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Alcibiades doesn’t appear in the play, but he’s referenced in passing. He was an important (but controversial) Athenian general who was arrested in 415 B.C.E. for profaning the Mysteries. After his arrest, he joined the Spartans for a time until he was disgraced following an alleged affair. After defeating the oligarchs who overthrew Athenian democracy in 411, he was reinstated in Athens in 407—only to have his enemies take away his title once more. At the time of The Frogs’s first performance, he was a highly controversial figure, and Athenians were divided over whether or not to reinstate him.
Alcibiades Quotes in The Frogs
The The Frogs quotes below are all either spoken by Alcibiades or refer to Alcibiades. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 2, Scene 1 Quotes
EURIPIDES [after some thought]
I loathe a citizen who acts so fast
To harm his country and yet helps her last,
Who’s deft at managing his own success,
But useless when the city’s in a mess.
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Explanation and Analysis:
AESCHYLUS
It is not very wise for city states
To rear a lion cub within their gates;
But if they do so, they will find it pays
To tolerate its own peculiar ways.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Alcibiades Character Timeline in The Frogs
The timeline below shows where the character Alcibiades appears in The Frogs. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 2, Scene 1
...poet he’ll choose. He poses a question to the poets: “what should be done about Alcibiades?” Euripides recites lines of verse condemning citizens who act selfishly and harm their country. Aeschylus...
(full context)
