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Critias

Overview

:Critias is also a work by Plato, see Critias (dialogue).

Critias (Greek , 460-403 BC), born in Athens, son of Callaeschrus, was the uncle of Plato, and a leading member of the Thirty Tyrants, and one of the most violent. He was an associate of Socrates, a fact that did not endear Socrates to the Athenian public. He was noted in his day for his tragedies, elegies and prose works. Some, like Sextus Empiricus, believe that Critias authored the Sisyphus fragment; others, however, attribute it to Euripides.

Critias appears as a character in Plato's dialogues Charmides and Protagoras. The Critias character in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias is often identified as the son of Callaeschrus - but not by Plato; and given the old age of the Critias in these two dialogues, he must be the grandfather of the son of Callaeschrus.

Critias was a very dark person in Athenian history. After the fall of Athens to the Spartans, he blacklisted many of its citizens as a leading member of the Thirty Tyrants. Most of his prisoners were executed and their wealth was confiscated. He proved to be a tormented personality, displaying many complexes and much hatred (in contrast to the Platonic figure described as the student of Socrates).

References

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This biography says:

...Some, like Sextus Empiricus, believe that Critias authored the Sisyphus fragment; others, however, attribute it to Euripides....

That biography says:

...Ancient scholars thought that Euripides had written ninety-five plays, although four of those were probably written by Critias. Eighteen of Euripides' plays have survived complete. It is now widely believed that what was thought to be a nineteenth, Rhesus, was probably not by Euripides...

This biography says:

...He was an associate of Socrates, a fact that did not endear Socrates to the Athenian public. He was noted in his day for his tragedies, elegies and prose works. Some, like Sextus Empiricus, believe that Critias authored the Sisyphus fragment; others, however, attribute it to Euripides...

That biography says:

...Plato's mother was Perictione, whose family boasted of a relationship with the famous Athenian lawmaker and lyric poet Solon. Perictione was sister of Charmides and niece of Critias, both prominent figures of the Thirty Tyrants, the brief oligarchic regime, which followed on the collapse of Athens at the end of the Peloponnesian war (404-403 BC)...

That biography says:

...Alcibiades was recalled by the "intermediate regime" of The Five Thousand, the government which succeeded the Four Hundred in 411, but it is most likely that he waited until 407 BC to actually return to the city. Plutarch tells us that, although his recall had already been passed on motion of Critias, a political ally of his, Alcibiades was resolved to come back with glory. While this was certainly his goal, it was again means to an end, that end being avoiding prosecution upon his return to Athens...

That biography says:

...Thrasybulus and his men were outnumbered 5 to 1, but held a superior position and presumably benefited from consternation amidst the ranks of the oligarchs. In the battle, the exiles put the oligarchic forces to flight, killing Critias, the leader of the Thirty....

This biography says:

...Critias (Greek , 460-403 BC), born in Athens, son of Callaeschrus, was the uncle of Plato, and a leading member of the Thirty Tyrants, and one of the most violent. He was an associate of Socrates, a fact that did not endear Socrates to the Athenian public. He was noted in his day for his tragedies, elegies and prose works...

That biography says:

...Democracy was at last overthrown by a junta known as the Thirty Tyrants, led by Plato's relative, Critias, who had been a student of Socrates. The Tyrants ruled for about a year before the Athenian democracy was reinstated, at which point it declared an amnesty for all recent events...

That biography says:

...Solon wrote out this history as a poem, to which Plato subsequently made references in his dialogues Timaios and Critias.. Next Solon sailed to [[Cyprus], where he oversaw the construction of a new capital for a local king, in gratitude for which the king named it Soloi...

That biography says:

...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...

This biography says:

:Critias is also a work by Plato, see Critias (dialogue)....

That biography says:

...Plato's mother was Perictione, whose family boasted of a relationship with the famous Athenian lawmaker and lyric poet Solon. Perictione was sister of Charmides and niece of Critias, both prominent figures of the Thirty Tyrants, the brief oligarchic regime, which followed on the collapse of Athens at the end of the Peloponnesian war (404-403 b.c.e.)...

That biography says:

Cleophon (Greek: , Kleophōn; ?-404 BC) was an Athenian politician and demagogue who was of great influence during the Peloponnesian War. He was a staunch democrat, and vehement opponent of the oligarchs; his sparring with Critias rated a mention in Aristotle's Rhetoric....

That biography says:

...(Other students are named in later traditions; the Suda adds Pericles, and according to Philostratus, "I understand that he attracted the attention of the most admired men, Critias and Alcibiades who were young, and Thucydides and Pericles who were already old. Agathon too, the tragic poet, whom Comedy regards as wise and eloquent, often Gorgianizes in his iambic verse.")...
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