Latest / The History of Greece: Philosophy, Empire, and Endless Reinvention — Fexingo History / The Thirty Tyrants: Athens' Brutal Year Under Spartan Rule
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Athens at its peak — the democracy, the empire, the plays and philosophy. But let's turn to one of its darkest chapters: the year when Athens was ruled by the Thirty Tyrants. Luna: The Thirty Tyrants — I've heard the name, but I don't actually know what happened. Lucas: It's 404 BC. Athens has just lost the Peloponnesian War. The Long Walls are torn down, the fleet is destroyed, and Sparta — under Lysander — imposes a settlement. One of the terms is that Athens must replace its democracy with a pro-Spartan oligarchy. And so a board of thirty men is appointed to rewrite the laws. They end up rewriting everything, but not in the way anyone expected. Luna: And these thirty — who were they? Lucas: The most prominent is Critias — a former student of Socrates, a poet, and a bitter oligarch. He'd been exiled earlier and returned with a vengeance. Others include Theramenes, who had been involved in the earlier oligarchic coup of 411, and a bunch of hardliners. They start off moderate, but quickly turn into a death squad. Lucas: You know, before we go deeper — and this ties in because it's about how we keep making episodes like this — I should mention that this show is listener-supported. A small group of people chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds us making this many episodes ad-free. So if you've been getting something out of these conversations, that's the way to keep them going. Luna: Yeah, it's a pretty direct line — listeners make it possible for us to dig into stuff like the Thirty. Lucas: Exactly. So — the Thirty. One of their first moves is to appoint a council of 500 and pack it with their supporters. But real power lies with a handpicked group of thugs. They start arresting wealthy residents and metics — resident foreigners — on trumped-up charges, confiscating property, executing anyone who objects. Xenophon tells us they executed 1,500 people in eight months. That's more than the Spartans killed in a decade of war. Luna: So it's not just political — it's a reign of terror financed by murder. Lucas: Exactly. They force citizens to drink hemlock, they banish thousands to the Piraeus and beyond. Among their victims is Nicias's son, and many prominent democrats. Theramenes, who was one of them, starts to push back — he says the killings are out of control. Critias turns on him. At a meeting of the council, Critias forces Theramenes to drink hemlock on the spot. Xenophon records Theramenes toasting Critias before drinking: 'To the health of the fair Critias.' Luna: That's chilling. And what about the people outside the city? Lucas: The exiles gather in Thebes, which was hostile to Sparta. And one man emerges as their leader: Thrasybulus. He was a democrat, a naval commander during the war. With about 70 men, he seizes the fortress of Phyle on Mount Parnes. Then he marches to the Piraeus. The Thirty send their forces, but Thrasybulus defeats them. Critias himself falls in the Battle of Mounichia. Luna: Wait — Critias dies in battle? That seems anti-climactic for such a villain. Lucas: It is. He led a charge and was killed. With him gone, the remaining Thirty flee to Eleusis. A new board of Ten is appointed, but they're just as bad. Eventually, Spartan king Pausanias arrives — against Lysander's wishes — and mediates a peace. The democrats return, and Athens restores democracy in 403 BC. But here's the amazing part: they declare a general amnesty. No one is prosecuted for what happened under the Thirty, except the Thirty themselves and a few top officials. Luna: An amnesty after all that? How did that work? Lucas: It worked surprisingly well. Athenians swore an oath: 'I will not recall past wrongs.' They integrated the oligarchs who wanted to stay. Lysias, a metic who survived and whose brother was killed, gave speeches demanding justice, but even he accepted the amnesty. It's one of the first and most successful amnesties in history. Aristotle says it was key to restoring stability. Athens didn't descend into civil war again for decades. Luna: So in a way, democracy's survival depended on not seeking revenge. Lucas: Exactly. The Thirty were a brutal experiment in oligarchy, and when it failed, Athens chose forgiveness over vengeance. It's a remarkable moment — and it sets the stage for the fourth-century revival of Athens, where Plato writes, and philosophy flourishes again. But the scars never fully healed.