How Similar is the Character of Boris Johnson to Alcibiades?

 by Matthew Chedgey

When Boris Johnson first entered into power he stated on a talkRadio interview “I’ve always greatly admired Pericles of Athens because he was the guy who said that politics was about the many, not the few. He was the first to use exactly that… a great orator. And, he, uh, it was said that he thundered and lightened when he spoke. But what he did is he used great infrastructure. He invested in fantastic infrastructure. He developed the, the, not just the Acropolis, but the Piraeus port which was integral to the success of a lot of Athens.” From this, it is clear that Boris Johnson has very much modelled himself upon Pericles and arguably some aspects from Pericles’ time in power are similar to Boris’. However, in this article I will argue that Boris acted and behaved much more like Alciabedes than Pericles. For context, Alciabedes was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator and general who was the champion of Athenian democracy in the fifth century BC. He came to power through valour in battle and had the ‘gift of the gab’, carefully ‘spun’ by the historian Thucydides. Pericles drove his enemies into exile and spent lavishly on new buildings and for 30 years he oversaw a ‘golden age’ - a phrase often used by Johnson to bring hope to the British people. However, Pericles’s diplomacy ended in a disaster. This ‘Golden Age’ created hostility from surrounding states, who out of spite took the side of the Spartans in the Peloponnesian wars, eventually crushing Athenian democracy. Ironically one could compare this to the end of Johnson’s reign as Prime Minister where he was essentially forced to resign by hostile MP’s. 

A good initial comparison between Boris Johnson and Alciabedes is how they are both effective orators. In ‘The History Of the Peloponnesian War’ by Thucydides, Alciabedes has a great talent of putting his arguments forward to go on an expedition to Syracuse. Notably, when Alciabedes is speaking to the Athenian assembly he adds a real sense of enthusiasm and passion to his statements. Through this enthusiasm and excellent orator skills, we can draw parallels with our ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson. I am sure many of you reading this will remember that when Boris was in power the speeches he gave to both parliament and the public were always very entertaining to watch and listen to, whether you agreed with the content or not.  Boris, much like Alciabedes, put real vigour into them. Interestingly, Alciabedes had a reputation for stuttering during his speeches which also very much correlates to Boris’ style of muddling through his speeches giving them both a unique style which makes them stand out.

Moreover, a great comparison between the two figures is their unique look. From writing this article a common theme that has emerged when doing this research is that the main reason for Boris’ and Alcibiades’ popularity in their day was their ability to stand out from the crowd. Alongside their unique personalities and behaviours is their unique appearance. For example, Alciabedes had very long blond hair which was a hairstyle often worn by Spartan noblemen, which would have made Alcibiades stand out in the Athenian assembly. This theme of a unique hairstyle is also seen in Boris’s appearance as his unkept hair is often seen as a staple of his look which makes him stand out from other politicians and create a very recognizable caricature. 

Politically speaking, one can draw a similarity in how they both used patriotic pride in their arguments. A good example for Alciabedes is how in the infamous Syracusan debate Alciabedes very much used the Athenian pride  to his advantage to get the Athenians to vote for the expedition as seen when he says “This is the way we won our empire. And this is the way all empires have been won - by coming vigorously to the help of all who asked for it, irrespective of whether they are Hellenes or not. Certainly, if everyone were to remain inactive or go in for racial distinctions when it is a question of giving assistance, we should add very little to our empire and should be more likely to risk losing it altogether.” Here, Alcibiades is using the Athenian past to sway the assembly. This use of patriotic pride was used in the Brexit campaign where Boris used British pride and a belief that Britain can do it alone (island mentality) without the EU. In my opinion this is very similar to the arguments made by Alciabedes in the Syracusan debate. 

Finally, both Alcibiades and Boris have had a reputation for enjoying parties.Obviously, for Boris the infamous PartyGate scandal highlights this but also from several reports from people who went to Oxford with him he very much liked going out and having a good time. In terms of Alcibiades it is common historical knowledge that he had a love for a lavish lifestyle and partying. This is further supported by Thucydides’s mention in the book ‘The History of the Peloponnesian War’ in why Alcibiades did not attend the expedition due to being on trial for mutilating the Hermae (sacred object of stone connected with the cult of Hermes, the fertility god). This account by Thucydides almost implies that he had got very drunk with a group of friends and went out disfiguring the Hermae. Thus, it is a very clear they both were the ‘life and soul of the party’ as one would say. 

To conclude, you may be wondering the purpose of this article? The reason is that I wish to demonstrate how human nature does not really change despite the changing political landscape or the difference in culture over time. As you have seen here there are plenty of similarities between the two characters discussed and possibly hints at how there could be another character like Boris or Alcibiades in the future.