The Fall of the Athenian Empire-(A New History of the Peloponnesian War) Donald Kagan - (1987)

7· The Four Hundred in Power
The coup was a complete success. The councillors took their money
and left without trouble. The other citizens remained quiet and made
no move to interfere. The Four Hundred appointed their presiding
officers by lot, as in the old democratic council. They seem to have
allowed the archon and the treasurers elected by the democracy to
remain in office. 1 Every effort was made to preserve a sense of continuity,
normality, and legality. No doubt this was meant to calm the
people, to make tbe transition smoother, and to reduce the chance of
violent resistance, but also it must have reflected the influence of the
moderates, who were still part of the movement in Athens.
Even after the coup, the support of the moderates remained vital,
so the conspirators found it desirable to temper their brutal seizure of
power and their establishment of a relatively narrow governing council
by making promises of a more moderate future. At the meeting on
Colonus hill, a board of registrars (katalogeis) had been appointed to
draw up the list of the Five Thousand and had begun its work, although
the list was never completed or published.' The same assembly appointed
a committee of anagrapheis to draft a permanent constitution
for the future.' Both measures reflect the influence of the moderates,
1
HCT V, 194-195·
2
That the registrars were appointed and set to work follows from 8.67.3 and Lys.
20. IJ. See HCT V, 20]-204, and Rhodes, Commentary, 386.
J Aristotle (Ath. Pol. 30. 1) says that the Five Thousand selected a hundred men from
their own number "to draft a consitution," and modem scholars refer to dtem as the
anagrapheis. In 3o-3I he describes the proposals they produced, and in p.1 he claims
they were approved by the Five Thousand. Since the Five Thousand never came into