hstry

Athens votes to kill Mytilene's men, then relents

427 BCE, Athens. An event.

Where and when

427 BCEAthens

2,452 years ago

Explore
3000 BCE2900 BCE2800 BCE2700 BCE2600 BCE2500 BCE2400 BCE2300 BCE2200 BCE2100 BCE2000 BCE1900 BCE1800 BCE1700 BCE1600 BCE1500 BCE1400 BCE1300 BCE1200 BCE1100 BCE1000 BCE900 BCE800 BCE700 BCE600 BCE500 BCE400 BCE300 BCE200 BCE100 BCE1 CE100 CE200 CE300 CE400 CE500 CE600 CE700 CE800 CE900 CE1000 CE1100 CE1200 CE1300 CE1400 CE1500 CE1600 CE1700 CE1800 CE1900 CE2000 CEGreat Pyramid of Giza built, c. 2600 BCERome founded (traditional date), 753 BCELast western Roman emperor deposed, 476 CEGutenberg's printing press, c. 1440 CEColumbus reaches the Americas, 1492 CEFirst people on the Moon, 1969 CEToday, 2026

Swipe the line. Bars: entries. Dots: events.

, Athens

After Mytilene's revolt fails, the Athenian assembly orders all its men killed. The next day it debates again and sends a second ship to stop the order.

The morrow brought repentance with it and reflection on the horrid cruelty of a decree, which condemned a whole city to the fate merited only by the guilty.

Thucydides 3.36.4Translated by Richard Crawley (1874)Read the full passage (Thucydides 3.36.4, opens scaife.perseus.org)

Background: Mytilenean Debate, Wikipedia (opens en.wikipedia.org)

Why it matters

A second ship arrived just in time, the massacre was prevented and the people of Mytilene were spared. Thucydides' record of the debate gives important insight into Athenian democracy and imperial policy.

Based on Wikipedia: Mytilenean Debate

Favorable weather and diligence of the rowers ensured that the second trireme arrived just in time; Paches had only just read the decree brought by the first trireme but had not yet carried out the sentence.

The massacre was prevented and the people of Mytilene were spared.

The debate as recorded by Thucydides provides important insight into Athenian democracy and imperial policy, and reflections upon their development and role in the Peloponnesian War.

Wikipedia, Mytilenean Debate (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-07-28. Text CC BY-SA 4.0. Our line is checked against these sentences only.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. 430 BCE3 years earlier Plague breaks out in Athens Same years
  2. 431/430 BCE3 years earlier Athens holds a public funeral for its first war dead Same years
  3. set in 431/430 BCE3 years earlier Pericles on Athenian democracy Also about democracy and government
  4. 430 BCE, written later3 years earlier Thucydides on Pericles Also about democracy and government
  5. 429 BCE2 years earlier Pericles dies Same years
  6. c. 429 BCEabout 2 years earlier Oedipus demands to learn his birth Also in Athens
  7. c. 429 BCEabout 2 years earlier Iocasta on living at random Also in Athens
  8. c. 429 BCEabout 2 years earlier Oedipus on his city's sickness Also in Athens
  9. 427 BCEThis momentAthens votes to kill Mytilene's men, then relents
  10. c. 430–425 BCEDuring it Herodotus on every nation's own customs Same years
  11. c. 430–425 BCEDuring it Herodotus on why he wrote his Histories Also about war and empire
  12. 427 BCE, written laterSame year Thucydides on revolution in the cities Also about war and empire
  13. 425 BCE2 years later Spartans surrender on Sphacteria Same years

See it among its momentsSee it in the feedExplore by place and time