Description: 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...
Brief description: Jacqueline de Romilly (1913-2010) was a distinguished scholar of Greek history and culture. In 1973, she became Chair of Greek at the College de France, the first woman nominated to this prestigious institution. In 1988, she was elected to the Académie Française as the second woman member, after Marguerite Yourcenar. Romilly was an A.D. White Professor at large at Cornell from 1974 to 1980.
Review Quotes:
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"