Following the period of time in Athens during the 5th Century B.C when it was ruled by a radical, extreme democracy, the Athenian people voted to choose thirty men to rule as an oligarchy. The Athenians wanted to be governed by the ancient laws enacted by Solon and Cleisthenes, so these men were chosen by the people to frame the ancient laws into a constitution under which to conduct the government. However, the Thirty had their own agendas, ones that earned them the nickname 'The Thirty Tyrants of Athens.'
             What did these so called 'Thirty Tyrants' hope to achieve in Athens? Well, mainly they wanted total control over the Athenian people and its government, and to use this to their own advantages. After they were chosen, the Thirty delayed framing and publishing this constitution, the very thing that they were put in place to do. This was done for their own benefit, as since there was no constitution as yet, they could still make the rules up as they went along. However, they still appointed a Senate and Magistrates as they saw fit. This enabled them to appoint people they know would be loyal to them, and support anything they tried to do.
             The first step the Thirty took when voted to power in 404 B.C was to arrest all the people who by common knowledge had made a living during the time of the democracy by acting as informers and opposing the aristocrats. They were held with a sentence of death if found guilty. This pleased the Senate, as they were the aristocratic class that these people had opposed. They were happy to hand out guilty verdicts. The common people were not displeased because they knew that they were not part of this class. This enabled the Thirty to dispose of all the obvious troublemakers who would oppose them.
             The Thirty realized that to enable them to be free to make decisions on their behalf, they would also need a military force. Therefore, they sent two of their members, by the names...