The central character of The Eye of Cybele is Alcibiades, a stutteringly precocious Athenian general whose physical beauty, unparalleled Olympic achievements, and reckless courage on the battlefield earn the fanatical enthusiasm of the polis: the affection and desire of Lysis, a lusty and seductive temple prostitute; the admiration and patronage of Socrates; and the jealousy and suspicion of Nicias, one of the city's most powerful generals and a leading competitor for the favor of both Pericles and the masses. At the center of it all is the Eye of Cybele, a sacred jewel whose mysterious disappearance sets in motion a sequence of deceptions, subterfuges, and failed schemes that ultimately undermine the self-serving ambitions of both Alcibiades and Nicias.