Alcibiades (c-450 - -404). Alcibiades, son of Cleinias, from the deme of Scambonidae, was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last famous member of his mother's aristocratic family, the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He played a major role in the second half of that conflict as a strategic advisor, military commander, and politician. During the course of the Peloponnesian War, Alcibiades changed his political allegiance several times. In his native Athens in the early 410s BC, he advocated an aggressive foreign policy and was a prominent proponent of the Sicilian Expedition, but he fled to Sparta after his political enemies brought charges of sacrilege against him. In Sparta, he served as a strategic adviser, proposing or supervising several major campaigns against Athens. In Sparta too, however, Alcibiades soon made powerful enemies and felt forced to defect to Persia. There he served as an adviser to the satrap Tissaphernes until his Athenian political allies brought about his recall. He then served as an Athenian general for several years, but his enemies eventually succeeded in exiling him a second time. Scholars have argued that had the Sicilian expedition been under Alcibiades's command instead of that of Nicias, the expedition might not have met its eventual disastrous fate. In the years when he served Sparta, Alcibiades played a significant role in Athens's undoing; the capture of Decelea and the revolts of several critical Athenian subjects occurred either at his suggestion or under his supervision. Once restored to his native city, however, he played a crucial role in a string of Athenian victories that eventually brought Sparta to seek a peace with Athens. He favored unconventional tactics, frequently winning cities over by treachery or negotiation rather than by siege. Alcibiades's military and political talents frequently proved valuable to whichever state currently held his allegiance, but his propensity for making powerful enemies ensured that he never remained in one place for long; and by the end of the war that he had helped to rekindle in the early 410s, his days of political relevance were a bygone memory. Alcibiades was born in Athens. His father was Cleinias, who had distinguished himself in the Persian War both as a fighter himself and by personally subsidizing the cost of a trireme. The family of Cleinias had old connections with the Spartan aristocracy through a relationship of xenia, and the name Alcibiades was of Spartan origin. Alcibiades' mother was Deinomache, the daughter of Megacles, head of the powerful Alcmaeonid family, and could trace her family back to Eurysaces and the Telamonian Ajax. Alcibiades thereby, through his mother, belonged to the powerful and controversial family of the Alcmaeonidae; the renowned Pericles and his brother Ariphron were Deinomache's cousins, as her father and their mother were siblings. His maternal grandfather, also named Alcibiades, was a friend of Cleisthenes, the famous constitutional reformer of the late 6th century BC. After the death of Cleinias at the Battle of Coronea, Pericles and Ariphron became his guardians. According to Plutarch, Alcibiades had several famous teachers, including Socrates, and was well trained in the art of Rhetoric. He was noted, however, for his unruly behavior, which was mentioned by ancient Greek and Latin writers on several occasions. It was believed that Socrates took Alcibiades as a student because he believed he could change Alcibiades from his vain ways. Xenophon attempted to clear Socrates' name at trial by relaying information that Alcibiades was always corrupt and that Socrates merely failed in attempting to teach him morality. Alcibiades took part in the Battle of Potidaea in 432 BC, where Socrates was said to have saved his life and again at the Battle of Delium in 424 BC. Alcibiades had a particularly close relationship with Socrates, whom he admired and respected. According to Plutarch, Alcibiades feared and reverenced Socrates alone, and despised the rest of his lovers. Alcibiades was married to Hipparete, the daughter of Hipponicus, a wealthy Athenian. His bride brought with her a large dowry, which significantly increased Alcibiades' already substantial family fortune. According to Plutarch, Hipparete loved her husband, but she attempted to divorce him because he consorted with courtesans but prevented her from appearing at court. He seized her in court and carried her home again through the crowded Agora. She lived with him until her death, which came soon after, and gave birth to two children, a son named Alcibiades the Younger and a daughter.