$Unique_ID{bob00943}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Plutarch's Lives
Part III}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Plutarch}
$Affiliation{}
$Subject{alcibiades
upon
himself
ships
athenians
pharnabazus
city
time
enemy
having}
$Date{c75}
$Log{}
Title:       Plutarch's Lives
Book:        Alcibiades
Author:      Plutarch
Date:        c75
Translation: Dryden, Arthur Hugh Clough

Part III

     Soon after this, the four hundred usurpers were driven out, the friends
of Alcibiades vigorously assisting those who were for the popular government.
And now the people in the city not only desired, but commanded Alcibiades to
return home from his exile. He, however, desired not to owe his return to the
mere grace and commiseration of the people, and resolved to come back, not
with empty hands, but with glory, and after some service done. To this end, he
sailed from Samos with a few ships, and cruised on the sea of Cnidos, and
about the isle of Cos; but receiving intelligence there that Mindarus, the
Spartan admiral, had sailed with his whole army into the Hellespont, and that
the Athenians had followed him, he hurried back to succor the Athenian
commanders, and, by good fortune, arrived with eighteen galleys at a critical
time. For both the fleets having engaged near Abydos, the fight between them
had lasted till night, the one side having the advantage on one quarter, and
the other on another. Upon his first appearance, both sides formed a false
impression; the enemy was encouraged, and the Athenians terrified. But
Alcibiades suddenly raised the Athenian ensign in the admiral ship, and fell
upon those galleys of the Peloponnesians which had the advantage and were in
pursuit. He soon put these to flight, and followed them so close that he
forced them on shore, and broke the ships in pieces, the sailors abandoning
them and swimming away, in spite of all the efforts of Pharnabazus, who had
come down to their assistance by land, and did what he could to protect them
from the shore. In fine, the Athenians, having taken thirty of the enemy's
ships, and recovered all their own, erected a trophy. After the gaining of so
glorious a victory, his vanity made him eager to show himself to Tisaphernes,
and, having furnished himself with gifts and presents, and an equipage
suitable to his dignity, he set out to visit him. But the thing did not
succeed as he had imagined, for Tisaphernes had been long suspected by the
Lacedaemonians, and was afraid to fall into disgrace with his king upon that
account, and therefore thought that Alcibiades arrived very opportunely, and
immediately caused him to be seized, and sent away prisoner to Sardis;
fancying, by this act of injustice, to clear himself from all former
imputations.

     But about thirty days after, Alcibiades escaped from his keepers, and,
having got a horse, fled to Clazomenae, where he procured Tisaphernes
additional disgrace by professing he was a party to his escape. From there he
sailed to the Athenian camp, and, being informed there that Mindarus and
Pharnabazus were together at Cyzicus, he made a speech to the soldiers,
telling them that sea-fighting, land-fighting, and, by the gods, fighting
against fortified cities too, must be all one for them, as, unless they
conquered everywhere, there was no money for them. As soon as ever he got them
on ship-board, he hasted to Proconnesus, and gave command to seize all the
small vessels they met, and guard them safely in the interior of the fleet,
that the enemy might have no notice of his coming; and a great storm of rain,
accompanied with thunder and darkness, which happened at the same time,
contributed much to the concealment of his enterprise. Indeed, it was not only
undiscovered by the enemy, but the Athenians themselves were ignorant of it,
for he commanded them suddenly on board, and set sail when they had abandoned
all intention of it. As the darkness presently passed away, the Peloponnesian
fleet were seen riding out at sea in front of the harbor of Cyzicus. Fearing,
if they discovered the number of his ships, they might endeavor to save
themselves by land, he commanded the rest of the captains to slacken, and
follow him slowly, whilst he, advancing with forty ships, showed himself to
the enemy, and provoked them to fight. The enemy, being deceived as to their
numbers, despised them, and, supposing they were to contend with those only,
made themselves ready and began the fight. But as soon as they were engaged,
they perceived the other part of the fleet coming down upon them, at which
they were so terrified that they fled immediately. Upon that, Alcibiades,
breaking through the midst of them with twenty of his best ships, hastened to
the shore, disembarked, and pursued those who abandoned their ships and fled
to land, and made a great slaughter of them. Mindarus and Pharnabazus, coming
to their succor, were utterly defeated. Mindarus was slain upon the place,
fighting valiantly; Pharnabazus saved himself by flight. The Athenians slew
great numbers of their enemies, won much spoil, and took all their ships. They
also made themselves masters of Cyzicus, which was deserted by Pharnabazus,
and destroyed its Peloponnesian garrison, and thereby not only secured to
themselves the Hellespont, but by force drove the Lacedaemonians from out of
all the rest of the sea. They intercepted some letters written to the ephors,
which gave an account of this fatal overthrow, after their short laconic
manner. "Our hopes are at an end. Mindarus is slain. The men starve. We know
not what to do."

     The soldiers who followed Alcibiades in this last fight were so exalted
with their success, and felt th t degree of pride, that, looking on themselves
as invincible, they disdained to mix with the other soldiers, who had been
often overcome. For it happened not long before, Thrasyllus had received a
defeat near Ephesus, and, upon that occasion, the Ephesians erected their
brazen trophy to the disgrace of the Athenians. The soldiers of Alcibiades
reproached those who were under the command of Thrasyllus with this
misfortune, at the same time magnifying themselves and their own commander,
and it went so far that they would not exercise with them, nor lodge in the
same quarters. But soon after, Pharnabazus, with a great force of horse and
foot, falling upon the soldiers of Thrasyllus, as they were laying waste the
territory of Abydos, Alcibiades came to their aid, routed Pharnabazus, and,
together with Thrasyllus, pursued him till it was night; and in this action
the troops united, and returned together to the camp, rejoicing and
congratulating one another. The next day he erected a trophy, and then
proceeded to lay waste with fire and sword the whole province which was under
Pharnabazus, where none ventured to resist; and he took divers priests and
priestesses, but released them without ransom. He prepared next to attack the
Chalcedonians, who had revolted from the Athenians, and had received a
Lacedaemonian governor and garrison. But having intelligence that they had
removed their corn and cattle out of the fields, and were conveying it all to
the Bithynians, who were their friends, he drew down his army to the frontier
of the Bithynians, and then sent a herald to charge them with this proceeding.
The Bithynians, terrified at his approach, delivered up to him the booty, and
entered into alliance with him.

     Afterwards he proceeded to the siege of Chalcedon, and enclosed it with a
wall from sea to sea. Pharnabazus advanced with his forces to raise the siege,
and Hippocrates, the governor of the town, at the same time, gathering
together all the strength he had, made a sally upon the Athenians. Alcibiades
divided his army so as to engage them both at once, and not only forced
Pharnabazus to a dishonorable flight, but defeated Hippocrates, and killed him
and a number of the soldiers with him. After this he sailed into the
Hellespont, in order to raise supplies of money, and took the city of
Selymbria, in which action, through his precipitation, he exposed himself to
great danger. For some within the town had undertaken to betray it into his
hands, and, by agreement, were to give him a signal by a lighted torch about
midnight. But one of the conspirators beginning to repent himself of the
design, the rest, for fear of being discovered, were driven to give the signal
before the appointed hour. Alcibiades, as soon as he saw the torch lifted up
in the air, though his army was not in readiness to march, ran instantly
towards the walls, taking with him about thirty men only, and commanding the
rest of the army to follow him with all possible speed. When he came thither,
he found the gate opened for him, and entered with his thirty men, and about
twenty more light-armed men, who were come up to them. They were no sooner in
the city, but he perceived the Selymbrians all armed, coming down upon him; so
that there was no hope of escaping if he stayed to receive them; and, on the
other hand, having been always successful till that day, wherever he
commanded, he could not endure to be defeated and fly. So, requiring silence
by sound of a trumpet, he commanded one of his men to make proclamation that
the Selymbrians should not take arms against the Athenians. This cooled such
of the inhabitants as were fiercest for the fight, for they supposed that all
their enemies were within the walls, and it raised the hopes of others who
were disposed to an accommodation. Whilst they were parleying, and
propositions making on one side and the other, Alcibiades' whole army came up
to the town. And now, conjecturing rightly, that the Selymbrians were well
inclined to peace, and fearing lest the city might be sacked by the Thracians,
who came in great numbers to his army to serve as volunteers, out of kindness
for him, he commanded them all to retreat without the walls. And upon the
submission of the Selymbrians, he saved them from being pillaged, only taking
of them a sum of money, and, after placing an Athenian garrison in the town,
departed.

     During this action, the Athenian captains who besieged Chalcedon
concluded a treaty with Pharnabazus upon these articles: That he should give
them a sum of money; that the Chalcedonians should return to the subjection of
Athens; and that the Athenians should make no inroad into the province whereof
Pharnabazus was governor; and Pharnabazus was also to provide safe conducts
for the Athenian ambassadors to the king of Persia. Afterwards, when
Alcibiades returned thither, Pharnabazus required that he also should be sworn
to the treaty; but he refused it, unless Pharnabazus would swear at the same
time. When the treaty was sworn to on both sides Alcibiades went against the
Byzantines, who had revolted from the Athenians, and drew a line of
circumvallation about the city. But Anaxilaus and Lycurgus, together with some
others, having undertaken to betray the city to him upon his engagement to
preserve the lives and property of the inhabitants, he caused a report to be
spread abroad, as if, by reason of some unexpected movement in Ionia, he
should be obliged to raise the siege. And, accordingly, that day he made a
show to depart with his whole fleet; but returned the same night, and went
ashore with all his men at arms, and, silently and undiscovered, marched up to
the walls. At the same time, his ships rowed into the harbor with all possible
violence, coming on with much fury, and with great shouts and outcries. The
Byzantines, thus surprised and astonished, while they all hurried to the
defence of their port and shipping, gave opportunity to those who favored the
Athenians, securely to receive Alcibiades into the city. Yet the enterprise
was not accomplished without fighting, for the Peloponnesians, Boeotians, and
Megarians not only repulsed those who came out of the ships, and forced them
on board again, but, hearing that the Athenians were entered on the other
side, drew up in order, and went to meet them. Alcibiades, however, gained the
victory after some sharp fighting, in which he himself had the command of the
right wing, and Theramenes of the left, and took about three hundred, who
survived of the enemy, prisoners of war. After the battle, not one of the
Byzantines was slain, or driven out of the city, according to the terms upon
which the city was put into his hands, that they should receive no prejudice
in life or property. And thus Anaxilaus, being afterwards accused at
Lacedaemon for this treason, neither disowned nor professed to be ashamed of
the action; for he urged that he was not a Lacedaemonian, but a Byzantine, and
saw not Sparta, by Byzantium, in extreme danger; the city so blockaded that it
was not possible to bring in any new provisions, and the Peloponnesians and
Boeotians, who were in garrison, devouring the old stores, whilst the
Byzantines, with their wives and children, were starving; that he had not,
therefore, betrayed his country to enemies, but had delivered it from the
calamities of war, and had but followed the example of the most worthy
Lacedaemonians, who esteemed nothing to be honorable and just, but what was
profitable for their country. The Lacedaemonians, upon hearing his defence,
respected it, and discharged all that were accused.

     And now Alcibiades began to desire to see his native country again, or
rather to show his fellow-citizens a person who had gained so many victories
for them. He set sail for Athens, the ships that accompanied him, being
adorned with great numbers of shields and other spoils, and towing after them
many galleys taken from the enemy, and the ensigns and ornaments of many
others which he had sunk and destroyed; all of them together amounting to two
hundred. Little credit, perhaps, can be given to what Duris the Samian, who
professed to be descended from Alcibiades, adds, that Chrysogonus, who had
gained a victory at the Pythian games, played upon his flute for the galleys,
whilst the oars kept time with the music; and that Callippides, the tragedian,
attired in his buskins, his purple robes, and other ornaments used in the
theatre, gave the word to the rowers, and that the admiral galley entered into
the port with a purple sail. Neither Theopompus, nor Ephorus, nor Xenophon,
mentioned them. Nor, indeed, is it credible, that one who returned from so
long an exile, and such variety of misfortunes, should come home to his
countrymen in the style of revellers breaking up from a drinking-party. On the
contrary, he entered the harbor full of fear, nor would he venture to go on
shore, till, standing on the deck, he saw Euryptolemus, his cousin, and others
of his friends and acquaintance, who were ready to receive him, and invited
him to land. As soon as he was landed, the multitude who came out to meet him
scarcely seemed so much as to see any of the other captains, but came in
throngs about Alcibiades, and saluted him with loud acclamations, and still
followed him; those who could press near him crowned him with garlands, and
they who could not come up so close yet stayed to behold him afar off, and the
old men pointed him out, and showed him to the young ones. Nevertheless, this
public joy was mixed with some tears, and the present happiness was allayed by
the remembrance of the miseries they had endured. They made reflections, that
they could not have so unfortunately miscarried in Sicily, or been defeated in
any of their other expectations, if they had left the management of their
affairs formerly, and the command of their forces, to Alcibiades, since, upon
his undertaking the administration, when they were in a manner driven from the
sea, and could scarce defend the suburbs of their city by land, and, at the
same time, were miserably distracted with intestine factions, he had raised
them up from this low and deplorable condition, and had not only restored them
to their ancient dominion of the sea, but had also made them everywhere
victorious over their enemies on land.

     There had been a decree for recalling him from his banishment already
passed by the people, at the instance of Critias, the son of Callaeschrus, as
appears by his elegies, in which he puts Alcibiades in mind of this service: -

     "From my proposal did that edict come,
     Which from your tedious exile brought you home,
     The public vote at first was moved by me,
     And my voice put the seal to the decree."

The people being summoned to an assembly, Alcibiades came in amongst them, and
first bewailed and lamented his own sufferings, and, in gentle terms
complaining of the usage he had received, imputed all to his hard fortune, and
some ill genius that attended him: then he spoke at large of their prospects,
and exhorted them to courage and good hope. The people crowned him with crowns
of gold, and created him general, both at land and sea, with absolute power.
They also made a decree that his estate should be restored to him, and that
the Eumolpidae and the holy heralds should absolve him from the curses which
they had solemnly pronounced against him by sentence of the people. Which when
all the rest obeyed, Theodorus, the high-priest, excused himself, "For," said
he, "if he is innocent, I never cursed him."

     But notwithstanding the affairs of Alcibiades went so prosperously, and
so much to his glory, yet many were still somewhat disturbed, and looked upon
the time of his arrival to be ominous. For on the day that he came into the
port, the feast of the goddess Minerva, which they call the Plynteria, was
kept. It is the twenty-fifth day of Thargelion, when the Praxiergidae
solemnize their secret rites, taking all the ornaments from off her image, and
keeping the part of the temple where it stands close covered. Hence the
Athenians esteem this day most inauspicious, and never undertake any thing of
importance upon it; and, therefore, they imagined that the goddess did not
receive Alcibiades graciously and propitiously, thus hiding her face and
rejecting him. Yet, notwithstanding, every thing succeeded according to his
wish. When the one hundred galleys, that were to return with him, were fitted
out and ready to sail, an honorable zeal detained him till the celebration of
the mysteries was over. For ever since Decelea had been occupied, as the enemy
commanded the roads leading from Athens to Eleusis, the procession, being
conducted by sea, had not been performed with any proper solemnity; they were
forced to omit the sacrifices and dances and other holy ceremonies, which had
usually been performed in the way, when they led forth Iacchus. Alcibiades,
therefore, judged it would be a glorious action, which would do honor to the
gods and gain him esteem with men, if he restored the ancient splendor to
these rites, escorting the procession again by land, and protecting it with
his army in the face of the enemy. For either, if Agis stood still and did not
oppose, it would very much diminish and obscure his reputation, or, in the
other alternative, Alcibiades would engage in a holy war, in the cause of the
gods, and in defence of the most sacred and solemn ceremonies; and this in the
sight of his country, where he should have all his fellow-citizens witnesses
of his valor. As soon as he had resolved upon this design, and had
communicated it to the Eumolpidae and heralds, he placed sentinels on the tops
of the hills, and at the break of day sent forth his scouts. And then taking
with him the priests and Initiates^6 and the Initiators, and encompassing them
with his soldiers, he conducted them with great order and profound silence; an
august and venerable procession, wherein all who did not envy him said, he
performed at once the office of a high-priest and of a general. The enemy did
not dare to attempt any thing against them, and thus he brought them back in
safety to the city. Upon which, as he was exalted in his own thought, so the
opinion which the people had of his conduct was raised to that degree, that
they looked upon their armies as irresistible and invincible while he
commanded them; and he so won, indeed, upon the lower and meaner sort of
people, that they passionately desired to have him "tyrant" over them, and
some of them did not scruple to tell him so, and to advise him to put himself
out of the reach of envy, by abolishing the laws and ordinances of the people,
and suppressing the idle talkers that were ruining the state, that so he might
act and take upon him the management of affairs, without standing in fear of
being called to an account.

[Footnote 6: Mystae and Mystagogi.]

     How far his own inclinations led him to usurp sovereign power, is
uncertain, but the most considerable persons in the city were so much afraid
of it, that they hastened him on ship-board as speedily as they could,
appointing the colleagues whom he chose, and allowing him all other things as
he desired. Thereupon he set sail with a fleet of one hundred ships, and,
arriving at Andros, he there fought with and defeated as well the inhabitants
as the Lacedaemonians who assisted them. He did not, however, take the city;
which gave the first occasion to his enemies for all their accusations against
him. Certainly, if ever man was ruined by his own glory, it was Alcibiades.
For his continual success had produced such an idea of his courage and
conduct, that, if he failed in any thing he undertook, it was imputed to his
neglect, and no one would believe it was through want of power. For they
thought nothing was too hard for him, if he went about it in good earnest.
They fancied, every day, that they should hear news of the reduction of Chios,
and of the rest of Ionia, and grew impatient that things were not effected as
fast and as rapidly as they could wish for them. They never considered how
extremely money was wanting, and that, having to carry on war with an enemy
who had supplies of all things from a great king, he was often forced to quit
his armament, in order to procure money and provisions for the subsistence of
his soldiers. This it was which gave occasion for the last accusation which
was made against him. For Lysander, being sent from Lacedaemon with a
commission to be admiral of their fleet, and being furnished by Cyrus with a
great sum of money, gave every sailor four obols a day, whereas before they
had but three. Alcibiades could hardly allow his men three obols, and
therefore was constrained to go into Caria to furnish himself with money. He
left the care of the fleet, in his absence, to Antiochus, an experienced
seaman, but rash and inconsiderate, who had express orders from Alcibiades not
to engage, though the enemy provoked him. But he slighted and disregarded
these directions to that degree, that, having made ready his own galley and
another, he stood for Ephesus, where the enemy lay, and, as he sailed before
the heads of their galleys, used every provocation possible, both in words and
deeds. Lysander at first manned out a few ships, and pursued him. But all the
Athenian ships coming in to his assistance, Lysander, also, brought up his
whole fleet, which gained an entire victory. He slew Antiochus himself, took
many men and ships, and erected a trophy.

     As soon as Alcibiades heard this news, he returned to Samos, and loosing
from thence with his whole fleet, came and offered battle to Lysander. But
Lysander, content with the victory he had gained, would not stir. Amongst
others in the army who hated Alcibiades, Thrasybulus, the son of Thrason, was
his particular enemy, and went purposely to Athens to accuse him, and to
exasperate his enemies in the city against him. Addressing the people, he
represented that Alcibiades had ruined their affairs and lost their ships by
mere self-conceited neglect of his duties, committing the government of the
army, in his absence, to men who gained his favor by drinking and scurrilous
talking, whilst he wandered up and down at pleasure to raise money, giving
himself up to every sort of luxury and excess amongst the courtesans of Abydos
and Ionia, at a time when the enemy's navy were on the watch close at hand. It
was also objected to him, that he had fortified a castle near Bisanthe in
Thrace, for a safe retreat for himself, as one that either could not, or would
not, live in his own country. The Athenians gave credit to these informations,
and showed the resentment and displeasure which they had conceived against
him, by choosing other generals.

     As soon as Alcibiades heard of this, he immediately forsook the army,
afraid of what might follow; and, collecting a body of mercenary soldiers,
made war upon his own account against those Thracians who called themselves
free, and acknowledged no king. By this means he amassed to himself a
considerable treasure, and, at the same time, secured the bordering Greeks
from the incursions of the barbarians.

     Tydeus, Menander, and Adimantus, the new-made generals, were at that time
posted at Aegospotami, with all the ships which the Athenians had left. From
whence they were used to go out to sea every morning, and offer battle to
Lysander, who lay near Lampsacus; and when they had done so, returning back
again, lay, all the rest of the day, carelessly and without order, in contempt
of the enemy. Alcibiades, who was not far off, did not think so slightly of
their danger, nor neglect to let them know it, but, mounting his horse, came
to the generals, and represented to them that they had chosen a very
inconvenient station, where there was no safe harbor, and where they were
distant from any town; so that they were constrained to send for their
necessary provisions as far as Sestos. He also pointed out to them their
carelessness in suffering the soldiers, when they went ashore, to disperse and
wander up and down at their pleasure, while the enemy's fleet, under the
command of one general, and strictly obedient to discipline, lay so very near
them. He advised them to remove the fleet to Sestos. But the admirals not only
disregarded what he said, but Tydeus, with insulting expressions, commanded
him to be gone, saying, that now not he, but others, had the command of the
forces. Alcibiades, suspecting something of treachery in them, departed, and
told his friends, who accompanied him out of the camp, that if the generals
had not used him with such insupportable contempt, he would within a few days
have forced the Lacedaemonians, however unwilling, either to have fought the
Athenians at sea, or to have deserted their ships. Some looked upon this as a
piece of ostentation only; others said, the thing was probable, for that he
might have brought down by land great numbers of the Thracian cavalry and
archers, to assault and disorder them in their camp. The event, however, soon
made it evident how rightly he had judged of the errors which the Athenians
committed. For Lysander fell upon them on a sudden, when they least suspected
it, with such fury that Conon alone, with eight galleys, escaped him; all the
rest, which were about two hundred, he took and carried away, together with
three thousand prisoners, whom he put to death. And within a short time after,
he took Athens itself, burnt all the ships which he found there, and
demolished their long walls.

     After this Alcibiades, standing in dread of the Lacedaemonians, who were
now masters both at sea and land, retired into Bithynia. He sent thither great
treasure before him, took much with him, but left much more in the castle
where he had before resided. But he lost great part of his wealth in Bithynia,
being robbed by some Thracians who lived in those parts, and thereupon
determined to go to the court of Artaxerxes, not doubting but that the king,
if he would make trial of his abilities, would find him not inferior to
Themistocles, besides that he was recommended by a more honorable cause. For
he went, not as Themistocles did, to offer his services against his
fellow-citizens, but against their enemies, and to implore the king's aid for
the defence of his country. He concluded that Pharnabazus would most readily
procure him a safe conduct, and therefore went into Phrygia to him, and
continued to dwell there some time, paying him great respect, and being
honorably treated by him. The Athenians, in the mean time, were miserably
afflicted at their loss of empire, but when they were deprived of liberty
also, and Lysander set up thirty despotic rulers in the city, in their ruin
now they began to turn to those thoughts which, while safety was yet possible,
they would not entertain; they acknowledged and bewailed their former errors
and follies, and judged this second illusage of Alcibiades to be of all the
most inexcusable. For he was rejected, without any fault committed by himself;
and only because they were incensed against his subordinate for having
shamefully lost a few ships, they much more shamefully deprived the
commonwealth of its most valiant and accomplished general. Yet in this sad
state of affairs, they had still some faint hopes left them, nor would they
utterly despair of the Athenian commonwealth, while Alcibiades was safe. For
they persuaded themselves that if before, when he was an exile, he could not
content himself to live idly and at ease, much less now, if he could find any
favorable opportunity, would he endure the insolence of the Lacedaemonians,
and the outrages of the Thirty. Nor was it an absurd thing in the people to
entertain such imaginations, when the Thirty themselves were so very
solicitous to be informed and to get intelligence of all his actions and
designs. In fine, Critias represented to Lysander that the Lacedaemonians
could never securely enjoy the dominion of Greece, till the Athenian democracy
was absolutely destroyed; and though now the people of Athens seemed quietly
and patiently to submit to so small a number of governors, yet so long as
Alcibiades lived, the knowledge of this fact would never suffer them to
acquiesce in their present circumstances.

     Yet Lysander would not be prevailed upon by these representations, till
at last he received secret orders from the magistrates of Lacedaemon,
expressly requiring him to get Alcibiades despatched: whether it was that they
feared his energy and boldness in enterprising what was hazardous, or that it
was done to gratify king Agis. Upon receipt of this order, Lysander sent away
a messenger to Pharnabazus, desiring him to put it in execution. Pharnabazus
committed the affair to Magaeus, his brother, and to his uncle Susamithres.
Alcibiades resided at that time in a small village in Phrygia, together with
Timandra, a mistress of his. As he slept, he had this dream: he thought
himself attired in his mistress' habit, and that she, holding him in her arms,
dressed his head and painted his face as if he had been a woman; others say,
he dreamed that he saw Magaeus cut off his head and burn his body; at any
rate, it was but a little while before his death that he had these visions.
Those who were sent to assassinate him had not courage enough to enter the
house, but surrounded it first, and set it on fire. Alcibiades, as soon as he
perceived it, getting together great quantities of clothes and furniture,
threw them upon the fire to choke it, and, having wrapped his cloak about his
left arm, and holding his naked sword in his right, he cast himself into the
middle of the fire, and escaped securely through it, before his clothes were
burnt. The barbarians, as soon as they saw him, retreated, and none of them
durst stay to expect him, or to engage with him, but, standing at a distance,
they slew him with their darts and arrows. When he was dead, the barbarians
departed, and Timandra took up his dead body, and, covering and wrapping it up
in her own robes, she buried it as decently and as honorably as her
circumstances would allow. It is said, that the famous Lais, who was called
the Corinthian, though she was a native of Hyccara, a small town in Sicily,
from whence she was brought a captive, was the daughter of this Timandra.
There are some who agree with this account of Alcibiades' death in all points,
except that they impute the cause of it neither to Pharnabazus, nor Lysander,
nor the Lacedaemonians: but, they say, he was keeping with him a young lady of
a noble house, whom he had debauched, and that her brothers, not being able to
endure the indignity, set fire by night to the house where he was living, and,
as he endeavored to save himself from the flames, slew him with their darts,
in the manner just related.