The Return and “Purification” of Alcibiades

This paper describes some aspects of Alcibiades’ return to Athens in 407 B.C., focusing on some neglected aspects an especially on the coincidence between his repatriation and the first day of the Plynteria, which was considered an ominous day because of the goddess Athena being veiled and purified in the sea. The question arises whether this happened by chance or in a well-orchestrated plan which aimed at presenting an impure but repented Alcibiades searching for “purification” in connection with the goddess.