He took part in the Battle of Potidaea (432 BC), where his life was saved by Socrates, a service which he repaid at the Battle of Delium (424 BC). Alcibiades had great admiration of Socrates, and once said: "His nature is so beautiful, golden, divine, and wonderful within that everything he commands surely must be obeyed, even like the voice of good." As the reward for his bravery, the wealthy Hipponicus bestowed upon him the hand of his daughter.
From this time he took a prominent part in Athenian politics during the Peloponnesian War. Originally friendly to Sparta, he subsequently became the leader of the war party in opposition to Nicias, and after the peace of 421 BC he succeeded by an unscrupulous trick in duping the Spartan ambassadors, and persuading the Athenians to conclude an alliance (420 BC) with Argos, Elis, and Mantineia. On the failure of Nicias in Thrace (418 BC-417 BC) he became the chief advocate of the Sicilian expedition, seeing an opportunity for the realization of his ambitious projects, which included the conquest of Sicily, to be followed by that of Peloponnesus and possibly of Carthage (though this seems to have been an afterthought). The expedition was decided upon with great enthusiasm, and Alcibiades, Nicias, and Lamachus were appointed joint commanders. But, on the day before the expedition sailed, there occurred the mysterious mutilation of the hermai, and Alcibiades was accused not only of being the originator of the crime, but also of having profaned the Eleusinian Mysteries. His request for an immediate investigation being refused, he was obliged to set sail with the charge still hanging over him.
Almost as soon as he reached Sicily he was recalled to stand his trial, but he escaped on the journey home and made his way to Sparta. Learning that he had been condemned to death in his absence and his property confiscated, he openly joined the Spartans, and persuaded them to send Gylippus to assist the Syracusans and to fortify Decelea in Attica. He then passed over to Asia Minor, prevailed upon many of the Ionic allies of Athens to revolt, and concluded an alliance with the Persian satrap Tissaphernes. But in a few months he had lost the confidence of the Spartans, and at the instigation of Agis II, whose personal hostility he had excited (it was rumoured that Agis' newborn child was actually conceived by Alcibiades), an order was sent for his execution.
Receiving timely information of this order he crossed over to Tissaphernes (412 BC), and persuaded him to adopt the negative policy of leaving Athens and Sparta to wear themselves out by their mutual struggles. Alcibiades was now bent on returning to Athens, and he used his supposed influence with Tissaphernes to effect his purpose. He entered into negotiations with the oligarch Peisander, but when these led to no result he attached himself to the fleet at Samos which remained loyal to the democracy, and was subsequently recalled by Thrasybulus, although he did not at once return to Athens. Being appointed commander in the neighbourhood of the Hellespont, he defeated the Spartan fleet at Abydos (411 BC) and Cyzicus (410 BC), and recovered Chalcedon and Byzantium.
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