Gerald Kosloff, now living in West Nyack, remembers when the idea came to him. In the mid-'50s, the World War II veteran and graduate of Columbia University made a living running a frozen custard stand in Greenwich Village. He had spent time in Paris during his college years and hung out with theatrical and literary types who lived in the Village. 

 

He found the story of Alcibiades' life in the works of Plutarch. Alcibiades, the Athenian nobleman and general, defected to Sparta after political enemies convicted him of crimes against the state.