The Thirty Tyrants ( grc, οἱ τριάκοντα τύραννοι, ''hoi triákonta týrannoi'') were a
pro-Spartan oligarchy
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
installed in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
after its defeat in the
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...
in 404 BC. Upon
Lysander
Lysander (; grc-gre, Λύσανδρος ; died 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an en ...
's request, the Thirty were elected as a tyrannical government, not just as a legislative committee. Although they maintained power for only a brief eight months, their reign resulted in the killing of 5% of the Athenian population, the confiscation of citizens' property and the exile of other
democratic supporters. They became known as the "Thirty Tyrants" because of their cruel and oppressive tactics. The two leading members were
Critias
Critias (; grc-gre, Κριτίας, ''Kritias''; c. 460 – 403 BC) was an ancient Athenian political figure and author. Born in Athens, Critias was the son of Callaeschrus and a first cousin of Plato's mother Perictione. He became a leading ...
and
Theramenes
Theramenes (; grc-gre, Θηραμένης; died 404 BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian statesman, prominent in the final decade of the Peloponnesian War. He was particularly active during the two periods of Oligarchy, oligarchic government at ...
.
The rule of the Thirty
With Spartan support, the Thirty established an interim government in Athens. The Thirty were concerned with the revision if not erasure of democratic laws inscribed on the wall next to the
Stoa Basileios
Stoa Basileios ( el, στοά βασίλειος or τοῦ βασιλέως), meaning Royal Stoa, was a stoa constructed in Ancient Athens in the 6th century BC and substantially altered in the 5th century BC. It was located in the northwest corn ...
. Consequently, the Thirty reduced the rights of Athenian citizens in order to institute an
oligarchic
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
al regime. The Thirty appointed a council of 500 to serve the judicial functions formerly belonging to all the citizens.
[Aristotle, ''Athenian Constitution'', 35.1 (350 BCE).]
/ref> However, not all Athenian men had their rights removed. In fact, the Thirty chose 3,000 Athenian men "to share in the government". These hand-selected individuals had the right to carry weapons, to have a jury trial, and to reside within city limits.[Xenophon, ''Hellenica'', 3.4.1] The list of the selected 3,000 was constantly revised.[ Although little is known about these 3,000 men ‒ for a complete record was never documented ‒ it is hypothesised that the Thirty appointed these select few as the only men the Thirty could find who were devotedly loyal to their regime.
Led by ]Critias
Critias (; grc-gre, Κριτίας, ''Kritias''; c. 460 – 403 BC) was an ancient Athenian political figure and author. Born in Athens, Critias was the son of Callaeschrus and a first cousin of Plato's mother Perictione. He became a leading ...
, the Thirty Tyrants presided over a reign of terror in which they executed, murdered, and exiled hundreds of Athenians, seizing their possessions afterward. Both Isocrates
Isocrates (; grc, Ἰσοκράτης ; 436–338 BC) was an ancient Greek rhetorician, one of the ten Attic orators. Among the most influential Greek rhetoricians of his time, Isocrates made many contributions to rhetoric and education throu ...
and Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
(the latter in the ''Athenian Constitution Constitution of the Athenians (Greek: ''Athenaion politeia'') may refer to either of two ancient treatises on the subject of the government of Athens:
* Constitution of the Athenians (Aristotle), a treatise on the Athenian constitution written by A ...
'') have reported that the Thirty executed 1,500 people without trial.[ Critias, a former pupil of ]Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
, has been described as "the first Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...
" because of his cruelty and inhumanity; he evidently aimed to end democracy, regardless of the human cost. The Thirty removed criminals as well as many ordinary citizens whom they considered "unfriendly" to the new regime for expressing support for the democracy. One of their targets was one of their own, Theramenes
Theramenes (; grc-gre, Θηραμένης; died 404 BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian statesman, prominent in the final decade of the Peloponnesian War. He was particularly active during the two periods of Oligarchy, oligarchic government at ...
, whom Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
depicts as revolted by Critias' excessive violence and injustice and trying to oppose him. Critias accused Theramenes of conspiracy and treason, and then forced him to drink hemlock. Many wealthy citizens were executed simply so the oligarchs could confiscate their assets, which were then distributed among the Thirty and their supporters. They also hired 300 "lash-bearers" or whip-bearing men to intimidate Athenian citizens.[
The Thirty's regime did not meet with much overt opposition, although many Athenians disliked the new form of government. Those who did not approve of the new laws could either fight ‒ risking exile or execution ‒ or accept the Thirty's rule. Some supporters of ]democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
chose to fight and were exiled, among them Thrasybulus
Thrasybulus (; grc-gre, Θρασύβουλος ; 440 – 388 BC) was an Athenian general and democratic leader. In 411 BC, in the wake of an oligarchic coup at Athens, the pro-democracy sailors at Samos elected him as a general, making him a ...
, a trierarch
Trierarch ( gr, τριήραρχος, triērarchos) was the title of officers who commanded a trireme (''triēres'') in the classical Greek world.
In Classical Athens, the title was associated with the trierarchy (τριηραρχία, ''triēr ...
in the Athenian navy and noted supporter of democratic government. The uprising that overthrew the Thirty in 403 BCE was orchestrated by a group of exiles led by Thrasybulus. Critias was killed in the fighting at the doors of Athens.
Aftermath
The Thirty Tyrants' brief reign was marred by violence and corruption. Historians have argued that the violence and brutality the Thirty carried out in Athens was necessary to transition Athens from a democracy to an oligarchy.[Lewis, Sian. ''Ancient Tyranny'', p. 213. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006. Print. (Hardcover, )] However, the more violent the Thirty's regime became, the more opposition they faced.[
The increased level of opposition ultimately led to the overthrow of the Thirty's regime by Thrasybulus' rebel forces. After the revolution, Athens needed to decide the best way to govern the liberated city-state and to reconcile the atrocities committed by the Thirty. It was decided to give amnesty to all of the members of the selected 3,000, except for the Thirty themselves, the Eleven (a group of prison magistrates appointed by lot who reported directly to the Thirty), and the ten who ruled in ]Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
. After the revolution that overthrew the Thirty Tyrants, Athens and its citizens struggled to reconcile and rebuild.
Mention of the Thirty
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
, in the opening portion of his ''Seventh Letter
The ''Seventh Letter of Plato'' is an epistle that tradition has ascribed to Plato. It is by far the longest of the epistles of Plato and gives an autobiographical
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-writte ...
'', recounts the rule of the Thirty Tyrants during his youth. He explains that following the revolution, fifty-one men became rulers of a new government, with a specific group of thirty in charge of the public affairs of Athens. Ten of the fifty-one were to rule the city, and eleven were sent to rule Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
. Plato corroborates the general consensus found in other sources: the rule of the Thirty was "reviled as it was by many". The rule of the Thirty made the former democracy resemble a golden age in comparison. Plato also includes an account of the interaction between Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
and the Thirty.[''Seventh Letter of Plato'']
/ref>
In the ''Republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
'', Plato mentions Lysias
Lysias (; el, Λυσίας; c. 445 – c. 380 BC) was a logographer (speech writer) in Ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace i ...
, one of the men from Athens who escaped the Thirty's reign of terror. Lysias' brother Polemarchus
Polemarchus (; el, Πολέμαρχος; 5th century – 404 BC) was an ancient Athenian philosopher from Piraeus.
Life
The son of Cephalus of Syracuse, Polemarchus had two brothers, the famous orator Lysias and Euthydemus, and a sister who ma ...
"fell victim to the Thirty Tyrants".
Socrates and the Thirty
Due to their desire to remain in complete control over Athens, the Thirty sought to exile or kill anyone who outwardly opposed their regime. Socrates remained in the city through this period, which caused the public to associate him with the Thirty and may have contributed to his eventual death sentence, especially since Critias had been his student.
In Plato's '' Apology'', Socrates recounts an incident in which the Thirty once ordered him (and four other men) to bring before them Leon of Salamis
Leon of Salamis (; grc-gre, Λέων) was a historical figure, mentioned in Plato's '' Apology'', Xenophon's '' Hellenica'' and Andocides' ''On the Mysteries'' (1.94). This Leon may also be the renowned Athenian general Leon of the Peloponnesia ...
, a man known for his justice and upright character, for execution. While the other four men obeyed, Socrates refused, not wanting to partake in the guilt of the executioners. However, he did not attempt to warn or save Leon of Salamis. By disobeying, Socrates may have been placing his own life in jeopardy, and he claimed it was only the disbanding of the oligarchy soon afterward that saved his life:
When the oligarchy came into power, the Thirty Commissioners in their turn summoned me and four others to the Round Chamber and instructed us to go and fetch Leon of Salamis from his home for execution. This was of course only one of many instances in which they issued such instructions, their object being to implicate as many people as possible in their crimes. On this occasion, however, I again made it clear, not by my words but by my actions, that the attention I paid to death was zero (if that is not too unrefined a claim); but that I gave all my attention to avoiding doing anything unjust or unholy. Powerful as it was, that government did not terrify me into doing a wrong action. When we came out of the rotunda, the other four went to Salamis and arrested Leon, but I simply went home.
Later on in his ''Seventh Letter'', Plato describes the interaction between the Thirty and Socrates from his own point of view:
They tried to send a friend of mine, the aged Socrates, whom I should scarcely scruple to describe as the most upright man of that day, with some other persons to carry off one of the citizens by force to execution, in order that, whether he wished it, or not, he might share the guilt of their conduct; but he would not obey them, risking all consequences in preference to becoming a partner in their iniquitous deeds.
The Italian historian Luciano Canfora
Luciano Canfora (; born 5 June 1942) is an Italian classicist and historian. Born in Bari, Canfora obtained his first degree in Roman History in 1964 at Pisa University. He is currently Professor Emeritus of Classics at the University of Bari. Hi ...
has inferred that another of Socrates' students, Xenophon, might have played an important part in the rule of the Thirty, as one of the two commanders of the cavalry, which were the Thirty's militia. Indeed, in his book ''Hipparchos'' (Commander of the cavalry), Xenophon mentions just one of the commanders (there were always two), only to revile him, while never mentioning the other.
In his ''Memorabilia
A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...
'' (Bk 1, Ch 2), Xenophon reports a contentious confrontation between Socrates and the Thirty, Critias included. Socrates is summoned before the group and ordered not to instruct or speak to anyone, whereupon Socrates mocks the order by asking sarcastically whether he will be allowed to ask to buy food in the marketplace. Xenophon uses the episode to illustrate both Socrates' own critique of the slaughtering of Athenian citizens by the Thirty, as well as make the case that the relationship between Critias and Socrates had significantly deteriorated by the time Critias obtained power.
List of the Thirty
The names of the Thirty are listed by Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
:[Xenophon, ''Hellenica'']
2.3.2.
/ref>
*Aeschines of Athens, of the Kekropis tribe (not the famous orator)
*Anaetius
*Aresias
*Aristoteles (also a member of the Four Hundred and mentioned in Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
's ''Parmenides
Parmenides of Elea (; grc-gre, Παρμενίδης ὁ Ἐλεάτης; ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Elea in Magna Graecia.
Parmenides was born in the Greek colony of Elea, from a wealthy and illustrious family. His dates a ...
'')
*Chaereleos
*Charicles
Charicles ( grc-gre, Χαρικλῆς), son of Apollodorus, was an ancient Athenian politician. In 415 he investigated the mutilation of the herms, and in 414/3 was made a general. In 411 Charicles became one of the Four Hundred, and he fled A ...
, son of Apollodorus
*Chremo
*Cleomedes, son of Lycomedes
*Critias
Critias (; grc-gre, Κριτίας, ''Kritias''; c. 460 – 403 BC) was an ancient Athenian political figure and author. Born in Athens, Critias was the son of Callaeschrus and a first cousin of Plato's mother Perictione. He became a leading ...
*Diocles
*Dracontide
*Erasistratus of Acharnae
*Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes of Cyrene (; grc-gre, Ἐρατοσθένης ; – ) was a Greek polymath: a mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, and music theorist. He was a man of learning, becoming the chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria ...
(not the well-known scholar)
*Eucleides
*Eumathes
*Hiero
*Hippolochus
*Hippomachus
*Melobius
*Mnesilochus
*Mnesitheides
* Onomacles
*Peison
*Phaedrias
*Pheido
* Polychares
*Sophocles (an Athenian orator, not the playwright)
* Theogenes
*Theognis
Theognis of Megara ( grc-gre, Θέογνις ὁ Μεγαρεύς, ''Théognis ho Megareús'') was a Greek lyric poet active in approximately the sixth century BC. The work attributed to him consists of gnomic poetry quite typical of the time, f ...
*Theramenes
Theramenes (; grc-gre, Θηραμένης; died 404 BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian statesman, prominent in the final decade of the Peloponnesian War. He was particularly active during the two periods of Oligarchy, oligarchic government at ...
, son of Hagnon, of the tribe Pandionis, in the deme of Steiria
References
Bibliography
*Bultrighini, U. ''Maledetta democrazia: Studi su Crizia'' (Alessandria, 1999).
*Krentz, Peter. ''The Thirty at Athens''. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1982. Print. (hardcover )
*Linder, Doug. "The Trial of Socrates: An Account". N.p., 2002. Web. 1 May 2014.
*Németh, G. ''Kritias und die Dreißig Tyrannen: Untersuchungen zur Politik und Prosopographie der Führungselite in Athen 404/403 v.Chr.'' (Stuttgart, 2006).
*Plato, and Hugh Tredennick. "Apology". The Last Days of Socrates. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1969.
*Plato. ''Plato in Twelve Volumes'', Vol. 7 translated by R.G. Bury. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1966.
*Rhodes, P. ''A History of the Classical Greek World: 478-323 BC'' (Blackwell, 2006).
*Usher, S. "Xenophon, Critias and Theramenes" in: ''JHS'' 88 (1968) 128-135.
*Waterfield, Robin. ''Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths.'' W. W. Norton & Company, 2009.
*Wolpert, Andrew. ''Remembering Defeat: Civil War and Civic Memory in Ancient Athens''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002 (hardcover {{ISBN, 0-8018-6790-8)
External links
The Thirty Tyrants
in World History Encyclopedia
World History Encyclopedia (formerly Ancient History Encyclopedia) is a nonprofit educational company created in 2009 by Jan van der Crabben. The organization publishes and maintains articles, images, videos, podcasts, and interactive educational ...
*Thirty Tyrants
History-related lists
404 BC
403 BC
5th-century BC disestablishments
1st-millennium BC disestablishments in Greece
5th-century BC establishments in Greece