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Critias (/ˈkrɪtiəs/; Ancient Greek: Κριτίας, Kritias; c. 460 – 403 BC) was an ancient Athenian poet, philosopher and political leader. He is known today for being a student of Socrates, a writer of some regard, and for becoming the leader of the Thirty Tyrants, who ruled Athens for several months after the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War in 404/403.

Key Information

Ancestry

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Plato's relatives in the Socratic dialogs
Plato's relatives in the Socratic dialogues

Critias was the scion of one of the premier families in Athens. The evidence for his lineage comes from several sources and there are numerous gaps in what they have to say. The reconstruction in Davies' Athenian Propertied Families is the most reliable and his discussion covers all the unknowns and suppositions.[1] Without detailing the uncertainties here, as best we know, his ancestors were:

The progenitor of the family was Dropides, who lived in the 7th century BCE. He had two sons: Critias I and Dropides II. The latter was a "relative and a dear friend" of Solon, the lawgiver of Athens.[2] Both men were in their prime at the beginning of the 6th century BCE and Dropides served as archon eponymous shortly after Solon held that position in 594/3.[3] Solon died in the late 560s; presumably Dropides did as well.

Dropides II was the father of Critias II, who lived into the late 6th century. The son of Critias II was Leaides, who is known only from an ostracon dating to the 480s, which named "Critias [III] son of Leaides" as the miscreant deserving of exile. It was discovered in a well near a road southwest of the Athenian agora in 1936.[4] Critias III in turn had Callaeschus, the father of Critias IV, the tyrant.

The family clearly had a long and illustrious (if at times contentious) history in Athenian politics. In addition to the Solon connection, they were related to Plato's family, equally well established among the Athenian elite, and also to the family of the orator Andocides.[5]

Early life

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Little is known of Critias' early years. Athenaeus reported that he was a trained aulos player.[6]  He was best attested as a poet, with a variety of forms to his credit: hexameters, elegies, and dramas. Among the plays tentatively assigned to him are Tennis, Rhadamanthys, Pirithus, and the satyr play Sisyphus. All of these, however, have been contested by both ancient and modern scholars, with Euripides proposed as the most likely alternate author.[7] (The "Sisyphus fragment" presumably comes from the satyr play – again, attributed to either Critias or Euripides.)

Critias also wrote prose. Among his most important works were a series of "Commonwealths" or treatises on the governments of various city-states. Athens, Lacedaemonia (Sparta), and Thessaly are specific mentions made in ancient sources.[8] Other works include Aphorisms, Lectures, On the Nature of Desires or of Virtues, and Proems(Prologues) for Public Speaking.[9]

He believed religion could play an important role in achieving obedience to the state.[10] According to pseudo-Plutarch, he was among those who criticized the logographer Antiphon,[11] though there is little evidence that he (or Antiphon) participated in Athenian politics during the years that the latter was active (430s and 420s). What little there is was provided by Cicero, who names him as an orator, along with Lysias and Theramenes.

Hard upon them (the orators Pericles, Alcibiades, and Thucydides [not the historian]) came Critias, Theramenes, and Lysias. Much was written down by Lysias, some things by Critias; we hear of Theramenes.[12]

In terms of style, he was described as "lofty of sentiment, also pride", "stately, much like Antiphon, and sublime, verging on majesty, and says much in the negative, yet is rather pure in style".[13]

In general he appears to have stayed in the background, or perhaps on the periphery of Athenian politics – dabbling rather than plunging headlong. All this began to change in 415.

Student of Socrates

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The philosopher Socrates was well known for attracting the young men of Athens' elite. He questioned democracy and conventional morality, and challenged the certainty with which many intellectuals propounded their thoughts endeared him to the rebellious adolescent minds of the younger generation.[14] Critias was among those who gravitated to him, and the two formed a friendship that was to last many years, though eventually they drifted apart. Plato, who cast Socrates as the protagonist of most of his dialogues, included Critias as an interlocutor in two of them.[15] Though these were written many years after both Socrates and Critias were dead, Plato made no mention in them of the activities that tarnished Critias’ reputation in his later years.

Mutilation of the Hermes

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In the spring of 415, the Athenians decided to send an armada to Sicily to counter a perceived threat from the city of Syracuse. Just before it was to sail, one of the social clubs in Athens staged a city-wide raid where they mutilated statues of the god Hermes that stood outside homes and in various locations around Athens. The citizens were outraged and saw this event as a bad omen. Even though the fleet sailed on schedule, the search for the perpetrators went on relentlessly afterwards. Among those arrested was Critias. While many of the accused were summarily executed or left town to escape prosecution, Critias was eventually exonerated when the testimony of his accuser was discredited by Andocides and then withdrawn. As a member of Athens’ elite and in view of his later actions, it is not clear whether he was involved or not, but he was freed nonetheless.[16]

The Four Hundred

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The failure of the Sicilian expedition in 413, in which tens of thousands of Athenian soldiers were killed or captured, rocked the city's political and social stability.[17] In 411, as Athenian prosecution of the Peloponnesian War limped along, a junta of oligarchic sympathizers contrived to take over the government and end the war. They succeeded in convincing the Athenian Assembly that governmental change was necessary and instituted in place of it the council of the Four Hundred.[18] The coup was put down a few months later and democracy gradually restored.[19]

Critias has been suspected by some modern scholars as being a member of the Four Hundred, but there is little evidence of this.[20] Arguing against that possibility is that in the days following their deposition he was recorded as proposing two decrees before the reconstituted Assembly: one to hold a post-mortem trial of one of the perpetrators of the coup, one Phrynichus,[21] the other to repatriate his friend Alcibiades,[22] who had been exiled at the start of the Sicilian expedition for mocking the Eleusinian Mysteries, the most sacred religious cult at Athens.[23] The playboy-general was at that time assisting the Athenian fleet at Samos and attempting to ingratiate himself with those who had banished him a few years earlier.[24] These two actions, while not clearly exonerating Critias, show that he was politically adept enough to shed the stigma of participating in the takeover, if he indeed had.

Alcibiades' rapprochement with his fellow citizens was not to last. In 407, while commanding a fleet in the eastern Aegean, he temporarily handed over some of his ships to a subordinate, who proceeded to instigate and then lose an encounter with the Spartan fleet in the area. Alcibiades was held responsible and banished once again.[25] As his advocate, Critias was subsequently banished as well, and he spent the next few years in Thessaly.[26]

While there, he was reported by Xenophon to be "setting up a democracy in Thessaly and was arming the Penestae against their masters".[27] Also, he "consorted with men subject to lawlessness rather than to a sense of justice".[28] Countering this, Philostratus said, "he rendered their oligarchies the more grievous by conversing with those in power there and by attacking all democracy. He slandered the Athenians, claiming that they, of all mankind, erred the most".[29]

Tyranny of the Thirty

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After the battle of Aigospotami in 405,[30] in which the Athenian fleet was destroyed, the city was besieged by the Spartans and eventually capitulated. The Spartans demanded that the city take down its walls, recall its exiles (oligarchic sympathizers all), and restore the ancient government – i.e., dismantle its democracy. At their "suggestion", a ruling body of thirty governors was selected, mimicking Sparta's own ruling board of thirty, the gerousia. Critias had returned from Thessaly as part of the recall of the exiles and now became one of the leaders of the "Thirty".[31] One source said that they also appointed five men to supervise this group, called ephors after the similar body at Sparta. Critias was one of the five.[32] A third body was designated: the Three Thousand – those of the cavalry (hippeis) and infantry (hoplite) classes, who were allowed to keep their armor and weapons after the rest of the citizens had been forcibly disarmed. This body would constitute the "citizenry" of the new Athens. Socrates and Xenophon (our source for much of this history) were among this group.

During the next few months, as the Thirty consolidated their hold on the institutions of government, they arrested, confiscated the property of, and summarily executed a wider and wider swath of Athenian citizens and resident aliens (metics). At every step, Critias was the leading advocate for more extreme levels of violence, to the point where he was getting resistance even from within the Thirty. The leading "moderate" was Theramenes, and his continued cautioning against the continuing destruction ultimately got him arrested and executed at Critias' direction.[33]

Critias' relationship with Socrates withered during these months. At one point, the Thirty compelled the Three Thousand to begin arresting metics so they could be stripped of their property and executed – this so the citizens would become complicit in the slaughter. With blood on their hands, they would be less likely to attempt an overthrow of the oligarchy. When Socrates was ordered to go with three others to arrest one Leon of Salamis, he ignored the order and simply "went home".[34] He was later recorded as offering this not-so-oblique criticism of Critias:

It seems enough to me that a herdsman who lets his cattle decrease and go to the bad should not admit that he is a poor cowherd; but stranger still that a statesman, when he causes the citizens to decrease and go to the bad, should feel no shame nor think himself a poor statesman.[35]

At another point, his critique became more personal. Xenophon related that Socrates took his old friend to task for being overly enamored with a young man.

Critias seems to have the feelings of a pig: he can no more keep away from Euthydemus than pigs can help rubbing themselves against stones.[36]

Socrates' reputation and general popularity protected him from the punishment meted out to Theramenes. Nonetheless:

Now Critias bore a grudge against Socrates for this; and when he was … drafting laws with Charicles, he bore it in mind. He inserted a clause which made it illegal "to teach the art of words." It was a calculated insult to Socrates, whom he saw no means of attacking except by imputing to him the practice constantly attributed to philosophers,[37] and so making him unpopular.[38]

When Critias and Charicles confronted Socrates with the new law, the latter did what he had done so many times before and began to probe its actual meaning. Who could he talk to, or not talk to, and about what? After several minutes of this, Socrates summarized:

"Then must I keep off the subjects of which these supply illustrations: Justice, Holiness, and so forth?" "Indeed yes," said Charicles, "and cowherds too: else you may find the cattle decrease."[39]

Many Athenians had left the city when the attacks of the Thirty began. In the spring of 403, they returned under the leadership of Thrasyboulus and eventually commandeered the fortress called Munichia in Peiraieus, Athens' port city. When the Thirty brought their forces to Piraeus to root them out, the two armies fought in the streets. During this confrontation Critias was killed, which left the oligarchs without their strongest leader. This spelled doom for their reign, and they were soon deposed and democracy reestablished.[40]

Legacy

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Critias was in ancient times castigated for his activities under the Thirty. Philostratus, in his Lives of the Sophists, had much to say about him. His most damning comments were:

In cruelty and in bloodthirstiness he outdid the Thirty. He also collaborated with the Spartans in absurd resolution in order that Attica, emptied of its flock of men, might become a grazing-ground for sheep. Hence it seems to me that he is the worst of all the men who have gained a reputation for wickedness… It appears to some that he became a good man toward the end of his life, inasmuch as he employed tyranny as his winding-sheet [burial shroud]. But let it be declared on my part that none among men died well in behalf of a poor choice. And it seems to me that for this reason the man's wisdom and his thoughts were taken less seriously by the Greeks. Unless speech corresponds to character, we shall appear to be discoursing in an alien language, as though we were playing flutes.[41]

Xenophon lumped Critias in with his friend Alcibiades in his criticism:

Critias and Alcibiades became disciples of Socrates and did the city much harm. For, in the oligarchy, Critias turned into the most thievish and violent and murderous of all, while Alcibiades, in the democracy, was of all men the most uncontrolled and wanton and violent. If the two of them did the city harm, I shall not offer a defense.[42]

Plato, on the other hand, said nothing disparaging about Critias directly – either about his exile in Thessaly or his time in the Thirty. Yet, the philosopher was loath to join the oligarchy because of its violent means. In his seventh letter, he said:

In the days of my youth my experience was the same as that of many others. I thought that as soon as I should become my own master I would immediately enter into public life. But it so happened, I found, that the following changes occurred in the political situation. In the government then existing, reviled as it was by many, a revolution took place; and the revolution was headed by fifty-one leaders, of whom eleven were in the City and ten in the Piraeus (each of these sections dealing with the market and with all municipal matters requiring management) and Thirty were established as irresponsible rulers of all. Now of these some were actually connections and acquaintances of mine; and indeed they invited me at once to join their administration, thinking it would be congenial. The feelings I then experienced, owing to my youth,[43] were in no way surprising: for I imagined that they would administer the State by leading it out of an unjust way of life into a just way, and consequently I gave my mind to them very diligently, to see what they would do. And indeed I saw how these men within a short time caused men to look back on the former government as a golden age; and above all how they treated my aged friend Socrates, whom I would hardly scruple to call the most just of men then living, when they tried to send him, along with others, after one of the citizens, to fetch him by force that he might be put to death—their object being that Socrates, whether he wished or no, might be made to share in their political actions; he, however, refused to obey and risked the uttermost penalties rather than be a partaker in their unholy deeds.[44] So when I beheld all these actions and others of a similar grave kind, I was indignant, and I withdrew myself from the evil practices then going on.[45]

For all the condemnation he received from his contemporaries, Critias was soon forgotten by most people. By the late 4th century, Aristotle could write:

The many do not demand a statement of the case if you wish to extol Achilles, for all know his deeds; yet it is necessary to make use of them. Also, if you wish to extol Critias, it is necessary. For not many know his deeds.[46]

As for Critias' efforts as a poet and essayist, his works survived for several centuries, as the above citations attest, but his repute as a writer eventually faded. Philostratus, writing in the 3rd century CE, said of Critias:

He wrote tragedies, elegies, and prose works, of which not enough has survived for any sure estimate to be made of his talent. He was greatly admired by the later sophists, especially by Herodes Atticus.[47]

Herodes Atticus, a 2nd-century CE Roman senator and rhetorician, attempted a revival of Critias’ works in the 2nd century CE. Among his extensive comments on Herodes, Philostratus inserted this:

For while he devoted himself to the study of all the older writers, from Critias he was inseparable, and he made the Greeks better acquainted with him, since he had hitherto been neglected and overlooked.[48]

Our[who?] judgment today would not be much different than that of Philostratus, since Critias' extant works have diminished still further. What fragments survive were collected by the German historian Herman Diels and first published in his Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker in 1903 – in Greek. This seminal work was later revised several times, most recently by Walter Kranz in 1959. For discussions of Critias and translations of his fragments into English, see the works by Kathleen Freeman and Rosamund Kent Sprague listed in the references.

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See also

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Citations

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  1. ^ Davies, John K. Athenian Propertied Families, p. 322 (§ 8792)
  2. ^ Plato, Timaeus, 20e.
  3. ^ The Athenian year began shortly after the summer solstice. Each year was designated by the name of the chief magistrate (archon eponymous) for the year. Today the years are designated by the two BCE years spanned by the Athenian year.
  4. ^ Vanderpool, Eugene. "Some Ostraka from the Athenian Agora.", p. 399 (#12).
  5. ^ Andocides, On the Mysteries, i.47.
  6. ^ Athenaeus Deipnosophistae, iv.184d.
  7. ^ Sprague, Rosamond Kent, ed. The Older Sophists, p. 242.
  8. ^ Sprague, p. 261 ff.
  9. ^ Sprague, p. 264 ff.
  10. ^ Theodosiadis, Michail; Vavouras, Elias (September 2023). "Religion as a Means of Political Conformity and Obedience: From Critias to Thomas Hobbes". Religions. 14 (9): 1180. doi:10.3390/rel14091180. ISSN 2077-1444.
  11. ^ [Plutarch], Lives of the Ten Orators, p. 832de (Antiphon).
  12. ^ Cicero, On the Orator, ii.23.93.
  13. ^ Cicero and Hermogenes, quoted in Sprague, p. 248.
  14. ^ Plato (1967). Twelve Volumes, Lysis. Symposium. Gorgias (3rd ed.). Harvard: Harvard University Press.
  15. ^ Charmides and Protagoras.
  16. ^ Thucydides, iv.27.1-3; Andocides, i.47.
  17. ^ Thucydides, viii.1.1-4.
  18. ^ Thucydides, viii.61 ff.
  19. ^ Thucydides, viii.92.ff.
  20. ^ The one reference is by pseudo-Demosthenes, Against Theocrines, 6.
  21. ^ Lycurgus, Against Leocrates, 113.
  22. ^ Thucydides, viii.97.3; Plutarch, Life of Alcibiades, 33.1.
  23. ^ Thucydides, vi.28 ff.
  24. ^ Thucydides, viii.81 ff.
  25. ^ Herodotus, Hellenica, i.5.11-17.
  26. ^ Herodotus, Hellenica, ii.3.15.
  27. ^ Xenophon, Hellenica, ii.3.36.
  28. ^ Xen. Memorabilia, i.2.24.
  29. ^ Philostratus, i.16.
  30. ^ Xenophon, Hellenica, ii.1.17 ff.
  31. ^ Xenophon, Hellenica, ii.2.10-ii.3.2.
  32. ^ Lysias, Against Eratosthenes, xii.43.
  33. ^ Xenophon, Hellenica, ii.3.21-55.
  34. ^ Plato, Apology, 32d.
  35. ^ Xenophon, Memorabilia, i.2.32.
  36. ^ Xenophon, Memorabilia, i.2.30.
  37. ^ This would be more appropriately be "sophists".
  38. ^ Xenophon, Memorabilia, i.2.31.
  39. ^ Xenophon, Memorabilia, i.2.37.
  40. ^ Xenophon, Hellenica. ii.4.10-19.
  41. ^ Philostratus, Lives of the Sophists, i.16.
  42. ^ Xenophon, Memorabilia, i.2.12-13.
  43. ^ Plato was about twenty at the time. See Nails, p. 243 ff. for his birth year of 424.
  44. ^ See above, Apology32d.
  45. ^ Plato, Letter 7, 324b-325a.
  46. ^ Aristotle, Rhetoric, iii.16 (1416b26)
  47. ^ Philostratus, Lives of the Sophists, i.14, § 501.
  48. ^ Philostratus, Lives,ii.1, § 565.

General references

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Critias

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Critias (c. 460–403 BCE), son of Callaeschrus, was an Athenian statesman, philosopher, poet, and rhetorician renowned for his multifaceted contributions to literature and politics, as well as his leadership of the oligarchic following ' defeat in the . A second cousin of and a close associate of , Critias belonged to an elite family tracing descent from and engaged in intellectual circles that influenced early Socratic thought. His surviving fragments reveal a prolific author of tragedies, elegies, plays, and constitutional treatises, including works praising Spartan institutions and a controversial fragment from Sisyphus positing that law and fear of were human inventions to curb natural human tendencies toward injustice. As the leader of the installed by in 404 BCE, Critias oversaw a regime of intense repression, executing or exiling thousands of Athenian democrats, confiscating properties, and even ordering the assassination of , actions that precipitated civil conflict and his own death in battle at against ' democratic forces in 403 BCE. While ancient sources like depict his tyranny as excessively brutal, Critias' advocacy for disciplined governance reflected broader oligarchic critiques of Athenian democracy's instability, though his methods alienated even moderate allies like , whom he executed.

Early Life

Ancestry and Family

Critias was the son of Callaeschrus, born into one of ' most distinguished aristocratic families during the mid-fifth century BCE. His lineage connected to the Eupatrid elite that dominated before the establishment of , with ancestors who had served as archons across multiple generations. The family belonged to the ancient clan of the Bouzygidae, which also included the renowned lawgiver among its kin, underscoring their deep roots in Athenian nobility. Critias maintained close familial ties to the philosopher through 's maternal line, positioned as a second cousin or maternal relative via Perictione's ancestry. His nephew Charmides, of Critias' , similarly emerged from this elite circle and later joined him as a key figure in the . No records indicate Critias had direct descendants, though his household and associations amplified the family's political influence in oligarchic circles.

Education and Intellectual Formation

Critias, born around 460 BCE into a prominent Athenian aristocratic family of the Eupatrid clan, received a traditional elite education emphasizing , , and athletics, as was customary for sons of the . His father, Callaeschrus, a , , and , likely influenced his early interests in literature and intellectual pursuits. Critias excelled in these areas, gaining renown as a skilled flutist and possibly securing victories at the and in 438 BCE, demonstrating the physical and artistic training integral to Athenian . In his youth, Critias engaged with the vibrant intellectual circles of fifth-century , associating with leading sophists such as , , , and rhetoricians like and , whose grand, antithetical styles shaped his own rhetorical approach. By around 433 BCE, as depicted in Plato's Protagoras, he participated in discussions among these figures and , reflecting exposure to sophistic methods of argumentation, , and critiques of traditional beliefs. While sometimes classified as a due to his rationalist fragments and anti-democratic leanings, this label is debated among scholars, as Critias lacked the itinerant teaching typical of the group and focused more on political application than professional instruction. Critias also formed a significant, though contentious, association with , whom he regarded as a companion and intellectual foil, engaging in dialogues that probed ethics, piety, and governance. His materialist leanings, evident in fragments attributing the soul to blood (echoing ), suggest broader influences from pre-Socratic thinkers. Travels to regions like , , and possibly further honed his cosmopolitan outlook, informing works such as the of the Lacedaemonians and exposing him to varied constitutional models beyond . These experiences, combined with self-directed study in and —evidenced by his early compositions in , , and prose—solidified his formation as a polymathic thinker skeptical of democratic excess and religious orthodoxy.

Association with Socrates

Critias maintained a longstanding association with Socrates, beginning in his youth during the mid-5th century BC, as part of the philosopher's circle of interlocutors and students in Athens. Plato's dialogues depict Critias participating in Socratic discussions, such as in the Protagoras, set circa 433 BC, where he appears alongside Socrates, Protagoras, and other sophists amid debates on virtue and teachability. Similarly, in the Charmides, Critias engages Socrates on the nature of temperance (sophrosyne), reflecting an early intellectual exchange influenced by familial ties, as Critias was a relative of Plato through the family of Dropides. Xenophon, another Socratic disciple, acknowledges Critias as having been influenced by but defends the philosopher in his Memorabilia (I.2), arguing that Critias and failed to heed Socrates' ethical admonitions against licentiousness and , instead pursuing their own ambitions. This portrayal counters accusations that Socrates corrupted prominent figures like Critias, emphasizing instead Socrates' attempts to instill and . By 404 BC, after the Athenian defeat in the , Critias' rise as leader of the strained their relationship; reports Critias harbored a personal grudge against for past rebukes and retaliated by prohibiting the teaching of (logographia), a measure interpreted as targeted at Socrates' dialectical method. publicly refused Critias' order to arrest the Leon of Salamis, an act of that highlighted their divergence amid the regime's violence. This association posthumously damaged Socrates at his 399 BC trial, where prosecutors, including Anytus, cited Critias' tyranny as evidence of Socrates corrupting the youth, linking the philosopher's teachings to anti-democratic extremism despite Critias' oligarchic views predating his Socratic exposure. Xenophon and Plato rebut this by attributing Critias' actions to his sophistic influences and willful rejection of Socratic ethics, not direct causation from the philosopher's instruction.

Intellectual Contributions

Literary Works: Poetry and Drama

Critias composed works in various poetic meters and dramatic genres, with surviving fragments revealing interests in moral , political ideals, and mythological themes. His poetic output includes and hexameters, often sympotic or didactic in nature, while his dramas encompass and possibly a . These fragments, preserved in later ancient compilations such as those edited by Diels-Kranz, total around nine from , one from a , and several from , indicating a prolific but partially lost corpus. In elegiac poetry, Critias produced verses honoring figures like Alcibiades, including fragments proposing his recall from exile (fr. 5) and praising his virtues (fr. 4). One pentameter fragment asserts, “More men are good from practice, than from nature” (fr. 9), emphasizing nurture over innate qualities in character formation. A series of elegiac couplets describes Spartan customs, forming part of a Politeia of the Lacedaemonians (fr. 5–7), which highlights communal drinking practices and moderation as aristocratic virtues. Hexameter poetry attributed to Critias includes a fragment celebrating the sixth-century poet Anacreon, referencing the sympotic game kottabos (fr. 1) and its Sicilian origins (fr. 2), reflecting Critias' appreciation for earlier lyric traditions. Critias' dramatic works feature fragments from three tragedies: Tennes (one quotation), Rhadamanthys (end of a hypothesis plus three brief lines), and Pirithous (nine fragments), the latter exploring themes of friendship, patriotism, and the superiority of noble character to mere law (fr. 22). The Pirithous, set in Hades involving Theseus and Pirithous' quest for Persephone, underscores heroic bonds and consequences of hubris. A further fragment from a satyr play, Sisyphus (fr. 25), posits laws and gods as human inventions to curb wrongdoing, though its authorship by Critias remains debated among scholars.

Philosophical Fragments and Ideas

Critias' philosophical ideas are preserved chiefly in scattered fragments from his literary compositions, including tragedies, elegies, and a , reflecting a rationalistic and skeptical influenced by Sophistic thought. These fragments reveal interests in , the nature of the , and the origins of , often prioritizing human invention and social utility over traditional beliefs. While Critias produced works on constitutions and moral aphorisms, his surviving philosophical content emphasizes pragmatic explanations for ethical and religious phenomena. The most prominent fragment, from the satyr play Sisyphus (DK 88 B25), comprises 42 lines of and presents a proto-atheistic argument attributing the invention of gods to a shrewd lawgiver. In the discourse attributed to the character , early society is depicted as disordered and governed by brute force, with laws emerging to curb overt injustices through public punishment. However, secret crimes evaded detection, prompting an intelligent individual to fabricate divine overseers: eternal beings residing in the heavens, all-seeing and all-hearing, who would enforce retribution even in hidden acts. This construct, veiled in myths, instilled fear to maintain order where governance fell short, portraying as a deliberate tool for rather than divine revelation. Authorship of the Sisyphus fragment is traditionally ascribed to , as cited by (Adv. Math. 9.54), aligning with his reputation for blasphemy and toward popular . Scholarly debate persists, with some attributing it to due to stylistic overlaps, but proponents of Critias highlight its congruence with his documented impiety—such as public mockery of gods during political executions—and his Sophistic emphasis on teachable virtue over innate or divine morality. The fragment's implications extend to a utilitarian view of , where of punishment supplements legal systems, prefiguring later notions like Plato's "" for societal stability, though Critias applies it cynically to justify rule. Beyond , fragments indicate Critias' engagement with and . In fragment 23, he posits the as blood, with localized in the heart's blood, echoing ' materialist theories while diverging from immaterial concepts. Fragment 40 distinguishes sensory (aisthesis) from rational understanding (gnōmē), suggesting an early epistemological divide between immediate experience and reflective judgment. These ideas underscore a mechanistic approach, prioritizing observable causation over mythological explanations, consistent with fifth-century BCE . Critias advocated that excellence (aretē) is teachable through noble upbringing, critiquing reliance on alone and favoring cultivated character among elites. His fragments thus portray a of human agency, where institutions like and serve practical ends rather than transcendent truths.

Critiques of Democracy and Religion

Critias viewed Athenian democracy as inherently flawed, prone to mob rule by the uneducated and ambitious, which he believed fostered demagoguery, corruption, and military defeat, as evidenced by Athens' losses in the Peloponnesian War. In contrast, he advocated oligarchic governance by the virtuous elite, drawing explicit praise for Sparta's constitution in his prose fragments, where he described Lycurgus' laws as establishing order through mandatory physical training from infancy, communal meals to enforce equality among peers, and prohibitions on luxury to cultivate self-control and martial prowess. These elements, Critias argued, produced physically and morally superior citizens capable of sustaining a stable polity, implicitly condemning democratic Athens for prioritizing rhetorical flattery over substantive virtue. His anti-democratic stance manifested in recorded speeches, such as Xenophon's account in the of Critias' confrontation with in 404 BC, where Critias defended the ' restriction of citizenship to 3,000 propertied men as a bulwark against the "people's faction" (demos) that had previously enabled tyrannical demagogues. Critias accused moderates like of for opposing extreme while tolerating democratic excesses, asserting that only unyielding elite rule could prevent societal relapse into and restore Athenian strength. Ancient sources like , however, portray these views through a lens critical of Critias' implementation, emphasizing his role in violent purges, though the underlying preference for hierarchy over mass participation aligns with surviving fragments. On religion, Critias is associated with a fragment from the Sisyphus (TrGF 43 F 19), quoted by , which offers an early proto-atheistic explanation of divine belief as a human contrivance. The text describes prehistoric human life as brutal and lawless, ruled by until "some shrewd, empty-headed man" invented gods and placed them in an unseen realm to instill fear of punishment for hidden crimes, supplementing inadequate human justice: "Thus first did someone persuade mortals of the in the sky... So saying, he introduced the holy fear of the gods, by which he fenced in the crowd." This rationalizes not as revelation but as a clever political tool for deterrence and order, reflecting sophistic toward traditional . While authorship debates persist—some scholars attribute it to due to stylistic features—the fragment's alignment with Critias' elitist, pragmatic worldview and his documented impiety in ancient testimonies supports traditional ascription to him. and others critiqued such ideas as contributing to Critias' moral laxity, though the fragment itself prioritizes causal efficacy over theological orthodoxy.

Political Career

Role in the Four Hundred (411 BC)

In 411 BC, following the catastrophic Athenian defeat in and mounting pressures from the ongoing , a group of oligarchs led by figures such as , Peisander, and orchestrated a coup that dissolved the democratic assembly and established the regime of the Four Hundred. This body, ostensibly provisional and tasked with preparing a for a broader council of 5,000, in practice concentrated power among a narrow elite of approximately 400 men, excluding the broader citizenry from political participation and pay for public service. The oligarchy sought Persian financial support through negotiations involving , who promised aid in exchange for his recall from exile, and implemented measures to streamline governance amid military desperation. Critias's precise role in these events remains undocumented in primary sources like Thucydides' account in Book 8 of The History of the Peloponnesian War, which details the coup's leaders and dynamics without mentioning him. Some modern scholars have speculated on his possible affiliation due to his aristocratic background, associations with Alcibiades (whom he reportedly represented in Athens around this period), and later commitment to extreme oligarchy, but direct evidence for membership in the Four Hundred or active participation is lacking. His known political entanglements prior to 411 BC were limited, with exile following implication in the 415 BC mutilation of the Herms marking his first recorded public controversy; this absence of attestation suggests Critias played at most a peripheral or supportive role in the broader anti-democratic currents that fueled the revolution, rather than a leadership position. The regime collapsed within four months due to internal divisions and naval unrest at Samos, restoring a moderated democracy under the Five Thousand, which further highlights the coup's fragility and Critias's non-prominence therein.

Ascension to the Thirty Tyrants (404 BC)

Following Athens's capitulation to in the late summer of 404 BC, after the decisive Spartan victory at Aegospotami the previous year, the defeated city faced severe terms dictated by the Spartan general . These included the demolition of the and the fortifications, severe restrictions on naval power, and the imposition of an oligarchic regime to replace the , which viewed as responsible for Athens's aggressive imperialism. Spartan envoys addressed the Athenian , urging the selection of thirty trustworthy men to draft a new and exercise full governing authority, ostensibly to restore order and align with Spartan preferences for limited rule by the elite. Under threat of further subjugation, the assembly acquiesced, electing the Thirty, a body comprising prominent anti-democratic figures who had long criticized the broad franchise and radical policies of the demos. , a contemporary observer sympathetic to oligarchic circles, records this transition as a pragmatic response to defeat, though later Athenian sources like portray it as coerced tyranny from the outset. Critias, previously exiled in 411 BC after the collapse of the Four Hundred oligarchy and active in fomenting unrest against local democracies, returned to in the spring or summer of 404 BC amid the recall of political exiles to consolidate anti-democratic forces. His prior advocacy for Spartan-style governance, evident in his writings praising Lacedaemonian discipline, positioned him as a natural leader among the returned oligarchs. Elected to the Thirty, Critias rapidly dominated the group, sidelining moderates like and directing its initial actions toward purging perceived democratic threats, thus ascending to effective control of the regime.

Governance and Policies of the Thirty

The Thirty Tyrants established an oligarchic government in in late 404 BC, immediately after the city's surrender to in the , with the mandate to revise the constitution but rapidly exceeding it to consolidate absolute power. Under Critias's dominant influence as the regime's leader, they selected a of 400 supporters and armed a core group of 3,000 propertied citizens as the basis of governance, explicitly disenfranchising all others and confiscating weapons from the broader populace to prevent uprisings. This structure prioritized loyalty to and internal security over broader representation, drawing on Critias's prior advocacy for elite rule as a corrective to democratic excesses. Core policies centered on terror and purification of the citizen body, involving summary executions without of political opponents, wealthy metics, and even non-threatening figures to seize assets and instill fear. records that the Thirty executed about 1,500 citizens in proper during their roughly eight-month rule, a figure echoed by , with additional killings at Eleusis after they relocated part of their operations there for safety. Property seizures funded a and enriched collaborators, while laws were retroactively fabricated to justify actions, such as targeting individuals like Leon of Salamis solely for potential resistance. Critias justified these as necessary to eliminate democratic remnants and secure stability, but details how they extended to arbitrary violence against the rich and poor alike, undermining any claim to principled . Internal policy fractures emerged between radicals led by Critias and moderates like , who initially supported restricting citizenship but opposed indiscriminate killings of non-democrats. Critias, viewing restraint as weakness, orchestrated 's execution in late 404 BC by publicly denouncing him before the council and having him dragged to his death despite a plea, solidifying the regime's extremist turn. To enforce compliance, they invoked Spartan arbitration, stationing Lysander's forces nearby and later seeking reinforcements from King Pausanias, though this dependence highlighted their inability to rule without external props. These measures, while briefly suppressing dissent, alienated even oligarchic sympathizers and fueled democratic exiles' mobilization from .

Controversies and Assessments

Charges of Tyranny and Violence

Critias, as the dominant leader of the following their installation in September 404 BC, was primarily accused of orchestrating a regime of arbitrary violence and terror to consolidate oligarchic power, including the execution of political opponents without and the systematic elimination of perceived democratic threats. Contemporary accounts, such as those from the democratic orator , detailed how members of the Thirty, acting under Critias' influence, arrested and murdered individuals like Polemarchus—Lysias' own brother—solely for their wealth or associations, with , a fellow Thirty member, personally leading such raids and justifying them as preemptive measures against potential rebels. These actions extended to confiscating properties from thousands of Athenians, driving exiles from the city, and targeting metics and non-elite citizens, framing the regime's rule as one of lawless excess rather than moderated governance. A pivotal charge centered on Critias' role in the execution of , a moderate oligarch and fellow member of the Thirty, in late 404 BC. recounts how Theramenes advocated limiting disenfranchisement to a fixed list of 3,000 supporters, opposing Critias' push for broader purges; in response, Critias publicly denounced him in the , had his name erased from the roster via a violent scribal act symbolizing expulsion from the living, and ordered his immediate death by poison or stabbing, effectively eliminating internal dissent to enforce radical policies. This incident exemplified accusations of intra-oligarchic tyranny, as Critias prioritized unyielding control over collaborative rule, alienating even allies and provoking accusations from later sources like of amoral ruthlessness. The regime's violence peaked with an estimated 1,500 executions between September 404 and May 403 BC, many targeting wealthy democrats to fund Spartan mercenaries and seize assets, actions portrayed as driven by personal greed rather than security needs. Critics, including democratic partisans, charged Critias with transforming the provisional council into a stereotypical tyranny by disarming the broader citizenry, restricting political to a narrow , and using the Eleven—executioners under the Thirty's sway—for summary killings without trials, contravening even oligarchic norms. While some defenses in ancient sources attributed the violence to necessities like preventing democratic reprisals, the scale and targeting of non-combatants fueled enduring claims of gratuitous brutality under Critias' direction.

Conflicts with Democratic Traditions

Critias's intellectual opposition to Athenian democracy stemmed from his view of it as a system prone to hubris and disorder, equating it with rule by the uninformed masses rather than the wise elite. In a memorial inscription attributed to his circle, he celebrated efforts to "restrain the hubris of the accursed Athenian Demos," reflecting a disdain for the democratic ethos of broad participation. He admired the Spartan oligarchic model for its stability and discipline, contrasting it with Athens's perceived chaos, and in fragments of his work, emphasized the need for trained intellect (gnōmē) over sensory-driven popular judgment. This philosophical stance privileged hierarchical order and law as human constructs enforceable by the capable few, clashing with democratic ideals of isonomia (equality under law) and collective decision-making through the ekklēsia (assembly). As leader of the in 404 BC, Critias enacted policies that systematically dismantled democratic institutions, restricting full citizenship to approximately 3,000 propertied males while disarming the broader populace and abolishing the and law courts. The regime, installed with Spartan backing after Athens's defeat in the , pursued a , executing or exiling around 1,500 individuals—primarily democratic sympathizers, informers from prior regimes, and metics (resident foreigners)—often without trial to eliminate perceived threats. confiscations targeted the wealth of executed or exiled figures, redistributing it to oligarchic supporters and funding Spartan garrisons, which directly contravened Athenian traditions of citizen and against arbitrary . Further conflicts arose from Critias's suppression of parrhēsia (free speech) and rhetorical training, reportedly banning "instruction in the art of words" to curb demagogic persuasion that had fueled democratic excesses. He ordered the assassination of in 404 BC as a preemptive strike against a potential democratic figure and executed the moderate oligarch in 404 BC for advocating restraint, prioritizing radical purification over compromise. These actions, enforced through ad hoc councils rather than juries drawn from all citizens, embodied rule by fear and elite fiat, inverting the democratic principle of accountability to the dēmos and provoking armed resistance from exiles in Thebes and . Critias's death in May 403 BC during the Battle of against these democratic forces underscored the regime's incompatibility with Athens's longstanding traditions of inclusive .

Balanced Views: Plato's Portrayal versus Xenophon's Critique

Plato depicts Critias in his dialogues as an associate of and a figure of intellectual stature, with minimal adverse commentary on his character. In the Charmides, Critias appears as a respected statesman engaging in philosophical discussion with , portrayed as knowledgeable yet occasionally overconfident in matters of . Similarly, in the Protagoras, he is grouped among eminent Athenians debating . The Timaeus and unfinished Critias feature him as the primary narrator of the myth, inherited from , emphasizing his role as a cultured transmitter of ancient wisdom without reference to his later political actions. In stark contrast, in his presents Critias as the dominant and ruthless leader of the , responsible for extreme measures to consolidate oligarchic power after ' defeat in 404 BC. details Critias' orchestration of the execution of in 404 BC, following a public confrontation where Critias accuses him of moderate tendencies undermining the , leading to Theramenes' forcible removal and death by hemlock. Critias is shown initiating property confiscations, exiling or killing opponents, and aligning with Spartan support to suppress democratic remnants, culminating in his death during a skirmish against democratic forces led by near in 403 BC. Xenophon's narrative frames these actions as tyrannical excesses, portraying Critias as impious and violent, diverging from any philosophical moderation. Scholars attribute the divergence to contextual and personal factors: , as Critias' great-nephew through his mother, integrates him into Socratic circles to defend philosophical inquiry against charges linking to the Thirty's crimes, as seen in post-403 BC trials. , writing later and possibly reacting to Platonic works like Charmides, amplifies Critias' brutality to underscore the perils of unchecked while critiquing democratic instability, reflecting his own experiences in Persian campaigns and Spartan alliances. This contrast highlights ancient historiographical biases, with Xenophon's account grounded in contemporary events he could verify through participants, whereas prioritizes didactic narrative over chronological politics.

Downfall and Immediate Aftermath

Internal Divisions and Execution of

The , installed in following the Spartan victory in the in 404 BC, soon fractured along ideological lines, with radical elements under Critias clashing against moderates exemplified by . , a veteran politician who had negotiated the surrender terms with and initially supported the oligarchy's formation, objected to the regime's arbitrary executions of Athenian citizens suspected of democratic sympathies. He proposed confining full and legal protections to a select group of 3,000 reliable individuals, whom he deemed sufficient to maintain order without provoking widespread resentment or risking the regime's collapse through excessive violence. This stance reflected ' pragmatic approach, rooted in his earlier experiences moderating the Four Hundred oligarchy in 411 BC, where he had similarly advocated limits on to preserve stability. Critias, the de facto leader and most uncompromising of the Thirty, perceived Theramenes' moderation as a direct threat to their unchecked authority, fearing it would dilute their power and invite challenges from the disenfranchised populace. In response, Critias escalated the by inscribing the names of the 3,000 approved citizens on wooden tablets during a council session, deliberately excluding Theramenes to formalize his from the inner circle. Critias then delivered a vehement speech accusing Theramenes of political opportunism and betrayal, cataloging his career shifts—from backing the narrow of the Four Hundred, to aiding the democratic restoration after its fall, to now undermining the Thirty by opposing their purges. Critias argued that sparing such a figure would embolden dissenters and jeopardize the safety of the ruling body, framing the execution as a necessary safeguard for their survival. Theramenes mounted a defense, asserting consistency in his opposition to both democratic excess and oligarchic overreach, and denying any intent to subvert the regime; he countered that true loyalty required rational governance rather than terror. Despite this, the Thirty, under Critias' influence, voted to condemn him to death, bypassing . Seeking sanctuary at an altar within the , Theramenes was forcibly seized by public executioners and conveyed to prison, where he was compelled to drink hemlock. As the poison coursed through him, he flung the dregs from the cup to the floor, declaring, "I make this libation to the fair voyage of my soul to ," before expiring. , the primary chronicler of these events, portrays Theramenes' end as that of a wise and valiant figure, implicitly critiquing the radicals' intolerance while noting the removal of this internal check enabled the Thirty to intensify their tyrannical measures without restraint.

Military Defeat and Death (403 BC)

Following the occupation of the fortress by and his democratic exiles in late 404 BC, Critias, as leader of the , dispatched a force to dislodge them but suffered a setback when his troops were ambushed and retreated with losses. Emboldened, Thrasybulus's band, now numbering around 1,000, descended to under cover of night and seized the strategic height of Munychia, prompting Critias to mobilize the Thirty, the Three Thousand, and supporting cavalry and hoplites to prevent the rebels from consolidating control over the port. Critias, opting against awaiting reinforcements from the Spartans or full assembly of his forces, ordered an immediate dawn up the slopes of Munychia to exploit surprise, advancing with the and in close formation. The democratic defenders, positioned advantageously above, held their ground initially before launching a downhill countercharge that disrupted the oligarchic ranks, sowing panic among the attackers unaccustomed to such terrain and impetus. In the ensuing rout and hand-to-hand fighting at the base of the hill, Critias was struck down and killed, alongside fellow Thirty member Hippomachus and approximately seventy other oligarchic leaders and supporters. This decisive engagement, dated to May 403 BC, marked the military collapse of the Thirty's hold on and , compelling the survivors to abandon the city for Eleusis while Thrasybulus's forces pursued and further eroded their authority. Xenophon's account in the emphasizes Critias's tactical impatience as a key factor in the defeat, portraying the battle as a swift reversal that exposed the fragility of the oligarchy's internal cohesion and military resolve.

Legacy

Influence on Plato and Socratic Tradition

Critias, born circa 460 BC and 's second cousin through his mother's side, maintained close familial and intellectual ties that informed 's philosophical development. As a member of ' elite, connected to , Critias engaged in Socratic circles, appearing in 's Protagoras (set 433 BC) alongside sophists and . His execution in 403 BC as leader of the , referenced in 's (324d), contributed to 's disillusionment with politics, fostering a preference for philosophical governance over direct involvement. In Plato's dialogues, Critias features prominently as an authoritative figure, notably in Charmides, where he debates temperance with , and in Timaeus and Critias (composed around 360 BC), where he narrates the myth derived from via family tradition. This portrayal emphasizes Critias's erudition and reliability, diverging from Xenophon's harsher assessment in Hellenica, suggesting Plato's selective rehabilitation influenced by kinship and shared Socratic affinity. Critias's literary output, encompassing elegies, tragedies, and potential dialogic Homilies, likely prefigured Plato's adoption of the dialogue format for exploring ideas, marking an early innovation in presenting . Critias's role in the Socratic extended through his discipleship under , whose teachings Critias adapted in writings like the fragment distinguishing sensation from understanding (fr. 40). However, his tyrannical actions fueled accusations at ' 399 BC trial, portraying Socrates as corrupting youth toward anti-democratic violence, a dynamic Plato addressed in defenses like the Apology and shaped his advocacy for elite rule tempered by philosophy.

Historical Reevaluation of Oligarchic Rule

The oligarchic regime of the , under Critias's predominant influence from September 404 BC to April 403 BC, has traditionally been characterized as a tyrannical interlude defined by mass executions, disenfranchisement of non-propertied citizens, and Spartan-backed repression, with ancient accounts emphasizing over 1,500 deaths in eight months, including targeted killings of metics and moderate oligarchs like . This portrayal draws heavily from democratic-leaning sources such as Lysias's speeches, composed by an exile whose brother was executed, which prioritize retributive narratives over balanced causal analysis. Xenophon's , despite its author's oligarchic sympathies and eyewitness proximity, reinforces Critias's role as the regime's most violent architect, yet notes procedural elements like the assembly's ratification of the Thirty's powers. Reevaluations highlight the as a direct causal response to 's systemic failures, including demagogic that precipitated the Peloponnesian War's decisive losses, such as the Expedition's annihilation of approximately 40,000 Athenian forces in 413 BC due to unchecked assembly votes favoring aggressive expansion over prudent . Post-defeat Athens faced economic collapse, with its fleet destroyed at Aegospotami in 405 BC and demolished, creating conditions where propertied elites viewed restricted rule—initially by the Three Thousand hoplites—as essential for stability and prevention of revenge politics that had fueled prior civil strife, as seen in the failed moderate of the in 411 BC. Critias's fragments advocate sophrosyne (self-restraint) as an aristocratic virtue to counter the demos's volatility, aligning with Sparta's mixed , which had outlasted 's pure . These perspectives underscore source credibility issues: democratic victors' accounts, amplified in forensic oratory, exhibit partisan exaggeration to legitimize the 403 BC amnesty's exceptions, while overlooking the Thirty's early efforts to codify ancestral laws and purge sycophants (professional accusers thriving under ), which garnered tacit support from segments fearing renewed demagoguery. Plato's familial ties to Critias yield a nuanced depiction in dialogues like Timaeus, portraying him as intellectually rigorous rather than merely despotic, contrasting Xenophon's emphasis on personal vendettas. Nonetheless, the regime's radicalization—exemplified by Theramenes's execution for advocating broader inclusion—eroded its legitimacy, culminating in military defeat at Munichia, revealing oligarchy's vulnerability to internal absent mechanisms. Empirical outcomes affirm neither system's immunity to : democracy's excesses invited Spartan intervention, while oligarchic consolidation provoked civil war, killing Critias and scattering the Thirty.

Enduring Philosophical Impact

Critias's surviving fragments reveal a rationalistic worldview that challenged traditional religious beliefs, most notably in the Sisyphus fragment attributed to him, where a character asserts that humans invented the gods as a cunning mechanism to deter wrongdoing through fear of punishment, thereby establishing laws and order in society. This passage, dated to the late fifth century BCE, constitutes one of the earliest documented arguments for the human origins of divinity in , prefiguring later Enlightenment critiques of religion as a tool for and contributing to ongoing philosophical discussions on and the foundations of morality. Critias's association with and his role as Plato's uncle facilitated his portrayal as a key interlocutor in Platonic dialogues, including Timaeus and the unfinished Critias, where he recounts the legend of as an potentially reflecting ideal and . Scholars have traced elements of Critias's oligarchic constitutional theories—emphasizing elite rule, strict s, and the subordination of to stability—to influences on , particularly in critiques of and visions of philosopher-led states in The Republic. His pragmatic emphasis on power dynamics and virtue as products of disciplined echoed in Hellenistic debates on and , underscoring tensions between philosophical idealism and . Through these channels, Critias's ideas perpetuated skepticism toward popular religion and democratic excesses, informing and modern reevaluations of ancient tyranny as a cautionary model for balancing order and liberty in political theory. His fragments' survival in quotations by later authors like ensured their role in antiquity's rationalist tradition, bridging Sophistic relativism with Socratic inquiry.

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