The first part of Plutarch's Alcibiades, down to the point at which preparations for Sicily begin (17.1), has only the roughest chronological framework. It is largely made up of anecdote and reflection, and the order seems to be determined mainly by literary considerations. Hence its special interest for the study of Plutarch's methods. Why is the material arranged as it is? And what, if any, is Plutarch's original contribution? These are dangerous questions—the first because it is human to claim the presence of design where there is really only accident, and the second because to answer it properly would require unattainable completeness in our knowledge of the sources. Nevertheless, it is perhaps worth making the attempt.