17.1 The Rake’s Progress
<p>The story of Socrates, as well as the story of Athens, is inextricably bound up with the fate of <strong>Alcibiades</strong>, the golden boy of the Golden Age. Alcibiades’ rise and fall, and his second rise and fall, propelled Athens ever on like some sort of tragic destiny. In 420 BC Athens was basking in a time of peace after ten years of unremitting war. <strong>Nicias</strong> had brokered a peace, which, if it did not win any significant advantages for Athens, did not entail any significant disadvantages either. And Sparta could say the same. But if the doves were ascendant, there were still hawks circling in both cities. And now, after the death of <strong>Cleon</strong>, the hawks in Athens found another leader who could appeal to an even broader political spectrum than Cleon: unlike Cleon the new leader came from an aristocratic family with old-boy connections; like Cleon, he was a strong advocate of democracy. The new leader was <strong>Alcibiades</strong>.</p>
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