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Alcibiades Cleiniou Scambonides (Greek: Ἀλκιβιάδης Κλεινίου Σκαμβωνίδης; English /ælsɪ'baɪədi:z/; c. 450 BC–404 BC), also transliterated as Alkibiades, was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. The last famous member of an aristocratic family that 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 allegiance on several occasions. In his native Athens in the early 410s BC, he advocated for an aggressive foreign policy, and was a prominent proponent of the Sicilian Expedition, but fled to Sparta after his political enemies brought charges of sacrilege against him. In Sparta, he served as a strategic advisor, proposing or supervising several major campaigns against Athens. In Sparta too, however, Alcibiades soon made powerful enemies and was forced to defect to Persia. There, he served as an advisor to the satrap Tissaphernes until his political allies among the Athenians brought about his recall. He then served as an Athenian general (strategos) for several more years, but his enemies eventually succeeded in exiling him a second time. (Read more...)