From the book
Alcibiades I
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordThe Persian ruler named with Xerxes as almost the only predecessor Alcibiades supposedly thinks worth mentioning.
- In Alcibiades ISocrates uses Cyrus to expose the geographical and reputational scale of the young man’s desire.
- In this editionThe edition’s note identifies Cyrus the Great and gives historical background.
- A place to readThe hypothetical limit to Europe introduces Cyrus and Xerxes as benchmarks.
Meaning
The Persian ruler named with Xerxes as almost the only predecessor Alcibiades supposedly thinks worth mentioning.
Use in the book
Socrates uses Cyrus to expose the geographical and reputational scale of the young man’s desire. Even supremacy in Europe would be insufficient if Asia remained inaccessible. The comparison is put into Socrates’ reconstruction of Alcibiades’ hopes; Alcibiades permits the questioning to proceed on that basis rather than independently giving a historical judgement on Cyrus. The name supplies a model of exceptional dominion. The dialogue does not narrate Cyrus’ conquests or describe his education, and the later account of the Persian heir should not be read as a biography of Cyrus.
Places to read
- 105b–105cThe hypothetical limit to Europe introduces Cyrus and Xerxes as benchmarks.
Translation in this edition
The edition’s note identifies Cyrus the Great and gives historical background. The spoken passage contains only the name and its place in Alcibiades’ supposed estimate of past greatness.
Κῦρος
Attested: Κύρου (kyrou; 105c). Cyrus, one of the rulers supposedly worthy of Alcibiades’ admiration. Lexical identification: lemma: Κῦρος. See Cyrus.