Critias and Democracy
Abstract
The majority of Critias' contemporaries and fellow citizens saw the leader of the most brutal regime in Athenian history as a ruthless oligarch, moreover as a tyrant. Many ancient sources share this view. It is somewhat surprising therefore to see the most famous of his victims, the controversial politician Theramenes, denouncing him as a supporter of democracy. This contradiction has given rise to different, even diametrically opposed modern interpretations. It is this variety of interpretations and the importance of this question for understanding the political situation in Athens at the end of the fifth century BC, as well as the rise of tyranny in Thessaly, that has prompted us to take yet another look at this controversial issue.
Keywords:
Athens / Thessaly / democracy / tyranny / the thirty / Critias / theramenes / lycophronSource:
Balcanica, 2008, XXXIX, 33-46Publisher:
- Belgrade : Institute for Balkan Studies, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Funding / projects:
Institution/Community
Балканолошки институт САНУ / Institute for Balkan Studies SASATY - JOUR AU - Jordović, Ivan PY - 2008 UR - https://dais.sanu.ac.rs/123456789/4277 AB - The majority of Critias' contemporaries and fellow citizens saw the leader of the most brutal regime in Athenian history as a ruthless oligarch, moreover as a tyrant. Many ancient sources share this view. It is somewhat surprising therefore to see the most famous of his victims, the controversial politician Theramenes, denouncing him as a supporter of democracy. This contradiction has given rise to different, even diametrically opposed modern interpretations. It is this variety of interpretations and the importance of this question for understanding the political situation in Athens at the end of the fifth century BC, as well as the rise of tyranny in Thessaly, that has prompted us to take yet another look at this controversial issue. PB - Belgrade : Institute for Balkan Studies, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts T2 - Balcanica T1 - Critias and Democracy SP - 33 EP - 46 IS - XXXIX DO - 10.2298/BALC0839033J UR - https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_4277 ER -
@article{ author = "Jordović, Ivan", year = "2008", abstract = "The majority of Critias' contemporaries and fellow citizens saw the leader of the most brutal regime in Athenian history as a ruthless oligarch, moreover as a tyrant. Many ancient sources share this view. It is somewhat surprising therefore to see the most famous of his victims, the controversial politician Theramenes, denouncing him as a supporter of democracy. This contradiction has given rise to different, even diametrically opposed modern interpretations. It is this variety of interpretations and the importance of this question for understanding the political situation in Athens at the end of the fifth century BC, as well as the rise of tyranny in Thessaly, that has prompted us to take yet another look at this controversial issue.", publisher = "Belgrade : Institute for Balkan Studies, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts", journal = "Balcanica", title = "Critias and Democracy", pages = "33-46", number = "XXXIX", doi = "10.2298/BALC0839033J", url = "https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_4277" }
Jordović, I.. (2008). Critias and Democracy. in Balcanica Belgrade : Institute for Balkan Studies, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.(XXXIX), 33-46. https://doi.org/10.2298/BALC0839033J https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_4277
Jordović I. Critias and Democracy. in Balcanica. 2008;(XXXIX):33-46. doi:10.2298/BALC0839033J https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_4277 .
Jordović, Ivan, "Critias and Democracy" in Balcanica, no. XXXIX (2008):33-46, https://doi.org/10.2298/BALC0839033J ., https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_4277 .