πρώτην δʼ αὐτῷ πάροδον εἰς τὸ δημόσιον γενέσθαι λέγουσι μετὰ χρημάτων ἐπιδόσεως, οὐκ ἐκ παρασκευῆς, ἀλλὰ παριόντα θορυβούντων Ἀθηναίων ἐρέσθαι τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ θορύβου, πυθόμενον δὲ χρημάτων ἐπίδοσιν γίνεσθαι παρελθεῖν καὶ ἐπιδοῦναι· τοῦ δὲ δήμου κροτοῦντος καὶ βοῶντος ὑφʼ ἡδονῆς, ἐπιλαθέσθαι τοῦ ὄρτυγος ὃν ἐτύγχανεν ἔχων ἐν τῷ ἱματίῳ· πτοηθέντος οὖν καὶ διαφυγόντος ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐκβοῆσαι τοὺς Ἀθηναίους, πολλοὺς δὲ συνθηρᾶν ἀναστάντας, λαβεῖν δʼ αὐτὸν Ἀντίοχον τὸν κυβερνήτην καὶ ἀποδοῦναι· διὸ προσφιλέστατον τῷ Ἀλκιβιάδῃ γενέσθαι.
His first entrance into public life, they say, was connected with a contribution of money to the state, and was not of design. He was passing by when the Athenians were applauding in their assembly, and asked the reason for the applause. On being told that a contribution of money to the state was going on, he went forward to the bema and made a contribution himself. The crowd clapped their hands and shouted for joy—so much so that Alcibiades forgot all about the quail which he was carrying in his cloak, and the bird flew away in a fright. Thereupon the Athenians shouted all the more, and many of them sprang to help him hunt the bird. The one who caught it and gave it back to him was Antiochus, the sea captain, who became in consequence a great favorite with Alcibiades.
μεγάλας δʼ αὐτῷ κλεισιάδας ἐπὶ τὴν πολιτείαν ἀνοίγοντος τοῦ τε γένους καὶ τοῦ πλούτου τῆς τε περὶ τὰς μάχας ἀνδραγαθίας, φίλων τε πολλῶν καὶ οἰκείων ὑπαρχόντων, ἀπʼ οὐδενὸς ἠξίου μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς τοῦ λόγου χάριτος ἰσχύειν ἐν τοῖς πολλοῖς. καὶ ὅτι μὲν δυνατὸς ἦν εἰπεῖν, οἵ τε κωμικοὶ μαρτυροῦσι καὶ τῶν ῥητόρων ὁ δυνατώτατος ἐν τῷ κατὰ Μειδίου, λέγων τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην καὶ δεινότατον εἰπεῖν γενέσθαι πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις.
Though great doors to public service were opened to him by his birth, his wealth, and his personal bravery in battle; and though he had many friends and followers, he thought that nothing should give him more influence with the people than the charm of his discourse. And that he was a powerful speaker, not only do the comic poets testify, but also the most powerful of orators himself, who says, in his speech Against Meidias, that Alcibiades was a most able speaker in addition to his other gifts.
εἰ δὲ Θεοφράστῳ πιστεύομεν, ἀνδρὶ φιληκόῳ καὶ ἱστορικῷ παρʼ ὁντινοῦν τῶν φιλοσόφων, εὑρεῖν μὲν ἦν τὰ δέοντα καὶ νοῆσαι πάντων ἱκανώτατος ὁ Ἀλκιβιάδης, ζητῶν δὲ μὴ μόνον ἃ δεῖ λέγειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς δεῖ τοῖς ὀνόμασι καὶ τοῖς ῥήμασιν, οὐκ εὐπορῶν δέ, πολλάκις ἐσφάλλετο καὶ μεταξὺ λέγων ἀπεσιώπα καὶ διέλειπε, λέξεως διαφυγούσης αὐτόν, ἀναλαμβάνων καὶ διασκοπούμενος.
And if we are to trust Theophrastus, the most versatile and learned of the philosophers, Alcibiades was of all men the most capable of discovering and understanding what was required in a given case. But since he strove to find not only the proper thing to say, but also the proper words and phrases in which to say it; and since in this last regard he was not a man of large resources he would often stumble in the midst of his speech, come to a stop, and pause a while, a particular phrase eluding him. Then he would resume, and proceed with all the caution in the world.
αἱ δʼ ἱπποτροφίαι περιβόητοι μὲν ἐγένοντο καὶ τῷ πλήθει τῶν ἁρμάτων· ἑπτὰ γὰρ ἄλλος οὐδεὶς καθῆκεν Ὀλυμπίασιν ἰδιώτης οὐδὲ βασιλεύς, μόνος δὲ ἐκεῖνος. καὶ τὸ νικῆσαι δὲ καὶ δεύτερον γενέσθαι καὶ τέταρτον, ὡς Θουκυδίδης φησίν, ὁ δʼ Εὐριπίδης τρίτον, ὑπερβάλλει λαμπρότητι καὶ δόξῃ πᾶσαν τὴν ἐν τούτοις φιλοτιμίαν.
His breeds of horses were famous the world over, and so was the number of his racing-chariots. No one else ever entered seven of these at the Olympic games—neither commoner nor king—but he alone. And his coming off first, second, and fourth victor (as Thucydides says; third, according to Euripides), transcends in the splendor of its renown all that ambition can aspire to in this field.
λέγει δʼ ὁ Εὐριπίδης ἐν τῷ ᾄσματι ταῦτα· σὲ δʼ ἀείσομαι, ὦ Κλεινίου παῖ. / καλὸν ἁ νίκα· κάλλιστον δʼ, ὃ μηδεὶς ἄλλος Ἑλλάνων, / ἅρματι πρῶτα δραμεῖν καὶ δεύτερα καὶ τρίτα, / βῆναί τʼ ἀπονητί, Διὸς στεφθέντα τʼ ἐλαία / κάρυκι βοᾶν παραδοῦναι· /
The ode of Euripides to which I refer runs thus:— Thee will I sing, O child of Cleinias; / A fair thing is victory, but fairest is what no other Hellene has achieved, / To run first, and second, and third in the contest of racing-chariots, / And to come off unwearied, and, wreathed with the olive of Zeus, / To furnish theme for herald’s proclamation. /
τοῦτο μέντοι τὸ λαμπρὸν ἐπιφανέστερον ἐποίησεν ἡ τῶν πόλεων φιλοτιμία. σκηνὴν μὲν γὰρ αὐτῷ κεκοσμημένην διαπρεπῶς ἔστησαν Ἐφέσιοι, τροφὰς δὲ ἵπποις καὶ πλῆθος ἱερείων παρεῖχεν ἡ Χίων πόλις, οἶνον δὲ Λέσβιοι καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ὑποδοχὴν ἀφειδῶς ἑστιῶντι πολλούς. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ διαβολή τις ἢ κακοήθεια γενομένη περὶ τὴν φιλοτιμίαν ἐκείνην πλείονα λόγον παρέσχε.
Moreover, this splendor of his at Olympia was made even more conspicuous by the emulous rivalry of the cities in his behalf. The Ephesians equipped him with a tent of magnificent adornment; the Chians furnished him with provender for his horses and with innumerable animals for sacrifice; the Lesbians with wine and other provisions for his unstinted entertainment of the multitude. However, a grave calumny—or malpractice on his part—connected with this rivalry was even more in the mouths of men.
λέγεται γὰρ ὡς ἦν Ἀθήνησι Διομήδης, ἀνὴρ οὐ πονηρός, Ἀλκιβιάδου φίλος, ἐπιθυμῶν δὲ νίκην Ὀλυμπικὴν αὐτῷ γενέσθαι· καὶ πυνθανόμενος ἅρμα δημόσιον Ἀργείοις εἶναι, τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην εἰδὼς ἐν Ἄργει μέγα δυνάμενον καὶ φίλους ἔχοντα πολλούς, ἔπεισεν αὐτῷ πρίασθαι τὸ ἅρμα.
It is said, namely, that there was at Athens one Diomedes, a reputable man, a friend of Alcibiades, and eagerly desirous of winning a victory at Olympia. He learned that there was a racing-chariot at Argos which was the property of that city, and knowing that Alcibiades had many friends and was very influential there, got him to buy the chariot.
πριάμενος δὲ ὁ Ἀλκιβιάδης ἴδιον ἀπεγράψατο, τὸν δὲ Διομήδη χαίρειν εἴασε χαλεπῶς φέροντα καὶ μαρτυρόμενον θεοὺς καὶ ἀνθρώπους. φαίνεται δὲ καὶ δίκη συστᾶσα περὶ τούτου, καὶ λόγος Ἰσοκράτει γέγραπται περὶ τοῦ ζεύγους ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ἀλκιβιάδου παιδός, ἐν ᾧ Τισίας ἐστίν, οὐ Διομήδης, ὁ δικασάμενος.
Alcibiades bought it for his friend, and then entered it in the racing lists as his own, bidding Diomedes go hang. Diomedes was full of indignation, and called on gods and men to witness his wrongs. It appears also that a law-suit arose over this matter, and a speech was written by Isocrates for the son of Alcibiades Concerning the Team of Horses. In this speech, however it is Tisias, not Diomedes, who is the plaintiff.
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