The Thirty Tyrants who ruled over ancient Athens after the collapse of democracy

By the end of 404 BCE, after twenty-seven years of near-continuous conflict during the Peloponnesian War, Athens had reached total collapse.

Repeated losses in naval battles, the destruction of the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami, and the final siege by Sparta had crippled both its economy and morale.

During the final months, thousands of citizens faced hunger as grain shipments had largely stopped and blockades had tightened. 

Under immense pressure, the city surrendered without conditions as the Spartans, who were led by Admiral Lysander, set terms that stripped Athens of its fleet and defences and required the removal of its democracy.

As part of the settlement, Sparta insisted on the installation of a new government composed of pro-Spartan oligarchs.

Soon after, the so-called Thirty Tyrants took control of the city and began to break down its traditional institutions. 

At first, many citizens hoped the new regime would bring stability, as they believed that peace might restore some measure of order after years of war.

Instead, the Thirty introduced a system that excluded most people, where only about 3,000 men kept full legal rights.

All others lost the protections of law and found themselves subject to the will of the new rulers. 

Among the most influential members of the Thirty was Critias, who had known Socrates and may have studied with him briefly, and who returned from exile with a vision that aimed to remake Athens by force.

He possessed both rhetorical skill and firm belief. Alongside him was Theramenes, a more cautious figure who had supported earlier oligarchic coups but now advocated for moderation.

The other twenty-eight members included wealthy landowners, political opportunists, and known enemies of democracy.

Each shared a desire to eliminate what they saw as the failures of popular rule.

Together, they claimed to act in the interest of order, though they quickly relied on terror and the seizure of property to maintain their grip on power.

From the outset, they narrowed citizenship and removed thousands from civic involvement.

They filled the courts with loyal supporters and removed the democratic safeguards that had once protected Athenian citizens from arbitrary punishment.

Also, they also abolished traditional legal protections and pushed aside the reforms of Solon and the jury system that had once given power to ordinary citizens.

Soon, the seizure of property became common, often masked as legal action against so-called enemies of the state.

From the beginning of their rule, the Thirty used executions to create fear. Anyone suspected of disloyalty faced arrest, and many were put to death without trial.

In many cases, the targets had committed no crime but possessed land, wealth, or political influence.

The regime found it easier to kill and confiscate than to govern with justice.

As fear spread, large numbers of Athenians fled to Thebes and other safer cities, though exact figures remain unknown.

Among them was the speechwriter Lysias, whose brother Polemarchus was executed by the regime, likely as part of its widespread seizure of wealthy citizens' property.

Within Athens, citizens avoided public gatherings and watched their words.

Armed enforcers patrolled the streets and carried out arrests with no accountability.

The Thirty also employed a force of around 300 foreign troops, who were likely paid soldiers, to crush resistance and intimidate the population.

Importantly, violence became routine, as public executions took place near the Agora.

Bodies were left in the streets to send a warning. In private homes, families whispered in fear that a neighbour might inform on them.

In fact, any form of protest or public criticism risked death. 

Those who cooperated gained protection and rewards, while those who remained silent hoped only to survive.

Few believed the regime would last, but most feared to act against it. By the end of the year, Athens had become a city where no one trusted anyone else.

Eventually, cracks appeared inside the regime itself. Theramenes, disturbed by the large number of executions, had begun arguing for greater restraint.

He believed the regime risked collapse if it alienated the larger population. He also feared that Sparta might withdraw its support if the killings continued unchecked.

However, Critias would not tolerate dissent. At a public meeting, he had denounced Theramenes as a traitor and, soon after, Theramenes was removed from the official list of the 3,000, a legal move used by Critias to strip him of protections, and dragged away for execution.

As guards took him to his death, he reportedly shouted, "I drink to the health of the good men," but no one intervened. 

With his death, Critias faced no internal opposition as the remaining oligarchs grew quiet because they knew that any disagreement might bring the same punishment.

The regime, now fully under Critias' control, stepped up its campaign of terror.

More executions followed, and more citizens disappeared without trial. 

Outside the city, exiles watched these events, their anger grew, but they began to plan a return.

In exile, Thrasybulus became the leader of the democratic resistance. He was a former general with a long record of public service, and he began gathering loyalists in Thebes.

With only seventy men, he had taken control of the fortress of Phyle, which was located in the mountains that overlooked Athens, during a snowstorm that helped him hold the position against attack.

The stronghold gave him a secure base and allowed him to launch raids.

Soon, his ranks began to grow as former soldiers, labourers, and exiled citizens, who brought weapons and supplies, gradually joined him.

As his forces increased to around a thousand men, he marched on Piraeus, the port district of Athens, as he won support from residents who had lost homes or family under the Thirty. 

During the fighting near Piraeus, Critias was killed during the Battle of Munychia.

His death became a clear turning point as, without his leadership, the Thirty lost direction.

A smaller faction called the Ten, which was appointed to replace them, tried to hold the city, but their support fell apart quickly.

Panic spread among the ringleaders as Thrasybulus pushed forward.

At this point, Sparta stepped in once more. King Pausanias wanted a peaceful outcome and proposed a settlement and, unlike Lysander, who favoured strict oligarchic control, Pausanias appears to have aimed for a settlement that would avoid prolonged conflict and maintain Spartan authority.

This internal disagreement among Spartan leaders showed that they felt unease with the Thirty's harsh actions.

Under Pausanias' plan, the Thirty and their supporters withdrew to Eleusis, and the exiles returned.

The Assembly was restored, and the democracy gradually re-established its traditional institutions.

As one of the first acts of the new government, the Athenians had passed an amnesty to prevent punishment. 

By design, the amnesty excluded only those who had committed murder with their own hands, while others received legal protection, including those who had supported the regime or participated in property confiscations.

The goal was reconciliation, not revenge. A new generation of leaders generally believed unity mattered more than punishment.

Over time, the city largely recovered its civic institutions. The regular trials resumed and the Council of 500 returned to its role.

Public festivals were restarted, and political debate returned to the Pnyx. Yet the trauma of the tyranny remained.

Citizens remembered the fear, and those who had survived the violence carried the scars into their old age.

Writers, including Xenophon, and philosophers, including Plato, often used the episode as a warning.

In particular, Xenophon held sympathies with oligarchic ideas and presented a different perspective from later democratic sources like Diodorus Siculus.

The execution of Socrates in 399 BCE, however, which was conducted under the restored democracy, reopened painful questions about justice, loyalty, and the limits of civic forgiveness.

According to Plato's Apology, Socrates himself had once refused to obey the Thirty when ordered to arrest Leon of Salamis, an act later cited at his trial.

Still, the defeat of the Thirty showed that tyranny could be defeated when free people chose to resist, no matter how brutal it was.