From the book
Alcibiades I
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordXerxes is both a benchmark of imperial renown and a link in the Persian royal family used in the comparison.
- In Alcibiades IHis first appearance is paired with Cyrus among figures supposedly worthy of Alcibiades’ notice.
- In this editionThe supplied note adds reign dates and the invasion of Greece as historical orientation.
- A place to readCyrus and Xerxes delimit Alcibiades’ supposed admiration.
Meaning
Xerxes is both a benchmark of imperial renown and a link in the Persian royal family used in the comparison.
Use in the book
His first appearance is paired with Cyrus among figures supposedly worthy of Alcibiades’ notice. Later Artaxerxes is identified as his son, and Amestris as his wife and the current king’s mother. These references make the comparison a dynastic one: the scale of ambition is measured not only in territory or money but also against established royal succession. No Persian invasion is narrated in the dialogue. The relation of Xerxes to the named king and queen is its relevant spoken information.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
The supplied note adds reign dates and the invasion of Greece as historical orientation. Those dates are not supplied by the speakers.
Ξέρξης
Attested: Ξέρξου (xerxou; 105c). Xerxes, imperial benchmark and father of the Persian king. Lexical identification: lemma: Ξέρξης. See Xerxes.