ALCIBIADES AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF A NEW GENERATION OF POLITICAL ELITES OF ANCIENT GREECE

Abstract

In the article, based on the analysis of the activity of a political and military figure of Ancient Greece Alcibiades, trends in the development of Greek democratic polis of the second half of the V century. B.C. are highlighted. The author focuses attention on the characteristics of typical features of citizens’ lives in a democratic polis, which was based on collectivism, solidarity, equality, patriotism, certain norms of public behavior and on processes destructing them by Alcibiades. Based on the study of ancient authors’ works and modern historical studies, the article reveals the main directions of Alcibiades’ activity as a harbinger of the crisis of the polis system of the IV century B.C. The author highlights the initial stage of social activity of the future leader the Athenian polis, the formation of his worldview and moral qualities, which allowed to repeatedly change the political vector of the development. It is emphasized that in Athens Alcibiades was an active supporter of democracy, using the support of the demos. In Sparta, he distanced himself from his previous position, explaining it by forced circumstances. Alcibiades generally advised the Persian satrap Tysaphernes to mutually exhaust the Greeks for their submission to the royal authority. The article emphasizes Alcibiades’ use of new, unconventional for democratic polises methods in the political struggle (populism, help of the heterians) for obtaining victory. It is argued that the Peloponnesian War became a catalyst for the processes which took place in democratic polises, but had not yet dominated in the political life of Greece. Crisis phenomena fully manifested themselves already in the IV century. B.C. Betrayal of Alcibiades, along with pronounced individualism and craving for sole power, as well as his adaptation to other political traditions systems (Sparta, Thebes, Persia) became precursors of such social crises phenomena such as mercenarism, cosmopolitanism, tyranny.