Alcibiades' speech on the Sicilian Expedition,
according to Thucydides

The most enthusiastic supporter of the expedition was Alcibiades, the son of Cleinias; he was determined to oppose Nicias, who was always his political opponent and had just now spoken of him in disparaging terms. But an even stronger motive with him was his desire to command and the hope that he might be the instrument for conquering Sicily and Carthage and that success would enhance his personal wealth and glory. He had a great position among the citizens and was devoted to horse racing and other expenses which outran his means. And later nothing contributed more to the ruin of the Athenian state. For some people feared the extremes to which he carried the lawlessness of his personal habits, and the far-reaching purposes which invariably animated him in all his actions. They thought that he was aiming at a tyranny and set themselves against him. And therefore, though in public affairs none could conduct the war better, they entrusted the administration of the war to others because as individuals they objected to his private habits; and so they speedily shipwrecked the state.

When the assembly met again to discuss the preparations for the expedition and to approve the expenditure of public funds to equip the fleet. Nicias, who spoke first, again tried to dissuade the assembly from entering the war and blamed Alcibiades for the enthusiastic support among its members. Then amidst a great uproar Alcibiades rose and spoke somewhat as follows:

"Citizens of Athens, I have a better right to command this expedition than the fainthearted Nicias here who has attacked me personally. By reason of self-defense I am forced to praise myself. You all know I am worthy of this command. The actions for which I am so much maligned redound as an honor to myself and my ancestors and have been a real advantage to my country. Because of the distinguished way I represented our interests at Olympia, the other Greek cities were given an idea of our power that far exceeded the reality. Before this they had hoped we were exhausted from the war and were about to take advantage of our weakness. I sent into the lists seven chariots no other private citizen ever did anything like it before. I won the first, second, and fourth prize and ordered everything in a style worthy of my great victory. My success brought me personal honor but it also brought my country the image of power and prestige.

A man should treat others as equals if he claims similar treatment for himself. I know that great men are hated when they are alive. They are hated especially by their equals and those who are close to them. Yet great men leave behind them a reputation for the ages that leads others who are not related to them to claim them as their ancestors and the pride of their country. Future generations will regard great men of the past, not as aliens or criminals, but as their own children who have acted nobly. I aspire to be such a great man. And I have been criticized for the private activities that have brought honor and glory, not only upon myself, but upon my city.

So my fellow citizens consider very carefully whether in the management of public affairs any man today has surpassed me! ... Do not fret over my youth but while I am still young and in my prime and Nicias still has a reputation for good fortune use both of us to the fullest. After determining to set sail, don't waver and change your minds under the impression Sicily has great power. For although the cities of Sicily are populous their inhabitants are a mixed rabble who gain and loose citizenship at the drop of a hat. Thus no one there feels he has a city of his own. There is no deep sense of patriotism. The people are poorly armed and the walls of the cities poorly fortified. . . . It is unlikely that such a motley crew can agree in counsel or act in a concerted way against us. There it's every man for himself and anyone of them would defect to the man who makes the highest offer.

Never before were the Spartans less confident of defeating us than now, but let them regain their confidence and they will invade our country and march into our city. Remember they can invade our land whether we go to Sicily or not! But we rule the seas and are superior to them there and we will be able to leave behind us a navy easily equal to theirs.

What reason can we give ourselves for hesitating? What excuse can we give our allies for denying them aid? We have given them our word under oath to protect them and now we are saying they never helped us? Our treaty with them was not for them to come to Athens and help us but to harass our enemies in Sicily and prevent them from attacking us. This they did. Like all great imperial powers we have acquired our dominion by our readiness to stand by anyone, barbarian or Greek, who asked for our help. If we sit by and do nothing or make distinctions on the basis of nationality when people ask our help, we will not only add little to our empire but we will probably run the risk of losing it altogether. Wise men are not content to repel the attack of a superior power, they anticipate it. We cannot regulate at our pleasure the extent of our empire. Given our position, we must neither relax our hold on our subjects nor give up our plans to attack and rule over others. For if we do not rule over them, we will be ruled over by them! We cannot afford the luxury of inaction like those who are our subjects unless we wish to exchange places with them and become subjected to them.

Let us calculate that we are most likely to increase our power at home if we sail at once and attack Sicily. Thus we will humiliate the Spartans when they see how we have scorned the restful peace we now enjoy. By adding Sicily to our empire, we shall likely become masters of all of Hellas. But no matter what happens, we will injure the Syracusans and thereby benefit ourselves and our allies. After we win the war, whether we stay or leave, our navy will ensure our safety. At sea we are more than a match for all the Sicilians put together.

Don't let Nicias put you off by his mealy mouthed talk of the virtues of peacefulness and by setting young and old at each other's throats. Follow the customs of our fathers who in their youth made plans together with their elders and brought our city to its present state of greatness.. . . If the state remains at rest, it wears itself out by internal friction like anything else and all its knowledge will grow stale and fade into nothing. But by constant struggle the city gains new experience and the skills necessary to defend itself not with talk but with action where it really counts! In my judgment a warlike state will hastily come to ruin if it changes over too quickly into a peaceful one. The people who enjoy the greatest security are those who pursue policies most consistent with their historical character and traditional customs even though these might not always seem to be the best.