Critias: Athenian Aristocrat, Philosopher, and Tyrant

Early Life

Music and Teachers

He studied under Socrates and later under the sophist Gorgias, and in his early youth he displayed a particular affection for music. Ultimately, however, it was politics that captivated him. He rose to prominence as one of the most formidable opponents of democracy and as an admirer of the Spartan constitution. He did not hesitate even to betray friends who belonged to his own political faction. Such was the depth of his fanaticism.

Music and Teachers

Aristotle teaches that every virtue must avoid extremes. Rash courage becomes mere recklessness, while excessive caution turns into cowardice. It is simply a matter of balance. Generosity may decline into extravagance, thrift into avarice. This principle, it appears, also applies to intelligence: left unchecked, it may lead to excesses contrary to common sense and reason.

Family Background

Noble Lineage

Shortly before the middle of the 5th century B.C., a son was born into a distinguished Athenian family. One of his forebears had been a friend of Solon, and the family traced its lineage back to the mythical kings of Attica. Many such families sank into obscurity, but the house of Critias still retained its wealth and influence during the 5th century.

Circle of Socrates

In his youth, Critias loved music, especially the flute. Later he joined the circle of Socrates, believing that this association would prepare him for a political career. He soon, however, quarreled with his teacher, when Socrates condemned one of his scandalous liaisons.

Philosophy and Writings

Influence of the Sophists

Critias continued to pursue philosophy, while also attending the lectures of the sophists, particularly those of Gorgias. He dabbled in historiography and dramatic poetry as well. His sharp intellect and rhetorical talent brought him a measure of fame.

Treatises and Sisyphus Fragment

In his writings on the Spartan and Athenian constitutions, he revealed both his admiration for the Spartan polity and his bitter hostility toward the Athenian one—sentiments common among aristocratic circles. Only a few titles of his tragedies survive, though one fragment of his satirical play Sisyphus is preserved:

(There was once a time when human life was disordered and savage, subject only to brute strength. The virtuous received no reward, and the wicked suffered no punishment. Then, it seems to me, men established laws to punish, so that justice might govern all and restrain arrogance. Whoever committed injustice was punished, and from then on the laws forbade acts of violence—though such acts were still committed in secret.)

Law as Convention

The laws, in other words, do not arise from human nature but from convention. This was the doctrine of the sophists, and Critias emerges as their faithful disciple. His rationalism in interpreting political institutions might have been persuasive had it not served as a justification for his entire political career and way of life, in which he appeared as a consummate cynic, ready for anything.

Scandal of 415 BC

In 415 B.C., a great scandal shook Athens: during the night, unknown culprits mutilated the Herms, marble markers dedicated to Hermes that stood at entrances to sacred precincts, temples, and homes. Some were national monuments, and all were held in general reverence. The inquiry unfolded amid tense conditions, for the Athenian fleet was preparing to sail for Sicily on an unprecedented military expedition. Suspicion fell heavily on Alcibiades, one of the leaders of the venture, and on his companions. Alcibiades, nephew of Pericles, was a man of many talents but also an adventurer. In his youth, he had been close to Socrates, and at this time was also a friend of Critias.

Although Alcibiades departed for Sicily, the investigation proceeded in his absence and proved his guilt not only regarding the mutilation of the Herms but also in an even graver sacrilege: in his own house, his associates had mocked the sacred Mysteries. Alcibiades fled to Sparta, then at war with Athens, and his counsel—which the Spartans heeded—inflicted enormous harm on his fellow Athenians. All the other offenders were harshly punished. Only one escaped without penalty: Critias.

Political Career and the Peloponnesian War

Coup of 411 B.C.

In 411 B.C., the aristocratic party, exploiting the absence of many citizens serving in the fleet, seized power. The coup was directed by a council of 400, among whom was Critias. When the democrats sought to oust the oligarchs, Critias acted as the chief informer against his former allies. He then attempted to recall Alcibiades from exile, perhaps in search of a new master to serve—and betray.

Exile in Thessaly

Yet it seems he had stretched his adaptability too far. Accused of numerous intrigues, he escaped condemnation by fleeing to Thessaly. Later writers, unanimous in their assessment of him, debated whether he himself became further corrupted there or whether he corrupted the Thessalians. He even attempted to stir up a slave revolt and formed close ties with Spartan leaders.

The Thirty Tyrants (404 B.C.)

Rise to Power

In 404 B.C., his decisive moment arrived. Athens, defeated in the Peloponnesian War, surrendered. Lysander, the Spartan commander, demanded as terms the demolition of the city walls and a change of government. The rest was left to the Athenian exiles who had nursed their hatred of democracy in Sparta.

The Establishment of the Thirty

From then on, Critias’ destiny became bound with the darkest chapter of Athenian history. Sparta entrusted the supervision of Athens’ political life to five men, including Theramenes and Critias. At first, Theramenes held the leading role. As long as the walls remained, the Spartan overseers acted cautiously, since the population still defended its constitution. But their resistance collapsed when the Spartan fleet anchored in Piraeus and Lysander himself came to openly support his allies in the assembly.

The Tyranny of Critias

Conflict with Theramenes

Theramenes’ proposal—that absolute power be handed to a board of thirty who would draft a new constitution modeled on ancestral precedents—risked rejection. He then boldly declared that “the best of the citizens are with him,” and urged the assembly to accept it. Lysander intervened, reminding the Athenians they had violated the truce by not demolishing the walls: “If they wish to retain Sparta’s favor, they must change their constitution.” The measure passed, and Critias became one of the Thirty.

A new, grim era thus began for Athens. Critias announced the need to revise Solon’s constitution, by then two centuries old, and, drawing on the sophists’ influence, even prohibited the teaching of rhetoric, lest others imitate his path. Yet the Thirty adopted the harshest policies, and here Critias and Theramenes diverged.

Theramenes still hoped to serve his country and sought to relinquish the power of the Thirty once their task was completed. For Critias, this was delusion: his only aim was to retain authority at any cost, driving matters to extremes. Even most aristocrats could not support his methods. Abandoning all pretense, he appealed to Sparta, and Lysander dispatched 700 Spartan hoplites to secure the Acropolis.

Theramenes then sought to broaden political rights by granting them to those able to bear arms for his cause, calculating some 5,000 supporters. Critias saw through this design. He required no such base: 3,000 men, chosen by himself, were enough. He enacted a law limiting political rights to these 3,000, who alone could be judged by the council. All others could be imprisoned or executed without trial, solely on the order of the Thirty.

Laws and Repression

Within a few months, 1,500 Athenians were executed. The envy of a single member of the Thirty could doom an innocent man. Citizens could even be ordered to drag others to prison or to death. At one point, Critias commanded Socrates to arrest a wealthy Salaminian, guilty only of his possessions. Socrates, of course, refused. Critias also remembered Alcibiades, still admired by the people and allied with Persia, and persuaded Lysander to demand his death from the Persians.

Death of Theramenes

The final act of Theramenes’ doomed resistance was to summon the council, where his supporters sat. Critias accused him of conspiracy and treason. Theramenes retorted that Critias was insane and trusted he would be acquitted. Instead, Critias struck his name from the list of the 3,000, stripping him of trial rights, and condemned him to death. Dragged straight from the council, Theramenes met his fate. Receiving the hemlock, he raised the cup and mocked: “To the health of the handsome Critias!”

Resistance and Downfall

Exiles in Thebes and the Phyle Revolt

Meanwhile, exiled Athenians had regrouped in Thebes, where they found shelter. Although Thebes had once proposed to annihilate Athens and enslave its people, it had since come to resent Spartan dominance. The Thebans did not overtly assist the exiles but did not obstruct them either.

In 403 B.C., about seventy armed men, aided by Theban weapons, crossed the frontier and occupied the fortress of Phyle. The Thirty dispatched their 3,000 against them, but the position was impregnable and snow hindered encirclement. The exiles counterattacked, inflicting 120 deaths, while reinforcements steadily swelled their ranks.

Critias, consistent with his character, offered the exiles’ leader a seat among the Thirty. The offer was rejected. In desperation, the Thirty ordered the execution of adult men in Salamis and Eleusis, a decision taken by the 3,000. Instead of gaining allies, they only worsened their reputation. In another blunder, Critias commanded all but his chosen 3,000 supporters to leave Athens for Piraeus. The next night, however, the exiles, now joined by thousands, seized the port.

Final Campaign and Death

Gathering his forces, Critias marched on Piraeus. He commanded elite soldiers and superior numbers, but his opponents had skilled leaders and unbroken morale. They seized a vital hill, showering Critias’ men with stones and javelins. His army collapsed, and the enemy overran them. Seventy of the Thirty fell on the battlefield, among them Critias himself—thus fulfilling his own maxim:

(Nothing is certain except that all who are born must die, and that whoever lives cannot exist without error.)

Bibliography

Primary Sources

• Andocides. On the Mysteries.
• Aristotle. Athenian Constitution.
• Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics.
• Diodorus Siculus. Library of History.
• Diogenes Laertius. Lives of Eminent Philosophers.
• Gorgias. Fragments. In Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, ed. H. Diels and W. Kranz.
• Philostratus. Lives of the Sophists.
• Plato. Apology.
• Plato. Protagoras.
• Plutarch. Alcibiades.
• Plutarch. Solon.
• Sextus Empiricus. Against the Mathematicians. (Preserves fragment of Critias’ Sisyphus).
• Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War.
• Xenophon. Constitution of the Lacedaemonians.
• Xenophon. Hellenica.
• Xenophon. Memorabilia.

Secondary Literature

• Guthrie, W.K.C. The Sophists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971.
• Rhodes, P.J. A Commentary on the Aristotelian Athenaion Politeia. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.
• Hornblower, Simon. A Commentary on Thucydides. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.
• Ostwald, Martin. From Popular Sovereignty to the Sovereignty of Law: Law, Society, and Politics in Fifth-Century Athens. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.
• Strauss, Barry. Athens After the Peloponnesian War: Class, Faction and Policy, 403–386 B.C. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1986.
• Nails, Debra. The People of Plato: A Prosopography of Plato and Other Socratics. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2002.
• Raaflaub, Kurt A. The Discovery of Freedom in Ancient Greece. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.