The Thirty Tyrants: Athens Under the Knife

The History of Greece: Philosophy, Empire, and Endless Reinvention — Fexingo History · Jul 24, 2026 · 6m · transcript

In 404 BCE, after nearly three decades of war, Athens surrendered to Sparta. But the real horror came after the battle was over. The Spartans installed a brutal oligarchy known as the Thirty Tyrants, who set about purging the city of its democratic and intellectual elite. In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine the year-long reign of terror led by Kritias—a former student of Socrates who turned his philosophical training into a justification for murder. They explore the confiscation of property, the execution of metics, the role of the Spartan harmost Kallibios, and the brief but bloody…