Nicias And Alcibiades Character Analysis
Thucydides uses Nicias' and Alcibiades' opposing personalities to show how they influenced the war against Sicily, as Nicias speech hurt Alcibiades ego, which caused Alcibiades to promote the war with more vigor. Alcibiades felt threatened from Nicias' statement, "He wants to be admired for the horses he keeps, and because these things are expensive, he hopes to make some profit out of his appointment" (Thucydides 6.12). Alcibiades saw this as a personal attack, because of his horse–breeding and the other extravagances from his personal life. As a result of these hurt feelings, Nicias wanted to oppose Alcibiades, as his rival, and win the debate. While Conquering Sicily would give Alcibiades wealth and honor, his baited pride ultimately spurred the powerful speech, which won over the Athenians. This can be seen best through the personalities of the individuals in ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...He exhibits these character traits best with his words, "I have a better right than others to hold the command and that I think I am quite worthy of the position" (Thucydides 6.16). Unlike Nicias, Alcibiades believes he alone holds the right to command the army, since he brought fame to Athens. He also recognizes that the crowd knows of his excellent skills in war. Instead of breaking the group up between the older and younger generation, he brings them together with this phrase, " So now in the same way make it your endeavor to raise this city to even greater heights, realizing that neither youth nor age can do anything one with without the other, but that the greatest strength is developed when one has a combination where all sorts are represented" (Thucydides 6.18). His confidence emanates to the reader from his speech about how much glory Athens could achieve if they won this battle against Sicily. He also displays his sense of loyalty to Athens, in wanting to improve and bring more honor to the
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