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The walls of Athens come down

set in 404 BCE, Athens. Xenophon's own narration.

Where and when

set in 404 BCEAthens

2,429 years ago

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Xenophon

, AthensXenophon's own narration

In plain words, ours

Lysander sailed into the harbour, the exiles came home, and the Peloponnesians happily tore down the walls to flute music, thinking Greece's freedom began that day.

After this Lysander sailed into Piraeus, the exiles returned, and the Peloponnesians with great enthusiasm began to tear down the walls to the music of flute-girls, thinking that that day was the beginning of freedom for Greece.

Xenophon, Hellenica 2.2.23Translated by Carleton L. Brownson (1918)Read the full passage (Xenophon, Hellenica 2.2.23, opens scaife.perseus.org)

What was going on, our summary

Xenophon is narrating Athens' surrender in 404 BCE. With people dying of famine, the Assembly has just voted, on Theramenes' advice, to accept Sparta's peace terms and tear down the walls.

Checked claim by claim against: Athens surrenders and its walls come down, the passage around the quote.

Why it matters

About the event it belongs to: Athens surrenders and its walls come down

The surrender ended the Peloponnesian War. Athens lost its Aegean empire and its dominance at sea, and Sparta became established as the leading power of Greece.

Based on Wikipedia: Peloponnesian War

Athens fell the following year and the Delian League was dissolved, ending the war.

Athens lost its Aegean empire and its maritime dominance, while Sparta became established as the leading power of Greece.

Wikipedia, Peloponnesian War (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-08-22. 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. c. 406 BCEabout 1.8999999999999773 years earlier Euripides and Sophocles die Same years
  2. 405 BCE1 year earlier The Athenian fleet is lost at Aegospotami Also about war and empire
  3. set in 405 BCE1 year earlier Athens hears of the lost fleet Same passageMore from Xenophon
  4. 404 BCE0.19999999999998863 years earlier Athens surrenders and its walls come down The event behind itAlso in AthensAlso about war and empire
  5. 404 BCESame year The Thirty take power in Athens Also in Athens
  6. set in 404 BCEThis momentThe walls of Athens come down
  7. set in 404–403 BCEBegins this year Theramenes on his way to execution More from Xenophon
  8. set in 404–403 BCEBegins this year The Thirty seize Athenians' lands More from Xenophon
  9. 403 BCE1 year later Democracy returns to Athens, with an amnesty Also in Athens

Just before and after

The text around the quote, word for word from the same translation.

Show the passageHide the passage

So Theramenes and his fellow-ambassadors brought back this word to Athens. And as they were entering the city, a great crowd gathered around them, fearful that they had returned unsuccessful; for it was no longer possible to delay, on account of the number who were dying of the famine. On the next day the ambassadors reported to the Assembly the terms on which the Lacedaemonians offered to make peace; Theramenes acted as spokesman for the embassy, and urged that it was best to obey the Lacedaemonians and tear down the walls. And while some spoke in opposition to him, a far greater number supported him, and it was voted to accept the peace.

The quote: After this Lysander sailed into Piraeus, the exiles returned, and the Peloponnesians with great enthusiasm began to tear down the walls to the music of flute-girls, thinking that that day was the beginning of freedom for Greece.

So the year ended, in the middle of which Dionysius of Syracuse, the son of Hermocrates, became tyrant, after the Carthaginians had been defeated in battle by the Syracusans, but had captured Acragas by famine, the Siceliots abandoning the city. In the following year—in which was celebrated an Olympiad, wherein Crocinas the Thessalian was victorious in the stadium, Endius being now ephor at Sparta and Pythodorus archon at Athens. Since, however, Pythodorus was chosen during the time of the oligarchy, the Athenians do not use his name to mark the year, but call it the archonless year.

Xenophon, Hellenica 2.2.21–2.3.1Translated by Carleton L. Brownson (1918)Read the full passage (opens scaife.perseus.org)

When, and whose words

Date
set in 404 BCE. Set at Athens' surrender in 404 BCE; Xenophon wrote it decades later.
Whose words
Xenophon's own narration.
How this post was checked
  • The plain-words line was read against the quote alone by a second, independent pass, which found it adds no claim the quote does not make (2026-10-03).
  • Each claim in the summary was checked by an independent pass against only the material it cites.
  • The quote itself is checked by the build: word for word, once, at the cited section of the stored translation.

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