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

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FIVE THOUSAND 205
of the Five Thousand functioned in a manner similar to that of the
full democracy, with the important exception that the thetes did not
take part.
Thucydides awards the constitution of the Five Thousand high
praise, perhaps calling it the best government Athens had in his lifetime."
Aristotle, as we have seen, also rated it highly, saying that the
Athenians "seem to have been governed well at that time, for a war
was in progress, and the state was in the hands of those bearing arms."
That praise no doubt expressed the sentiments of its author more
accurately than the realities of the situation, for the main weakness of
the new constitution was that it did not meet the needs of Athens
precisely in respect to its military forces. The moderates who introduced
it were determined to wage war against the enemy, but to do
so successfully, they must unite the hoplites and cavalrymen in the
city with the even more important force on Samos. But that force was
made up chiefly of thetes whose service in the fleet was vital for victory
but who would be excluded from active participation in the new constitution.
With the advantage of hindsight, we can see that such an
arrangement could not last long. It was only a matter of time until the
men who rowed the ships would insist on the restoration of their full
political rights. The irony confronting the moderates was that their
55 8.97·2: Kal. oUx ilKLO"Tct &ij TOV 'll'p6Yrov xp6V011 E1TL 'YE. EjJ.oO 'A8"1vatm. cpci:LVOV7aL
eU 1TO~LTefuavTEc;. The meaning of this sentence has been much disputed. It is not
certain whNher the praise is intended for the entire period in which the Five Thousand
ruled or only its first part; whether crUx_ -i]KLO"'Ta is a superlative and, if so, a strong or
a weak one; or if e.lJ 1TOALTefuavn:c; means that the Athenians at that time had a good
constitution or only that they managed their affairs welL For a full discussion of the
problems, see G. Donini, La posizione di Tucidide verso il governo dei cinquemila (Turin,
1969). Andrewcs (HCT V, 331-339) also offers a valuable discussion, placing the passage
in the context of Thucydides' political ideas. He translates it: "The initial period (of
this regime) was one of the periods when the affairs of Athens were conducted best,
at least in my time" (3 30). I find it hard to believe that Thucydides would distinguish
between the quality of the constitution or government in the first period of the regime's
existence, as opposed to a later one, when it lasted only nine or ten months. The softer
superlative rather than a stricter one is possible but not necessary. What I find hardest
to accept is the suggestion that Thucydides refers not to constitutional arrangements
but only to the management of affairs. The words that folJow-"for it was a moderate
blend in respect to the few and the many, and it was this that first alJowed the state
to recover from its wretched circumstances," Ka:t £K 1Tovftpwv "TWv "'TPO:"Y!J.li"Twv
yevo~J.£vwv "ToiJTo 11pW7ov civi}VE"YKE Ti)v 'JT6Atv-seem to indicate that Thucydides
refers to both constitutional and political matters but makes the latter subordinate to
the former. I prefer to translate the passage as follows: "For the first time, at least in
my own time, the Athenians seem to have been well governed." But Andrewes' version
is closer to the consensus.