The speaker's platform of the Pnyx in Athens, upon which Theramenes and other politicians stood while speaking. In the background is the Acropolis.

Theramenes (d. 404 BC, Greek: Θηραμένης) was an Athenian statesman, prominent in the final decade of the Peloponnesian War. He was particularly active during the two periods of oligarchic government at Athens, as well as in the trial of the generals who had commanded at Arginusae in 406 BC. A moderate oligarch, he often found himself caught between the democrats on the one hand and the extreme oligarchs on the other. Successful in replacing a narrow oligarchy with a broader one in 411 BC, he failed to achieve the same end in 404 BC, and was executed by the extremists whose policies he had opposed. I took this myself Photo by Adam Carr File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... I took this myself Photo by Adam Carr File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The speakers platform at the Pnyx, with the Acropolis in the background. ... The Acropolis of Athens, seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ... Nickname: City of Athena or Cradle of Democracy Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area    - City 38. ... Combatants Delian League led by Athens Peloponnesian League led by Sparta Commanders Pericles Cleon Nicias Alcibiades Archidamus II Brasidas Lysander For the earlier war beginning in 460 BC, see First Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431 BC–404 BC) was an Ancient Greek military conflict fought between Athens and its... Oligarchy (Greek , Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military prowess). ... The naval Battle of Arginusae took place in 406 BCE during the Peloponnesian War. ...

Theramenes was a central figure in four major episodes of Athenian history. He appeared on the scene in 411 BC as one of the leaders of an oligarchic coup, but, as his views and those of the coup's other leaders diverged, he began to oppose their dictates and took the lead in replacing the narrow oligarchy they had imposed with a more broadly based one. He served as a general for several years after this, but was not reelected to that office in 407 BC. After the Battle of Arginusae, in which he served as a trierarch, he was assigned to rescue Athenian sailors from sinking ships, but was prevented from doing so by a storm. That incident prompted a massive furor at Athens, in which Theramenes had to exonerate himself from responsibility for the failed rescue; the controversy ended in the execution of six generals who had commanded at that battle. After the Athenian defeat at Aegospotami in 405 BC, Theramenes arranged the terms by which Athens surrendered to Sparta. He then became a member of the narrow oligarchic government, known as the Thirty Tyrants, that Sparta imposed on its defeated rival. As he had in 411, Theramenes soon came into conflict with Kreteas , a strong member of the Thirty Tyrants and after Kreteas convinced the rest of the Thirty Tyrants Theramenes was a threat for the goverment , he was trialled and found guilty. A coup d’état (pronounced ), or simply coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government through unconstitutional means by a part of the state establishment — mostly replacing just the high-level figures. ... The naval Battle of Arginusae took place in 406 BCE during the Peloponnesian War. ... Combatants Sparta Athens Commanders Lysander 6 generals Strength 170 ships Casualties Very few All but 10 ships, thousands of sailors The Battle of Aegospotami was the last major battle of the Peloponnesian War. ... The Thirty Tyrants were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens after Athens defeat in the Peloponnesian War in April 404 BC. Its two leading members were Tharamenes and Critias, a former acolyte of Socrates. ...

Theramenes remained a controversial figure after his death; Lysias vigorously denounced him while prosecuting several of his former political allies, but others defended his actions. Modern historical assessments have shifted over time; in the 19th century, Theramenes was almost universally condemned, but recent scholarship has produced more positive assessments. Some historians have found in Theramenes a selfish opportunist, others a principled moderate. The details of his actions, his motivations, and the nature of his character continue to be debated down to the present day. Lysias (d. ...

Historical record

No ancient biographies of Theramenes are known of, but his life and actions are relatively well documented, due to the extensive treatment given him in several surviving works. The Attic orator Lysias deals with him at length in several of his speeches, albeit in a very hostile manner.^[1] Theramenes also appears in several ancient narrative histories; Thucydides' account includes the beginnings of Theramenes' career, and Xenophon, picking up where Thucydides left off, gives a detailed account of several episodes from Theramenes career;^[2] Diodorus Siculus, probably drawing his account from Ephorus at most points, provides another account that varies widely from Xenophon's at several points.^[3] Theramenes also appears in several other sources, which, although they do not provide as many narrative details, have been used to illuminate the political disputes which surrounded Theramenes' life and memory. Lysias (d. ... Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ... Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , c. ... Diodorus Siculus (c. ... Ephorus (c. ...

Family

Only the barest outlines of Theramenes' life outside the public sphere have been preserved in the historical record. Both his father, Hagnon, and his paternal grandfather, Nicias, had played significant roles in Athenian public life in the decades before Theramenes' appearance on the scene. The family was quite wealthy; Nicias reportedly had over 1,000 slaves working in the silver mines at Laurium,^[4] and distributed his wealth lavishly to win favor with the public.^[5] As one of the leading politicians in Athens after the death of Pericles, Nicias had been the primary advocate of the Peace of Nicias, which ended the first part of the Peloponnesian War in 421 BC, and had been in supreme command of the Sicilian Expedition, dying in Sicily in 413 BC shortly before that expedition's disastrous defeat. Hagnon, meanwhile, had commanded the group of Greek colonists who founded Amphipolis in 437/6 BC,^[6] had served as a general on several occasions before and during the Peloponnesian War,^[7] and was one of the signers of the Peace of Nicias.^[8] Hagnon's career overlapped with his son's when he served as one of the ten commissioners appointed by the government of the 400 to draft a new constitution in 411 BC.^[9] Hagnon was an Athenian general and statesman. ... Nicias (d. ... Laurium or Laurion (Λαύριον, Thoricum before early 1000s BC, Ergastiri throughout the medieval times and the mid to late 1000s, Ergastiri is Greek for Workplace) is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greece and is one of the southernmost and the seat of... For the Shakespeare play, see Pericles, Prince of Tyre. ... The Peace of Nicias was a peace treaty that was signed between the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta in 421 BC, ending the first half of the Peloponnesian War. ... The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian expedition to Sicily from 415 BC to 413 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian, Latin, Sicilian and Spanish, Σικελία in Greek) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 km² and 5 million inhabitants. ... Localization of Amphipolis Amphipolis (in greek Ἀμφίπολις / Amphípolis) was an Ancient Greek city in the region once inhabited by the Edoni people in the present-day periphery of East Macedonia and Thrace. ...

Coup of 411 BC

Main article: Athenian coup of 411 BC

The Athenian coup of 411 BC was a revolutionary movement during the Peloponnesian War which overthrew the democratic government of ancient Athens, replacing it with a short-lived oligarchy. ...

Overthrow of the democracy

Alcibiades incited the oligarchic coup by promising Persian support to Athens if the democracy was overthrown.

Theramenes' first appearance in the historical record comes with his involvement in the oligarchic coup of 411 BC. In the wake of the Athenian defeat in Sicily, revolts began to break out among Athens' subject states in the Aegean Sea and the Peace of Nicias fell apart, with the Peloponnesian War resuming in full by 412 BC. In this context, a number of Athenian aristocrats, led by Peisander and with Theramenes prominent among their ranks, began to conspire to overthrow the city's democratic government. This intrigue was initiated by the exiled nobleman Alcibiades, who was at that time acting as an assistant to the Persian satrap Tissaphernes. Claiming that he had great influence with Tissaphernes, Alcibiades promised to return to Athens, bringing Persian support with him, if the democracy that had exiled him were replaced with an oligarchy.^[10] Accordingly, a number of trierarchs and other leaders of the Athenian army at Samos began planning the overthrow of the democracy. They eventually dispatched Peisander to Athens, where, by promising that the return of Alcibiades and an alliance with Persian would follow if the Athenians would replace their democracy with an oligarchy, he persuaded the Athenian ecclesia to send him as an emissary to Alcibiades, authorized to make whatever arrangements were necessary.^[11] Image File history File links Alcibiades. ... Image File history File links Alcibiades. ... For the ship Aegean Sea, see Aegean Sea (oil spill) The Aegean Sea (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος, Aeyéo Pélagos; Turkish: Ege Denizi) is a sea arm of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i. ... Alcibiades Cleiniou Scambonides (Greek: ; English /ælsɪbaɪədi:z/; 450 BC–404 BC), also transliterated as Alkibiades, was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. ... The Persepolis Ruins The Achaemenid dynasty (Old Persian:Hakamanishiya, Persian: هخامنشیان) - was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Tissaphernes (Pers. ... A Greek trireme Triremes were ancient war galleys with three rows of oars on each side. ... Samos (Greek Σάμος) is a Greek island in the Eastern Aegean Sea, located between the island of Chios to the North and the archipelagic complex of the Dodecanese islands to the South and in particular the island of Patmos and off the coast of Turkey, on what was formely known as... Ecclesia can refer to: Ecclesia (sociology of religion) Ecclesia (ancient Athens) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Alcibiades, however, whose influence with Tissaphernes was not so great as he had claimed, realized that he would not be able to persuade the satrap to ally with the Athenians, and, to hide this fact, demanded greater and greater concessions of them until they finally refused to comply. Disenchanted with Alcibiades but still determined to overthrow the democracy, Peisander and his companions returned to Samos,^[12] where the conspirators worked to secure their control over the army and encouraged a group of native Samian oligarchs to begin planning the overthrow of their own city's democracy.^[13] In Athens, meanwhile, a party of young oligarchic revolutionaries succeeded in gaining de facto control of the government through assassination and intimidation.^[14]

After making arrangements to their satisfaction at Samos the leaders of the conspiracy set sail for Athens. Among them was Theramenes; Thucydides refers to him as "one of the leaders of the party that put down the democracy—an able speaker and a man with ideas."^[15] Calling the assembly together, the conspirators proposed a series of measures by which the democracy was formally replaced with a government of 400 chosen men, who were to select and convene a larger body of 5,000 as time went on.^[16] Shortly afterwards, the conspirators went, under arms, to the council chamber, where they ordered the democratic council to disperse after collecting their pay; the council did as ordered, and from this point forward the mechanism of government was fully under the control of the oligarchic conspirators; they quickly changed the laws to reflect the new form of government they had imposed.^[17]

Conflict within the movement

A Greek hoplite. In 411 BC, Theramenes argued for a government in which all men of hoplite status or higher would be enfranchised.

At this point, several conflicts began to develop that threatened the future of the new government at Athens. First, the planned coup at Samos was thwarted by the efforts of Samian democrats and a group of Athenians who they entrusted with helping them.^[18] When the army at Samos heard the news of the coup at Athens, which arrived along with exaggerated reports of outrages being perpetrated by the new government, they declared their loyalty to democracy and hostility to the new government.^[19] At Athens, meanwhile, a split developed between the moderate and radical oligarchs, with Theramenes emerging alongside one Aristocrates son of Scelias as the leader of the moderate faction. The extremist faction, led by Phrynicus,containing such prominent leaders of the coup as Peisander and Antiphon, and dominant within the 400, opposed broadening the base of the oligarchy, and were willing to seek peace with Sparta on almost any terms.^[20] The moderates, on the other hand, although willing to seek peace with Sparta on terms that would preserve Athens' power, were not willing to sacrifice the empire and the fleet, and wanted to broaden the oligarchy to include the putative 5,000, presumably including all men of hoplite status or higher.^[21] Image File history File links Hoplite1. ... Image File history File links Hoplite1. ... 4th century Hoplite A hoplite armed with a spear. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 4th century Hoplite A hoplite armed with a spear. ...

Shortly after taking power, the extremist leaders of the revolution had begun constructing fortifications on Eteiona, a dominant point in the entrance to the harbor of Piraeus, ostensibly to protect the harbor against an attack from the fleet at Samos. With internal dissent increasing, they joined these new fortifications to existing walls to form a redoubt defensible against attacks from land or sea, which contained a large warehouse into which the extremists moved most of the city's corn supply.^[22] Theramenes protested strongly against the building of this fortification, arguing that its purpose was not to keep the democrats out, but to be handed over to the Spartans; Thucydides testifies that his charges were not without substance, as the extremists were actually contemplating such an action.^[23] Initially cautious (as enemies of the regime had been executed before), Theramenes and his party were emboldened and galvanized into action by several events. First, a Peloponnesian fleet, ostensibly dispatched to assist anti-Athenian forces on Euboea, was moving slowly up the coast of the Peloponnese; Theramenes charged that this fleet was planning to seize the fortifications on Eteiona, in collaboration with the extremists.^[24] Second, an Athenian militiaman, apparently acting on orders from conspirators higher in the ranks of the government, assassinated Phrynichus, the leader of the extremist faction. He escaped, but his accomplice, an Argive was captured; the prisoner, under torture, refused to state the name of his employer. With the extremists unable to take effective action in this case, and with the Peloponnesian fleet overrunning Aegina (a logical stopping point on the approach to Piraeus), Theramenes and his party decided to act. View of Piraeus A night ferry about to leave the port of Piraeus for the Dodecanese Piraeus, or Peiraeus (Modern Greek: Πειραιάς Peiraiás or Pireás, Ancient Greek / Katharevousa: Πειραιεύς Pireéfs) is a city in the periphery of Attica, Greece, located south of Athens. ... The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. ... Euboea or Negropont (Modern Greek: Εύβοια Evia, Ancient Greek Εúβοια Eúboia; see also List of traditional Greek place names), is the largest island of the Greek archipelago. ... Argos (Greek: Άργος, Árgos, IPA argos) is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplio, which was its historic harbor, named for Nauplius. ... Coordinates 37°45′ N 23°26′ E Country Greece Periphery Attica Prefecture Piraeus Population 13,552 source (2001) Area 87. ...

Aristocrates, who was commanding a regiment of hoplites in Piraeus, arrested the extremist general Alexicles; enraged, the extremist leaders of the 400 demanded action, and made a number of threats against Theramenes and his party. To their surprise, Theramenes volunteered to lead a force to rescue Alexicles; the leaders of the extremists acquiesced, and Theramenes set out to Piraeus, sharing his command with one other moderate and one extremist, Aristarchus. When Theramenes and his force arrived at Piraeus, Aristarchus, in a rage, exhorted the men to attack the hoplites who had seized Alexicles. Theramenes feigned rage as well, but when asked by the hoplites whether he thought that the fortification on Eteiona was a good idea, he responded that if they wanted to pull it down, he thought that would be good. Calling out that everyone who wanted the 5,000 to govern instead of the 400, the hoplites set to work.^[25] Donald Kagan has suggested that this call was probably instigated by Theramenes' party, who wanted the 5,000 to govern; the hoplites tearing down the fortification might well have preferred a return to the democracy.^[26] Several days later, the Peloponnesian fleet approached Piraeus, but, finding the fortifications destroyed and the port well defended, they sailed on to Euboea.^[27] Several days later, the 400 were formally deposed and replaced by a government of the 5,000; the most extreme of the oligarchs fled the city.^[28]

In command

The Athenian strategy at Cyzicus. Alcibiades' decoy force draws the Spartans out, and Thrasybulus and Theramenes move in behind to cut them off.

Under the government of the 5,000 and under the democracy that replaced it in 410 BC, Theramenes served as a general for several years, commanding fleets in the Aegean Sea and the Hellespont. Shortly after the rise of the government of the 5,000, Theramenes set sail to the Hellespont to join Thrasybulus and the generals elected by the army at Samos.^[29] After the Athenian victory at Abydos, he took thirty triremes to attack the rebels on Euboea, who were building a causeway to Boeotia to provide land access to their island. Unable to stop the construction, he plundered the territory of several rebellious cities,^[30] then travelled around the Aegean suppressing oligarchies and raising funds from various cities of the Athenian Empire.^[31] He then took his fleet to Macedon, where he assisted the Macedonian king Archelaus in his siege of Pydna, but, with that siege dragging on, he sailed on to join Thrasybulus in Thrace.^[32] The fleet soon moved on from there to challenge Mindarus' fleet, which had seized the city of Cyzicus. Theramenes commanded one wing of the Athenian fleet in the resulting Battle of Cyzicus, a decisive Athenian victory. In that battle, Alcibiades (who had been recalled from exile by the fleet at Samos shortly after the coup) led a decoy force that drew the Spartan fleet out into open water, while Thrasybulus and Theramenes, each commanding an independent squadron, cut off the Spartans' retreat. Mindarus was forced to flee to a nearby beach, and vicious fighting ensued on land as the Athenians attempted to drag off the Spartan ships. Thrasybulus and Alcibiades kept the Spartans occupied while Theramenes joined up with the nearby Athenian land forces and then hurried to the rescue; his arrival precipitated a total Athenian victory, in which all the Spartan ships were captured.^[33] In the wake of this victory, the Athenians captured Cyzicus and constructed a fort at Chrysopolis, from which they extracted a customs duty of one tenth on all ships passing through the Bosporus. Theramenes and another general remained at this fort with a garrison of thirty ships to oversee the collection of the duty.^[34] At Athens, meanwhile, the government of the 5,000 was replaced by a restored democracy within a few months of this battle; Donald Kagan has suggested that the absence of Theramenes, "the best spokesman for the moderates", paved the way for this restoration.^[35] Image File history File links Battle_of_Cyzicus. ... Image File history File links Battle_of_Cyzicus. ... The Helespont/Dardanelles, a long narrow strait dividing the Balkans (Europe) along the Gallipoli peninsula from Asia Anatolia (Asia Minor). ... Thrasybulus (Ancient Greek: , brave-willed, Eng. ... Battle of Abydos (410 BC) Battle of Abydos (322 BC) Battle of Abydos (200 BC) Battle of Abydos (989) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... A Greek trireme Triremes were ancient war galleys with three rows of oars on each side. ... Boeotia or Beotia (//, (Greek Βοιωτια; see also list of traditional Greek place names) was the central area of ancient Greece. ... Macedons regions and towns Macedon or Macedonia (from Greek ; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was the name of an ancient kingdom in the northern-most part of ancient Greece, bordering the kingdom of Epirus on the west and the region of Thrace to the east. ... The name Archelaus may refer to: Archelaus (philosopher), pupil of Anaxagoras, 5th century BC Archelaus I of Macedon, reigned 413-399 BC Archelaus (general), fought in the First and Third Mithridatic Wars (1st century BC) Archelaus of Cappadocia, reigned 36 BC-AD 17 Herod Archelaus, ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and... Pydna is also an rocket station of the American Army in Germany, see Pydna (rocket station) Pydna (in Greek: Πύδνα, older transliteration: Púdna), also Pidna was a Greek city in Ancient Macedonia, the most important in Pieria. ... Thrace (Bulgarian: , Greek: , Latin: , Turkish: ) is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. ... Mindarus was a Spartan admiral who commanded the Peloponnesian fleet in 411 and 410 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. ... Cyzicus was an ancient town of Mysia in Asia Minor, situated on the shoreward side of the present peninsula of Kapu-Dagh (Arctonnesus), which is said to have been originally an island in the Sea of Marmara, and to have been artificially connected with the mainland in historic times. ... The Battle of Cyzicus in 410 BC was a small-scale naval battle during the Peloponnesian War between an Athenian fleet led by Alcibiades and a Peloponnesian fleet led by Sparta. ... Maidens Tower, off the coast of Ãœsküdar A large and densely populated suburb of Istanbul, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus right opposite the heart of the great city, next to Kadıköy. ... Bosporus - photo taken from International Space Station. ...

Arginusae

Theramenes remained a general through 407 BC, but, in that year, when the Athenian defeat at Notium led to the downfall of Alcibiades and his political allies, Theramenes was not reelected. In the next year, however, he did sail as a trierarch in the scratch Athenian relief fleet sent out to relieve Conon, who had been blockaded with 40 triremes at Mytilene by Callicratidas. That relief force won a surprising victory over the more experienced Spartan force in the Battle of Arginusae, but in the wake of that battle Theramenes found himself in the middle of a massive controversy. At the end of the battle, the generals in command of the fleet had conferred to decide on their next steps. Several pressing concerns presented themselves; 50 Peloponnesian ships under Eteonicus remained at Mytilene, blockading Conon, and decisive action by the Athenians could lead to the destruction of that force as well, but, at the same time, ships needed to be dispatched to recover the sailors of the twenty five Athenian triremes sunk or disabled in the battle. Accordingly, all eight generals, with the larger part of the fleet, set out for Mytilene, while a rescue force under Thrasybulus and Theramenes, both of whom were trierarchs in this battle but had served as generals in prior campaigns, remained behind to pick up the survivors and retrieve corpses for burial.^[36] At this point, however, a severe storm blew up, and both of these forces were driven back to shore. Eteonicus escaped, a great number of Athenian sailors—estimates as to the precise figure have ranged from near 1,000 to as many as 5,000—drowned.^[37] Combatants Sparta Athens Commanders Lysander Antiochus Strength 70 ships 80 ships Casualties none 22 ships Th Battle of Notium (or Ephesus) in 406 BC, was a Spartan naval victory in the Peloponnesian War. ... Conon was an Athenian general at the end of the Peloponnesian War, in charge during the decisive loss of the navy at the battle of Aegospotami. ... Mytilene (Greek: Μυτιλήνη - Mytilíni, Turkish: Midilli), also Mytilini is the capital city of Lesbos (formerly known as Mytilene), a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, and the Lesbos Prefecture as well. ... Callicratidas was a Spartan naval commander in the Peloponnesian War. ... The naval Battle of Arginusae took place in 406 BCE during the Peloponnesian War. ...

An ancient Greek trireme. 25 Athenian triremes were disabled or sunk at Arginusae, and Theramenes was detailed to rescue the survivors.

Soon after the news of this public tragedy reached Athens, a massive controversy erupted over the apportionment of blame for the botched rescue. The public was furious over the loss of so many sailors, and over the failure to recover the bodies of the dead for burial, and the generals suspected that Thrasybulus and Theramenes, who had already returned to Athens, might have been responsible for stirring up the assembly against them, and wrote letters to the people denouncing the two trierarchs as responsible for the failed rescue.^[38] Thrasybulus and Theramenes were called before the assembly to defend their behavior; in their defense, Theramenes produced a letter from the generals in which they blamed only the storm for the mishap;^[39] the trierarchs were exonerated, and public anger now turned against the generals.^[40] All eight were deposed from office, and summoned back to Athens to stand trial. Two fled, but six returned as commanded to face the charges against them.^[41] Greek Trireme Source: US Military: This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Greek Trireme Source: US Military: This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

Diodorus notes that the generals committed a critical error by attempting to shift the blame onto Theramenes. "For," he states, "although they could have had the help of Theramenes and his associates in the trial, men who both were able orators and had many friends and, most important of all, had been participants in the events relative to the battle, they had them, on the contrary, as adversaries and bitter accusers."^[42] When the trial came, Theramenes' numerous political allies were among the leaders of the faction seeking their conviction.^[43] A bitter series of debates and legal procedures ensued as the assembly fought over what to do with the generals. At first, it appeared that they might be treated leniently, but in the end, public displays of bereavement by the families of the deceased and aggressive prosecution by a politician named Callixenus swung the opinion of the assembly; the six generals were tried as a group and executed.^[44] The Athenian public, as the grief and anger prompted by the disaster cooled, came to regret their action, and for thousands of years historians and commentators have pointed to the incident as perhaps the greatest miscarriage of justice the city's government ever perpetrated.^[45]

Negotiating a peace

In 405 BC, the Athenian navy was defeated and destroyed by the Peloponnesian fleet under Lysander at the Battle of Aegospotami in the Hellespont. Without sufficient funds to build another fleet, the Athenians could only wait as Lysander sailed westward across the Aegean towards their city. Blockaded by land and sea, with their food supplies running low, the Athenians sent ambassadors to the Spartan king Agis, whose army was camped outside their walls, offering to join the Spartan alliance if they were allowed to keep their walls and port; Agis, claiming that he had no power to negotiate, sent the ambassadors on to Sparta, but there they were told that, if they really wanted peace, they should bring the Spartans better proposals.^[46] The Athenians were initially intransigent, going so far as to imprison a man who suggested that a stretch of the long walls be torn down as the Spartans had insisted,^[47] but the reality of their situation soon compelled them to consider compromises. In this situation, Theramenes, in a speech to the assembly, requested that he be sent as an ambassador to Lysander (who was at this time besieging Samos) to determine the Spartans' intentions towards Athens; he also stated that he had discovered something that might improve the Athenians' situation, although he declined to share it with the citizenry.^[48] His request was granted, and Theramenes sailed to Samos to meet with Lysander; from there, he was sent to Sparta, perhaps stopping at Athens on the way.^[49] At Sparta, with representatives of all of Sparta's allies present, Theramenes and his colleagues negotiated the terms of the peace that ended the Peloponnesian War; the long walls and the walls of Piraeus were pulled down, the size of the Athenian fleet was sharply limited, and Athenian foreign poliy was subordinated to that of Sparta;^[50] the treaty also stipulated that the Athenians were to use "the constitution of their ancestors".^[51] Theramenes returned to Athens and presented the results of the negotiations to the assembly; although some still favored holding out, the majority voted to accept the terms; the Peloponnesian War, after 28 years, was at an end.^[52] Lysander (d. ... Combatants Sparta Athens Commanders Lysander 6 generals Strength 170 ships Casualties Very few All but 10 ships, thousands of sailors The Battle of Aegospotami was the last major battle of the Peloponnesian War. ... Agis II (d. ... The Long Walls generally refers to the walls connecting Athens to its port at Piraeus which were constructed in the mid 5th century BC, destroyed by the Spartans in 404 BC after Athens defeat in the Peloponnesian War, and rebuilt again with Persian support during the Corinthian War. ...

Thirty Tyrants

Main article: Thirty Tyrants

In the wake of Athens' surrender, the long walls were torn down and the troops besieging the city returned to their various homes; a Spartan garrison probably remained in Athens to supervise the dismantling of the walls; Lysander sailed off to Samos to complete the siege of that city.^[53] Another clause of the treaty that had ended the war had allowed all exiles to return to Athens, and these men, many of them oligarchic agitators who had been cast out by the democracy, were hard at work in the months after the treaty.^[54] Five "overseers" were appointed by the members of the oligarchic social clubs to plan the transition to an oligarchy.^[55] In July 404 BC, they summoned Lysander back to Athens, where he supervised over a change of government; an oligarchic politician, Dracontides, proposed in the council to place the government in the hands of thirty chosen men; Theramenes supported this motion,^[56] and, with Lysander threatening to punish the Athenians for failing to dismantle the walls quickly enough unless they assented, it passed the assembly.^[57] Thirty men were selected: ten appointed by the "overseers", ten chosen by Theramenes (including himself), and ten picked by Lysander.^[58] The Thirty Tyrants were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens after Athens defeat in the Peloponnesian War in April 404 BC. Its two leading members were Tharamenes and Critias, a former acolyte of Socrates. ...

This government, which soon came to be known as the "Thirty Tyrants" for its excesses and atrocities, rapidly set about establishing its control over the city. The oligarchs, led by Critias, one of the "overseers" and a former exile, summoned a Spartan garrison to ensure their safety and then initiated a reign of terror, executing any men who they thought might possess sufficient initiative or a large enough following to effectively challenge them.^[59] It was this campaign that first drove a wedge between Theramenes and the leaders of the Thirty; initially a supporter of Critias, Theramenes now argued that it was unnecessary to execute men who had shown no sign of wishing the oligarchy harm just because they had been popular under the democracy.^[60] This protest, however, failed to slow the pace of the executions, so Theramenes next argued that, if the oligarchy was to govern by force, it must at least expand its base;^[61] fearful that Theramenes might lead a popular movement against them, Critias and the leaders of the Thirty issued a list of 3,000 men who would be associates in the new government. When Theramenes again objected that this number was still too small, the leaders arranged for a military review to be staged after which the citizens were ordered to pile their arms; with the help of the Spartan garrison, the oligarchs then confiscated all arms except those belonging to the 3,000.^[62] This, in turn, marked the beginning of even greater excesses; to pay the Spartan garrison's wages, Critias and the leaders ordered each of the Thirty to arrest and execute a metic, or resident alien, and confiscate his property. Theramenes, protesting that this action was worse than the worst excesses of the democracy, refused follow the order.^[63] Critias (Greek , 460-403 BC), was born in Athens, son of Callaeschrus, was the uncle of Plato, leading member of the Thirty Tyrants, and one of the most violent. ... In ancient Greece, the term metic meant resident alien, a person who did not have citizen rights in their Greek city-state (polis) of residence. ...

Theramenes was dragged through the Athenian agora on the way to his execution.

Critias and his compatriots, in the light of these events, decided that Theramenes had become an intolerable threat to their rule; accordingly, speaking before the assembly of the 3,000, Critias denounced Theramenes as a born traitor, always ready to shift his political allegiances with the expediencies of the moment.^[64] Famously, he branded him with the nickname "cothurnus", the name of a boot worn on the stage that could fit either foot; Theramenes, he proclaimed, was ready to serve either democratic or oligarchic causes, seeking only to further his own personal interest. In an impassioned response, Theramenes denied that his politics had ever been inconsistent.^[65] He had always, he insisted, favored a moderate policy, neither extreme democracy nor extreme oligarchy, and held true to the ideal of a government composed of men of hoplite status or higher, who would be able to be of use to the state. This speech had a substantial effect on the audience, and Critias saw that, if the case were brought to a vote, Theramenes would be acquitted.^[66] Accordingly, after conferring with the Thirty, Critias ordered men with daggers to line the stage in front of the audience and then struck Theramenes' name from the roster of the 3,000, denying him his right to a trial.^[67] Theramenes, springing to a nearby altar for sanctuary, admonished the assemblage not to permit his murder, but to no avail; the Eleven, keepers of the prison, entered, dragged him away, and forced him to drink a cup of hemlock. Theramenes, imitating a popular drinking game in which the drinker toasted a loved one as he finished his cup, downed the poison and then flung the dregs to the floor, exclaiming “Here's to the health of my beloved Critias!”^[68] Download high resolution version (1280x960, 290 KB)The Agora in Athens. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 290 KB)The Agora in Athens. ... An agora (αγορά), translatable as marketplace, was an essential part of an ancient Greek polis or city-state. ...

Historiography

The historian Xenophon wrote a scathing account of Theramenes' actions after Arginusae, but portrayed his resistance to the Thirty Tyrants favorably.

Theramenes lived a controversial life, and his death did not end the struggle over how to interpret his actions. In the years after his death, his reputation became an item of contention as former associates of his defended themselves against prosecutors under the restored democracy. (The regime of the Thirty lasted only until 403 BC.) It would appear that, as they defended themselves before democratic-sympathizing Athenian jurymen, Theramenes' former comrades in the oligarchy attempted to exculpate themselves by associating their actions with those of Theramenes and portraying him as a steadfast defender of the Athenian democracy; examples of such accounts can be found in Diodorus Siculus's work and in the "Theramenes parchment", a fragmentary work discovered in the 1960s.^[69] An example of the sort of attack this portrayal was intended to defend against can be found in two orations of Lysias, Against Eratosthenes and Against Agoratus; there, Theramenes is portrayed as treasonous and self-interested, doing tremendous harm to the Athenian cause through his machinations.^[70] Xenophon adopts a similarly hostile attitude in the early parts of his work, but apparently had a change of heart during the chronological break in composition that divides the second book of the Hellenica; his portrayal of Theramenes during the reign of the Thirty Tyrants is altogether more favorable than that of his earlier years.^[71] A final portrayal is offered by Aristotle, who, in his Constitution of the Athenians, portrays Theramenes as a moderate and a model citizen;^[72] historians have disputed the origin of this account, with some treating it as a product of 4th century BC propaganda by a moderate "Theramenean" party, while others, such as Philip Harding, see no evidence for such a tradition and argue that Aristotle's treatment of Theramenes is entirely a product of his own reassessment of the man.^[73] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (400x617, 87 KB) Xenophon Source: Bibliothek des allgemeinen und praktischen Wissens. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (400x617, 87 KB) Xenophon Source: Bibliothek des allgemeinen und praktischen Wissens. ... Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , c. ... Lysias (d. ... Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... The Constitution of the Athenians or of Athens (or Athenaion Politeia, or The Athenians) is the name of either of two texts from Classical antiquity, one probably by Aristotle, the other attributed to Xenophon, but not by him. ...

Few if any ancient figures have undergone so dramatic a shift in standing in the eyes of modern scholars as Theramenes has since the late 19th century. Prior to that time, Xenophon's and Lysias' unfavorable accounts were widely accepted, and Theramenes was execrated as a turncoat and blamed for instigating the execution of the generals after Arginusae.^[74][75] The discovery of Aristotle's Constitution of the Athenians in 1890 reversed this trend for the broad assessment of Theramenes' character,^[76] and Diodorus' presentation of the Arginusae trial has been preferred by scholars since Antony Andrewes undermined Xenophon's account in the 1970s; Diodorus, though still ignored in his more melodramatic moments, such as his elaborate presentation of Theramenes' last moments,^[77] is now preferred on a number of issues, and on the Arginusae trial in particular.^[78] Aristophanes, in The Frogs, pokes fun at Theramenes' ability to extricate himself from tight spots, but delivers none of the scathing rebukes one would expect for a politician whose view in the shocking events after Arginusae had been regarded as particularly blameworthy, and modern scholars have seen in this a more accurate depiction of how Theramenes was perceived in his time; Lysias, meanwhile, who mercilessly attacks Theramenes on many accounts, has nothing negative to say about the aftermath of Arginusae.^[79] Sketch of Aristophanes Aristophanes (Greek: , c. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Frogs in Greek The Frogs (Βάτραχοι (Bátrachoi)) is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. ...

Recent works have universally accepted the image of Theramenes as a moderate, committed to the ideal of a hoplite-based broad oligarchy. Donald Kagan has said of him that "...his entire career reveals him to be a patriot and a true moderate, sincerely committed to a constitution granting power to the hoplite class, whether in the form of a limited democracy or a broadly based oligarchy",^[80] while John Fine has noted that "like many a person following a middle course, he was hated by both political extremes."^[81] The constitution of the 5,000 is recognized as his political masterpiece;^[82] his attempt to bring about a similar shift towards moderatism in 404 led directly to his death. That death, meanwhile, has become famous for its drama, and the story of Theramenes' final moments has been repeated over and over throughout classical historiography. "Because he met his death defying a tyrant," John Fine notes, "it is easy to idealize Theramenes."^[83] In the millennia since his death, Theramenes has been both idealized and reviled; his brief seven year career, touching as it did on all the major points of controversy in the last years of the Peloponnesian War, has been subject to myriad different interpretations. From the polemical contemporary works which describe his career have emerged the outlines of a complex figure, charting a dangerous course through the chaos of the late 5th century Athenian political scene; although historians from ancient times to the present have offered far more specific portraits, of one form or another, it may be that nothing more than that outline will ever be known with certainty. Donald Kagan (born 1932) is a Yale historian specializing in ancient Greece, notable for his four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War. ...

References

Ancient sources

• Aristotle: Constitution of the Athenians
• Diodorus Siculus, Library
• Lysias, Against Eratosthenes
• Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War
• Xenophon: Hellenica

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Diodorus Siculus (c. ... Lysias (d. ... Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ... Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , c. ...

Modern sources

• Andrewes, A. "The Arginousai Trial", Phoenix, Vol. 28 No. 1 (Spring 1974) pp. 112-122
• Fine, John V.A. The Ancient Greeks: A critical history (Harvard University Press, 1983) ISBN 0-674-03314-0
• Harding, Philip. "The Theramenes Myth", Phoenix, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Spring 1974), pp. 101-111
• Hornblower, Simon. The Greek World 479-323 BC (Routledge, 1991) ISBN 0-415-06557-7
• Kagan, Donald. The Peloponnesian War (Penguin Books, 2003). ISBN 0-670-03211-5
• Keaney, John J. "A Source/Model of Aristotle's Portrait of Theramenes". The Classical Journal, Vol. 75, No. 1 (Oct.–Nov. 1979)pp.40-41
• Peck, Harry Thurston (1898). Harper's Dictionary Of Classical Literature And Antiquities. 
• Perrin, Bernadotte, "The Rehabilitation of Theramenes", The American Historical Review, Vol. 9 No. 4 (July 1904) pp.649-669

Donald Kagan (born 1932) is a Yale historian specializing in ancient Greece, notable for his four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War. ...

Notes

Aristotle (Greek: AristotélÄ“s) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Fyli or Fili (Greek: Φυλή), Latin and ancient form: Phyle, is a suburb in the northwestern part of Athens, Greece. ...

Athenian statesmen | Ancient Greece
Aeschines - Agyrrhius - Alcibiades - Andocides - Archinus - Aristides - Aristogeiton - Aristophon - Autocles
Callistratus - Chremonides - Cleisthenes - Cleon - Critias - Demades - Demetrius Phalereus - Demochares - Democles - Demosthenes
Ephialtes - Eubulus - Hyperbolus - Hypereides - Cimon - Cleophon - Laches- Lycurgus - Lysicles
Miltiades - Moerocles - Nicias - Peisistratus - Pericles - Philinus - Phocion - Themistocles
Theramenes - Thrasybulus - Thucydides - Xanthippus