The story's point of departure focuses on Sokrates' decision to join Alkibiades' expedition against Syracuse. When Alkibiades is recalled by Athens, he chooses to stay and take Syracuse after seeking Sokrates' advice. The expedition then moves against Sparta, defeating it and winning the Peloponnesian War. When Alkibiades and his men return to Athens, the city government refuses to allow them entry. With his men's support, Alkibiades takes the city, and becomes a dictator. He quickly silences his enemies, including Sokrates, and prepares a new war against Persia.
Literary comment[]
Aklibiades' rise to power in "The Daimon" recalls Julius Caesar's rise to the dictatorship of Rome at certain points. At the conclusion of the story, Alkibiades is gathering a grand alliance of Greek states, with the aim of conquering the entire Persian Empire, burning down its capital Persepolis, and reaching all the way to India. This vision parallels Alexander the Great's final empire.
