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Humanities › History & Culture


THE THIRTY TYRANTS AFTER THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR

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By
N.S. Gill
N.S. Gill
Ancient History and Latin Expert
 * M.A., Linguistics, University of Minnesota
 * B.A., Latin, University of Minnesota

N.S. Gill is a Latinist, writer, and teacher of ancient history and Latin. She
has been featured by NPR and National Geographic for her ancient history
expertise.
Learn about our Editorial Process
Updated on July 23, 2018

Athens is the birthplace of democracy, a process that went through various
stages and setbacks until it reached its signature form under Pericles (462-431
B.C.). Pericles was the famous leader of the Athenians at the start of the
Peloponnesian War (431-404)... and the great plague at the start of it that
killed Pericles. At the end of that war, when Athens surrendered, democracy was
replaced by the oligarchic rule of the Thirty Tyrants (hoi triakonta) (404-403),
but radical democracy returned.



This was a terrible period for Athens and part of Greece's downward slide that
led to its takeover by Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander.




SPARTAN HEGEMONY

From 404-403 B.C., at the start of a longer period known as the Spartan
Hegemony, which lasted from 404-371 B.C., hundreds of Athenians were killed,
thousands exiled, and the number of the citizens was severely reduced until
Athens' Thirty Tyrants were overthrown by an exiled Athenian general,
Thrasybulus.




ATHENS' SURRENDER AFTER THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR

Athens' strength had once been her navy. To protect themselves from attack by
Sparta, the people of Athens had built the Long Walls. Sparta couldn't risk
letting Athens become strong again, so it demanded stringent concessions at the
end of the Peloponnesian War. According to the terms of Athens' surrender to
Lysander, the Long Walls and fortifications of the Piraeus were destroyed, the
Athenian fleet was lost, exiles were recalled, and Sparta assumed command of
Athens.


Read More
Cleisthenes: Architect of Athenian Democracy
By N.S. Gill



OLIGARCHY REPLACES DEMOCRACY

Sparta imprisoned the chief leaders of Athens' democracy and nominated a body of
thirty local men (the Thirty Tyrants) to rule Athens and frame a new, oligarchic
constitution. It is a mistake to think all Athenians were unhappy. Many in
Athens favored oligarchy over democracy.



Later, the pro-democratic faction did restore democracy, but only through force.




REIGN OF TERROR

The Thirty Tyrants, under the leadership of Critias, appointed a Council of 500
to serve the judicial functions formerly belonging to all the citizens. (In
democratic Athens, juries might be composed of hundreds or thousands of citizens
without a presiding judge.) They appointed a police force and a group of 10 to
guard the Piraeus. They granted only 3000 citizens a right to trial and to bear
arms.



All other Athenian citizens could be condemned without a trial by the Thirty
Tyrants. This effectively deprived the Athenians of their citizenship. The
Thirty Tyrants executed criminals and leading Democrats, as well as others who
were considered unfriendly to the new oligarchic regime. Those in power
condemned their fellow Athenians for the sake of greed -- to confiscate their
property. Leading citizens drank state-sentenced poison hemlock. The period of
the Thirty Tyrants was a reign of terror.




SOCRATES APPOSES ATHENS

Many consider Socrates the wisest of the Greeks, and he fought on the side of
Athens against Sparta during the Peloponnesian War, so his possible involvement
with the Spartan-backed Thirty Tyrants is surprising. Unfortunately, the sage
didn't write, so historians have speculated about his missing biographical
details.



Socrates got into trouble at the time of the Thirty Tyrants but was not punished
until later. He had taught some of the tyrants. They may have counted on his
support, but he refused to participate in the capture of Leon of Salamis, whom
the thirty wished to execute.




THE END OF THE THIRTY TYRANTS

Meanwhile, other Greek cities, dissatisfied with the Spartans, were offering
their support to the men exiled by the Thirty Tyrants. The exiled Athenian
general Thrasybulus seized the Athenian fort at Phyle, with the help of the
Thebans, and then took the Piraeus, in the spring of 403. Critias was killed.
The Thirty Tyrants became fearful and sent to Sparta for help, but the Spartan
king rejected Lysander's bid to support the Athenian oligarchs, and so the 3000
citizens were able to depose the terrible thirty.



After the Thirty Tyrants were deposed, democracy was restored to Athens.



Sources


 * "The Thirty at Athens in the Summer of 404," by Rex Stem. Phoenix, Vol. 57,
   No. 1/2 (Spring-Summer, 2003), pp. 18-34.
 * "Socrates on Obedience and Justice," by Curtis Johnson. The Western Political
   Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Dec. 1990), pp. 719-740.
 * "Socrates as Political Partisan," by Neal Wood. Canadian Journal of Political
   Science, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Mar. 1974), pp. 3-31.

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Gill, N.S. "The Thirty Tyrants After the Peloponnesian War." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16,
2021, thoughtco.com/tyrants-after-the-peloponnesian-war-120199. Gill, N.S.
(2021, February 16). The Thirty Tyrants After the Peloponnesian War. Retrieved
from https://www.thoughtco.com/tyrants-after-the-peloponnesian-war-120199 Gill,
N.S. "The Thirty Tyrants After the Peloponnesian War." ThoughtCo.
https://www.thoughtco.com/tyrants-after-the-peloponnesian-war-120199 (accessed
June 24, 2024).
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 * Biography of Pericles, Leader of Athens
 * Rise to Power of Sparta
 * Timeline of Battles and Treaties in Peloponnesian War
 * Republic vs. Democracy: What Is the Difference?
 * Formation of the Delian League
 * Biography of Alcibiades, Ancient Greek Soldier-Politician
 * The Peloponnesian War: Causes of the Conflict
 * Points About Ancient Greek History


 * Lysander the Spartan General
 * Plato's 'Apology'
 * Political Aspects of the Classical Age of Greece
 * Greece - Fast Facts About Greece
 * How Athenian Democracy Developed in 7 Stages
 * Cleisthenes and the 10 Tribes of Athens
 * 7 Points to Know About Ancient Greek Government
 * Pericles' Funeral Oration - Thucydides' Version


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