Thirty Tyrants

The Thirty Tyrants (Ancient Greek: οἱ τριάκοντα τύραννοι, hoi triákonta týrannoi) were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens after its defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BCE. Upon Lysander's request, the Thirty were elected as a government, not just as a legislative committee. The Thirty Tyrants maintained power for thirteen months. Though brief, 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 and Theramenes.

With Spartan support, the Thirty established an interim government in Athens. The Thirty were concerned with the revision and/or erasure of democratic laws inscribed on the wall next to the Stoa Basileios. Consequently, the Thirty reduced the rights of Athenian citizens in order to institute an oligarchical regime. The Thirty appointed a council of 500 to serve the judicial functions formerly belonging to all the citizens. 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. The list of the selected 3,000 was consistently revised. Although little is known about these 3,000 men - for a complete record was never documented - it is hypothesized that the Thirty appointed these select few as the only men the Thirty could find who were devotedly loyal to their regime. The majority of Athenian citizens did not support the rule of the Thirty.

Led by Critias, the Thirty Tyrants executed, murdered, and exiled many Athenians. Critias, a former pupil of Socrates, and considered a cruel, frightening, and inhumane man, "determined to remake the city to his own anti-democratic mold whatever the human cost". The Thirty removed criminals as well as many ordinary citizens whom they considered "unfriendly" to the new regime for expressing support of the democracy. Of the many that Critias sentenced to death, Theramenes was forced to drink hemlock. Critias believed that Theramenes threatened the rule of the oligarchy, so Critias labelled Theramenes a conspirator and accused him of treason. According to Aristotle in the Athenian Constitution, the Thirty executed 1,500 of Athens' most prominent democrats. Many wealthy citizens were executed for the purpose of liquidating their assets, which were then distributed amongst the Thirty and their supporters. They also hired 300 "lash-bearers" or whip-bearing men to intimidate Athenian citizens.

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