Editing Alcibiades (section)

===Rise to prominence===
Alcibiades first rose to prominence when he began advocating aggressive Athenian action after the signing of the [[Peace of Nicias]]. That treaty, an uneasy truce between Sparta and Athens signed midway through the Peloponnesian War, came at the end of seven years of fighting during which neither side had gained a decisive advantage. Historians Arnold W. Gomme and [[Raphael Sealey]] believe, and [[Thucydides]] reports,<ref name="Thucydides 5.43">Thucydides, "The History of the Peloponnesian Wars", 5.43.</ref> that Alcibiades was offended that the Spartans had negotiated that treaty through Nicias and [[Laches (person)|Laches]], overlooking him on account of his youth.<ref name="Gomme339">A.W. Gomme, ''A Historical Commentary on Thucydides'', 339.</ref><ref name="Sealey353">R. Sealey, ''A History of the Greek City States'', 353.</ref>

Disputes over the interpretation of the treaty led the Spartans to dispatch ambassadors to Athens with full powers to arrange all unsettled matters. The Athenians initially received these ambassadors well, but Alcibiades met with them in secret before they were to speak to the [[ecclesia (ancient Athens)|ecclesia]] (the Athenian Assembly) and told them that the Assembly was haughty and had great ambitions.<ref name="Plut14">{{cite Plutarch|Alcibiades|14}}</ref> He urged them to renounce their diplomatic authority to represent Sparta, and instead allow him to assist them through his influence in Athenian politics.<ref>Thucydides, V, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Thuc.+5.45.1 45].</ref> The representatives agreed and, impressed with Alcibiades, they alienated themselves from Nicias, who genuinely wanted to reach an agreement with the Spartans.<ref name="Plut14"/> The next day, during the Assembly, Alcibiades asked them what powers Sparta had granted them to negotiate and they replied, as agreed, that they had not come with full and independent powers. This was in direct contradiction to what they had said the day before, and Alcibiades seized on this opportunity to denounce their character, cast suspicion on their aims, and destroy their credibility. This ploy increased Alcibiades's standing while embarrassing Nicias, and Alcibiades was subsequently appointed general. He took advantage of his increasing power to orchestrate the creation of an alliance between [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]], [[Mantinea]], [[Ancient Elis|Elis]], and other states in the Peloponnese, threatening Sparta's dominance in the region. According to Gomme, "it was a grandiose scheme for an Athenian general at the head of a mainly Peloponnesian army to march through the Peloponnese cocking a snook at Sparta when her reputation was at its lowest".<ref name="Gomme30">A.W. Gomme, ''A Historical Commentary on Thucydides'', 70.</ref> This alliance, however, would ultimately be defeated at the [[Battle of Mantinea (418 BC)|Battle of Mantinea]].<ref name="Plut15">{{cite Plutarch|Alcibiades|15}}</ref>

Somewhere in the years 416–415 BC, a complex struggle took place between [[Hyperbolos]] on one side and Nicias and Alcibiades on the other. Hyperbolos tried to bring about the [[ostracism]] of one of this pair, but Nicias and Alcibiades combined their influence to induce the people to expel Hyperbolos instead.<ref name="Plut13">{{cite Plutarch|Alcibiades|13}}</ref> This incident reveals that Nicias and Alcibiades each commanded a personal following, whose votes were determined by the wishes of the leaders.<ref name="Sealey353" />

Alcibiades was not one of the generals involved in [[Melian dialogue|the capture of Melos]] in 416–415 BC, but Plutarch describes him as a supporter of the decree by which the grown men of Melos were killed and the women and children enslaved.<ref name="Plut16">{{cite Plutarch|Alcibiades|16}}</ref> An oration urging Alcibiades' ostracism, "Against Alcibiades" (historically attributed to the orator [[Andocides]] but not in fact by him), alleges that Alcibiades had a child by one of these enslaved women.<ref name="Andocides22">Andocides, ''Against Alcibiades'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0018&layout=&loc=4.22 22].</ref>