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ollienemo's review
4.0
4.5/5
- love all the background context! Came for Alkibiades, stayed for the Ancient Greek history
- really well written, very vivid
- almost felt like i was watching a documentary. I could see it all happening!
- love all the background context! Came for Alkibiades, stayed for the Ancient Greek history
- really well written, very vivid
- almost felt like i was watching a documentary. I could see it all happening!
sinceremercy's review against another edition
4.0
David Stuttard takes on the challenge of wading through sparse, often-conflicting sources to provide a readable and exciting biography of one of the most fascinating characters in Classical Greece. He details the historical context surrounding the life of Alcibiades before describing his time as the ward of Pericles and his early rise to prominence in Athens. Where concrete information is scarce or unreliable, Stuttard fills in the blanks with detail about what would have been typical for an Athenian youth of high standing such as Alcibiades. He includes, too, stories of questionable veracity which are “typical of anecdotes which cling to the young Alcibiades." If they may not all provide an accurate testimony as to Alcibiades’ actual behavior in his early years, they certainly provide insight into the way his character was viewed by his contemporaries, which is perhaps equally relevant.
Documentation is more readily available for later periods of Alcibiades’ life, but no less conflicting or confusing. Rather than provide only a synthesis of what is already known, Stuttard’s interpretation carries his own beliefs and suggestions as to what is and is not plausible about previous accounts. He challenges previous scholarship and examines the reliability of his chief source, Thucydides. Stuttard is of the opinion that Thucydides's source for many of his accounts was Alcibiades himself, and suggests that it's Alcibiades's spin which has been preserved as historical fact-- though he notes that this does not necessarily make the account inaccurate.
As a tale of Alcibiades’ life, Nemesis feels complete. There are few gaps in Stuttard’s timeline. Though the details of Alcibiades’ endeavors are not always known, Stuttard’s attention to detail is admirable, and he at least attempts to paint a picture of what is likely from the scant information surviving, straying only occasionally into the realm of the imaginary. His interpretation of the facts certainly makes logical sense and proves convincing overall. Although much of the truth of Alcibiades’ life cannot be known, and Stuttard’s arguments do not prove definitive, his work is commendable in its adherence to what is most probable, and certainly provides a narrative that seems likely, given all the facts that are known. If nothing else, he captures some of Alcibiades's charisma, and helps the reader feel that we understand him better.
The prose style is direct and clear, aiming for simplicity and ease of understanding, but his analysis of his sources is well-founded and well-informed. The work is suitable for a general audience, and perhaps inclines itself more towards the general reader than the academic, but it provides something for more serious scholars of Classical Greece or Alcibiades in particular, too.
Documentation is more readily available for later periods of Alcibiades’ life, but no less conflicting or confusing. Rather than provide only a synthesis of what is already known, Stuttard’s interpretation carries his own beliefs and suggestions as to what is and is not plausible about previous accounts. He challenges previous scholarship and examines the reliability of his chief source, Thucydides. Stuttard is of the opinion that Thucydides's source for many of his accounts was Alcibiades himself, and suggests that it's Alcibiades's spin which has been preserved as historical fact-- though he notes that this does not necessarily make the account inaccurate.
As a tale of Alcibiades’ life, Nemesis feels complete. There are few gaps in Stuttard’s timeline. Though the details of Alcibiades’ endeavors are not always known, Stuttard’s attention to detail is admirable, and he at least attempts to paint a picture of what is likely from the scant information surviving, straying only occasionally into the realm of the imaginary. His interpretation of the facts certainly makes logical sense and proves convincing overall. Although much of the truth of Alcibiades’ life cannot be known, and Stuttard’s arguments do not prove definitive, his work is commendable in its adherence to what is most probable, and certainly provides a narrative that seems likely, given all the facts that are known. If nothing else, he captures some of Alcibiades's charisma, and helps the reader feel that we understand him better.
The prose style is direct and clear, aiming for simplicity and ease of understanding, but his analysis of his sources is well-founded and well-informed. The work is suitable for a general audience, and perhaps inclines itself more towards the general reader than the academic, but it provides something for more serious scholars of Classical Greece or Alcibiades in particular, too.
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