Civil War and Social Memory
The Dexileus Relief (394)*
Keywords
The Thirty, The Ten,
Thrasybulus, Phyle,
Eleusis, Men of the
City, Men of Piraeus,
the Amnesty, Lysias
12, Eratosthenes,
Polemarchus,
Theramenes
In 394, a cenotaph was set up in honor of
Dexileus, who had died in a battle. Although
Athenians rarely furnished dates of birth and
death on burial monuments, Dexileus’were to
show that he had been too young to serve in the
cavalry of the Thirty.
Surrender to Sparta
1. Athens loses Battle of Aegospotami (405).
2. In 404, in a peace brokered by
Theramenes, the Athenians surrender to
Sparta, thus ending the Peloponnesian war
(431-404).
3. Athenians must demolish some of their
fortifications, surrender nearly all of their
fleet, dissolve the empire, and become a
member of the Peloponnesian League.
Rule of The Thirty
1. A few months after the surrender, oligarchic
conspirators, known as the Thirty, overthrow the
democracy and seize control of Athens.
2. All metics and all Athenians, except the wealthiest
3,000, are banished from the city.
3. Those who remain in Athens become known as the
“Men of the City.”
4. Property of many metics and disfranchised
Athenians is confiscated.
5. 1,500 Athenians executed.
The Men of Piraeus
1. Thrasybulus, with a band of exiles, first seizes
Phyle (a fortress on the outskirts of Attica) and
later takes control of the Piraeus (the port of
Athens); Piraeus becomes the democratic base.
2. The Thirty are exiled and retreat to Eleusis; the
Ten are installed and continue the war against
the men of Piraeus.
3. Sparta first helps the Ten, but later begins
negotiations between the Men of Piraeus and the
Men of the city.
Reconciliation
1. Terms:
a. Democracy restored in Athens
b. Amnesty for all crimes except murder and
attempted murder by one’s own hands; all
included in the amnesty except the Thirty, the
Ten, and the Eleven unless they undergo a
euthyna.
c. Eleusis granted political autonomy
2. Democrats conquer Eleusis (401), which is
reintegrated into Athens, and the amnesty is
extended to the remaining oligarchic supporters.
Success of the Reconciliation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Sparta? No.
Weakness of the democrats? No.
Decline in civic participation? No.
Terms of the Amnesty? No.
Speeches help us understand not why the
reconciliation was a success, but how they do and
do not come to terms with the past.
6. Law courts a medium for social memory (cf.
Vietnam Memorial, Forest Gump, Extremely Loud
and Incredibly Close).
Lysias 12 (background)
1. Speaker: Lysias. Only extant speech written by
Lysias for him to deliver on his own behalf.
2. Defendant: Eratosthenes, a member of the Thirty.
3. Action: Euthyna to determine whether terms of the
amnesty can be applied to Eratosthenes.
4. Main argument of Lysias: Eratosthenes cannot
enjoy privileges of the amnesty because he is
responsible for the death of Polemarchus (Lysias’
brother).
5. Date sometime after 403 and before 401.
6. Outcome: ????
Pathos of Lysias 12
• Prologue (opening): 1-3
• Epilogue (conclusion): 98-100
The Strategy of the Defense
• Eratosthenes was a good oligarch
• He opposed the rounding up and arrest of
the metics
• He was aligned with Theramenes
• Others too will pay for their actions
• Fear of civil unrest
Response of Lysias
Telescoping of Time
Democrats
believed
oligarchic
conspiracies
cause Athens to
lose the Battle of
Aegospotami
and surrender to
Sparta.
Defeat
Surrender
Rule of
The Thirty
Lysias collapses
the defeat,
surrender,
and overthrow of
democracy
into one event
by blaming
Theramenes and
the Thirty for all
three (see Lys.
12.36-40, 62-79)
United Demos
1. Jury referred to as men of Piraeus even though
some must have remained in the city (e.g.,
Lys.12.56).
2. Jury stands for the demos, thus cannot be
divided, cannot consist of oligarchic supporters.
3. Such an image depicts the Athenian people as
though it had remained united during the civil
war.
4. Such an image serves to hide the divisions and
factionalism remaining in Athens after the
reconciliation.
Exception to the
United Demos Imagery
• Lys. 12.92-95
• Lysias calls on the Men of the City and the
Men of Piraeus separately and explains why
they should both hate Eratosthenes.
Democratizing of
Aristocratic virtues
Lysias 12.94: “Realize that you [i.e., the Men
of the City] live as citizens with men [i.e., the
Men of the Piraeus] who are now the best
(“aristoi”).
What does Lys 12 tell us about
the Reconciliation?
• As disputes such as Lysias 12 come to court
and litigants describe the demos as though it
had remained united during the civil, do
they alleviate Athenian fear and anxiety so
that the reconciliation can work?
Lys. 12.80: “Do not make plans against the
Thirty in their absence only to let go of them
when you have them. And do not protect
yourselves less zealously than does Fortune,
who has surrendered them?
Lys 12.84-85: I think that the man
would have to be very bold who comes
here to defend himself…Either he
thinks so little of you or has so much
trust in others…Their supporters come
here not to help them but because they
believe that they will have much
impunity for their own actions and can
do whatever they want in the future…
The Theramenes Myth