiades left Notium and sailed to help [[Thrasybulus]] in the siege of [[Phocaea]].<ref>Kagan, ''The Peloponnesian War'', 443</ref> Alcibiades was aware the Spartan fleet was nearby, so he left nearly eighty ships to watch them under the command of his personal helmsman [[Antiochus (admiral)|Antiochus]], who was given express orders not to attack. Antiochus disobeyed this single order and endeavored to draw Lysander into a fight by imitating the tactics used at Cyzicus. The situation at Notium, however, was radically different from that at Cyzicus; the Athenians possessed no element of surprise, and Lysander had been well informed about their fleet by deserters.<ref>Kagan, ''The Peloponnesian War'', 444</ref> Antiochus's ship was sunk, and he was killed by a sudden Spartan attack; the remaining ships of the decoy force were then chased headlong back toward Notium, where the main Athenian force was caught unprepared by the sudden arrival of the whole Spartan fleet. In the ensuing fighting, Lysander gained an entire victory. Alcibiades soon returned and desperately tried to undo the defeat at Notium by scoring another victory, but Lysander could not be compelled to attack the fleet again.<ref>For the accepted account of the battle see {{cite Plutarch|Alcibiades|35}} or the [[Hellenica Oxyrhynchia]], 4.</ref>

Responsibility for the defeat ultimately fell on Alcibiades, and his enemies used the opportunity to attack him and have him removed from command, although some modern scholars believe that Alcibiades was unfairly blamed for [[Antiochus (admiral)|Antiochus]]'s mistake.<ref name="Cawkell">G. Cawkwell, ''Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War'', 143</ref> [[Diodorus]] reports that, in addition to his mistake at Notium, Alcibiades was discharged on account of false accusations brought against him by his enemies.<ref name="Diodorus74">Diodorus, ''Library'', xiii, 74.[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084%3Abook%3D13%3Achapter%3D74 4]</ref> According to historian [[Antony Andrewes]], the extravagant hopes that his successes of the previous summer had created were a decisive element in his downfall.<ref name="Andrews490" /> Consequently, Alcibiades condemned himself to exile.<ref name="Diodorus74" /> Never again returning to Athens, he sailed north to the castles in the Thracian Chersonese, which he had secured during his time in the Hellespont. The implications of the defeat were severe for Athens. Although the defeat had been minor, it occasioned the removal of not only Alcibiades but also his allies such as [[Thrasybulus]], [[Theramenes]], and [[Critias]].<ref name="Plut33"/> These were likely the most capable commanders Athens had at the time, and their removal would help lead to the Athenian surrender only two years later, after their complete defeat at [[Aegospotami]].<ref>Kagan, ''The Peloponnesian War'', 447</ref>

===Death===
[[File:Hellespontine Phrygia.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.35|Alcibiades finished his days in [[Hellespontine Phrygia]], an [[Achaemenid Empire]] satrapy ruled by Satrap [[Pharnabazus II]].]]

With one exception, Alcibiades's role in the war ended with his command. Prior to the [[Battle of Aegospotami]], in the last attested fact of his career,<ref name="Perrin25-37">B. Perrin, ''The Death of Alcibiades '', 25–37.</ref> Alcibiades recognized that the Athenians were anchored in a tactically disadvantageous spot and advised them to move to [[Sestus]] where they could benefit from a harbor and a city.<ref name="Hellenica2.1.25">Xenophon, ''Hellenica'', 2.1.[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0206&query=section%3D%23217 25].</ref> Diodorus, however, does not mention this advice, arguing instead that Alcibiades offered the generals Thracian aid in exchange for a share in the command.{{efn|Plutarch mentions Alcibiades's advice, writing that "he rode up on horseback and read the generals a lesson. He said their anchorage was a bad one; the place had no harbor and no city, but they had to get their supplies from Sestos".<ref name="Plut36">{{cite Plutarch|Alcibiades36}}</ref><ref name="Coriolanus2">Plutarch, ''Comparison with Coriolanus'', 2</ref> B. Perrin regards Xenophon's testimony as impeachable<ref name="Perrin25-37" /> and prefers Diodorus's account.<ref name="Diodorus105" /> According to A. Wolpert, "it would not have required a cynical reader to infer even from Xenophon's account that he (Alcibiades) was seeking to promote his own interests when he came forward to warn the generals about their tactical mistakes".<ref name="Wolpert5">A. Wolpert, ''Remembering Defeat'', 5.</ref>}} In any case, the generals of the Athenians, "considering that in case of defeat the blame would attach to them and that in case of success all men would attribute it to Alcibiades", asked him to leave and not come near the camp ever again.<ref name="Hellenica2.1.25" /><ref name="Diodorus105">Diodorus, ''Library'', xiii, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084&query=chapter%3D%23357&layout=&loc=13.104.1 105].</ref> Days later the fleet would be annihilated by Lysander.

[[File:La mort d'Alcibiade Philippe Chéry 1791.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|In 404 BC, Alcibiades, exiled in the [[Achaemenid Empire]] province of [[Hellespontine Phrygia]], was assassinated by Persian soldiers, who may have been following the orders of Satrap [[Pharnabazus II]], at the instigation of [[Sparta]]. ''La mort d'Alcibiade''. [[Philippe Chéry]], 1791. Musée des Beaux-Arts, [[La Rochelle]].]]
After the Battle of Aegospotami, Alcibiades crossed the Hellespont and took refuge in [[Hellespontine Phrygia]], with the object of securing the aid of the [[Achaemenid]] King [[Artaxerxes II of Persia|Artaxerxes]] against Sparta.<ref>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Alcibiades|volume=1|page=522}}</ref> Alcibiades was one of several Greek aristocrats who took refuge in the [[Achaemenid Empire]] following reversals at home, other famous ones being [[Themistocles]], [[Hippias (tyrant)|Hippias]], [[Demaratos]] and [[Gongylos]].<ref name="MM"/> For the most part, they were generously welcomed by the Achaemenid kings, and received land grants to support them, and ruled in various cities of [[Asia Minor]].<ref name="MM"/>

Much about the circumstances of Alcibiades's death is uncertain, as there are conflicting accounts. According to the oldest of these, the Spartans and specifically Lysander were responsible.<ref name="Isocrates 16.40">Isocrates, ''Concerning the Team of Horses'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0144&layout=&loc=16.40 16.40]</ref>  Though many of his details cannot be independently corroborated, Plutarch's version is that Lysander sent an envoy to [[Pharnabazus (5th century BC)|Pharnabazus]] who then dispatched his brother to Phrygia where Alcibiades was living with his mistress, Timandra.{{efn|According to Plutarch, some say that Alcibiades himself provoked his death, because he had seduced a girl belonging to a well-known family.<ref name="Plut39"/> Thus there are two versions of the story: The assassins were probably either employed by the Spartans or by the brothers of the lady whom Alcibiades had seduced.<ref>H.T. Peck, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062%3Aid%3Dalcibiades ''Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities''] and W. Smith, ''New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography'', 39.</ref> According to Isocrates, when the Thirty Tyrants established their rule, all Greece became unsafe for Alcibiades.<ref name="Isocrates40">Isocrates, ''Concerning the Team of Horses'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0144;query=section%3D%231774;layout=;loc=16.42 40].</ref>}}

In 404 BC, as he was about to set out for the Persian court, his residence was surrounded and set on fire. Seeing no chance of escape he rushed out on his assassins, dagger in hand, and was killed by a shower of arrows.<ref name="Plut39">{{cite Plutarch|Alcibiades|39}}</ref>  According to [[Aristotle]], the site of Alcibiades's death was Elaphus, a mountain in Phrygia.<ref name="Aristotle 578">Aristotle, ''History of Animals'', [http://www.tcnj.edu/~chai2/literature/piece/151_History-of-Animals--Book-6,-Part-3.htm 578b27] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013120423/http://www.tcnj.edu/~chai2/literature/piece/151_History-of-Animals--Book-6%2C-Part-3.htm |date=13 October 2007 }} ; cf. John & William Langhorne, ''Plutarch's Lives'' (1819), vol. 2, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=90FZb4WVFMUC&pg=RA1-PA172&dq=elaphus+Phrygia 172, n. 99].</ref>