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Jacqueline de Romilly
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The Life of Alcibiades: Dangerous Ambition and the Betrayal of Athens (Cornell Studies in Classical Philology, 68) Hardcover – October 15, 2019

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
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This biography of Alcibiades, the charismatic Athenian statesman and general (c. 450–404 BC) who achieved both renown and infamy during the Peloponnesian War, is both an extraordinary adventure story and a cautionary tale that reveals the dangers that political opportunism and demagoguery pose to democracy. As Jacqueline de Romilly brilliantly documents, Alcibiades's life is one of wanderings and vicissitudes, promises and disappointments, brilliant successes and ruinous defeats. Born into a wealthy and powerful family in Athens, Alcibiades was a student of Socrates and disciple of Pericles, and he seemed destined to dominate the political life of his city―and his tumultuous age.

Romilly shows, however, that he was too ambitious. Haunted by financial and sexual intrigues and political plots, Alcibiades was exiled from Athens, sentenced to death, recalled to his homeland, only to be exiled again. He defected from Athens to Sparta and from Sparta to Persia and then from Persia back to Athens, buffeted by scandal after scandal, most of them of his own making. A gifted demagogue and, according to his contemporaries, more handsome than the hero Achilles, Alcibiades is also a strikingly modern figure, whose seductive celebrity and dangerous ambition anticipated current crises of leadership.

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  1. Part of series
    Cornell Studies in Classical Philology
  2. Print length
    228 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Cornell University Press
  5. Publication date
    October 15, 2019
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    6 x 0.94 x 9 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    1501719750
  9. ISBN-13
    978-1501719752
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

With this translation, Rawlings makes available to Anglophones a biography of Alcibiades by esteemed Franco-Greek scholar Jacqueline de Romilly... The Life of Alcibiades is a remarkable adventure story of political intrigue, warfare, and betrayal carried out by an egomaniacal leader... The Life of Alcibiades offers warnings for contemporary readers about the dangers of blind ambition and unchecked power on the part of charismatic leaders.

― Choice

While thoroughly rooted in serious scholarship – de Romilly gives us an excellent analysis of the sources – The Life of Alcibiades is written for the lay reader, yet her insights and analysis will prove of interest even for the well-versed student of the period.

― The NYMAS Review

Review

Jacqueline de Romilly's study of Alcibiades astonishingly succeeds in arousing in the reader the same feelings as those undoubtedly once experienced by the Athenian public before this extraordinary person. Her book inspires not only wonder at Alcibiades's varied talents and admiration at his ability to seduce those around him but also anxiety about his ambitions and fear for the risks he takes. With its sudden reversals―victories followed by terrible defeats, resounding successes as well as the most bitter failures―Romilly's book possesses the color of an epic with accents of tragedy.

-- Revue des Études Grecques (reviewing the French edition)

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cornell University Press (October 15, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 228 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1501719750
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1501719752
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.18 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.94 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 16 ratings

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Jacqueline de Romilly

Jacqueline de Romilly

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
16 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

James Floyd
5.0 out of 5 stars The Man who Cucked Sparta
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is art. The life of a man so great that fables are still told to this day of his exploits. Women wanted him, men wanted to be him. Alcibiades is a name that has earned all the fame and likewise infamy that he incompasses. Never before has a book so thoroughly captivated me. I wept as i finished the last page, for i feared i would never stumble across a book as perfect as this one again.
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Eric R Byrne
1.0 out of 5 stars Stick with facts…
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2021
Verified Purchase
Author seems to editorialize events from over 2000 years ago and compare them to modern cultural standards.
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