Athens was still required to be governed by its ancestral constitution. The requirement was vague, but clearly the Spartans expected Athens to abandon its radical democracy that had been so aggressive and, increasingly, so irresponsible. At one Assembly meeting it was proposed to appoint a commission to revise the constitution. Theramenes spoke in favor, while democrats shouted out against it. Lysander, who was present, stood up to threaten dire consequences for Athens if they rejected the proposal. Clearly Sparta was imposing an oligarchic regime on Athens.[20]
A ruling body that was also a constitutional commission was set up consisting of thirty men, of whom the most notable were Critias, friend of Socrates and relative of Plato, and Theramenes.[21] They proceeded to name ten magistrates to govern the port of Piraeus, including Charmides, first cousin of Critias and uncle of Plato; and then, ominously, eleven wardens to manage the prison and three hundred “whip-bearers” or constables—who were available also as bodyguards for the Thirty.[22] As soon as the Spartans including Lysander left, the Thirty began to feel anxious about their position. They sent to Sparta to request that Lysander dispatch a garrison of Spartan-led troops, nominally to help “root out the criminal element,” but more obviously to prop up their shaky regime. A garrison of 700 men duly arrived, which the Thirty appealed to for help in carrying out their program, and whose leaders, according to some sources, they bribed to win support.[23] The new regime was increasingly defining itself as a puppet government with no popular mandate.
At first the Thirty went after troublemakers and parasites of the democracy, including “sycophants,” informers or blackmailers who made a living by threatening to bring false evidence against the rich. The rulers made some improvements to the laws, including restoring greater authority to the conservative-dominated court of the Areopagus, thereby limiting the power of popular law courts. They simplified the laws of inheritance to discourage challenges to wills.[24] Some conservatives saw in the Thirty the hope of a more rational form of government. “Some of these men [of the new regime],” Plato reflected later, “happened to be relatives and friends of mine, and they soon invited me to take part in what looked like a valuable enterprise. In light of my youth, it is not surprising that I was flattered by their offer. For I thought that by their leadership they would direct the city from an unjust to a just way of life, so I paid close attention to them to see what they would do. But alas,” he continues, “I soon saw that these men made the previous government look like a golden age.”[25]
[20].Aristotle Constitution of Athens 34.3; Lysias 12.73-75; Diodorus Siculus 14.3.5-7.
[21]. Krentz 1982: 50 rightly emphasizes that the Thirty were not merely a constitutional commission.
[22].Aristotle Constitution of Athens 35.1.
[23].Xenophon Hellenica 2.3.13-14; Diodorus Siculus 14.4.4. Aristotle Constitution of Athens 37.2 has the Thirty send for the Spartan garrison later. Krentz 1982: 131-152 argues for Aristotle’s chronology, probably based on the “P” source of the Hellenica Oxyrhynchia; but there seem to me to be more problems with that chronology than with Xenophon’s. In particular, who was protecting a shaky regime from insurrections before the Three Thousand were appointed? The three hundred constables, armed only with whips, could surely not stop an uprising by hoplites.
[24].Aristotle Constitution of Athens 35.2-3.
[25].Plato Letter VII, 324d.