The first noted public appearance of [Alcibiades] was on the occasion of the coming of the Lacedaemonian ambassadors requesting the surrender of Pylus. He at first violently opposed the petition, and even went so far as to urge the sending of an embassy to Argos to solicit that city to become a member in a new Athenian league. In spite of the earnest efforts of Nicias and of the protests of the Spartan ambassador, Alcibiades, by means of intrigue and bluster, succeeded in this work, and not only Argos, but also Elis and Mantinea, agreed to maintain an alliance with Athens for a hundred years.-Ridpath, 1885