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An oligarchy of Four Hundred seizes Athens

411 BCE, Athens. An event.

Where and when

411 BCEAthens

2,436 years ago

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, Athens

A group of four hundred takes over the council chamber and rules Athens by force, ending the democracy for a few months.

but afterwards departed widely from the democratic system of government, and except that on account of Alcibiades they did not recall the exiles, ruled the city by force;

Thucydides 8.70.1Translated by Richard Crawley (1874)Read the full passage (Thucydides 8.70.1, opens scaife.perseus.org)

Background: Athenian coup of 411 BC, Wikipedia (opens en.wikipedia.org)

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