The Heroes of Phyle

Only modest public honors were granted to Thrasyboulos and the small group of patriots who were the first to join him in his fight for the return of freedom and democracy in Athens. He and his friends, while 'living as refugees in Thebes, understood the execution of Theramenes as an indication that the rule of the Thirty had turned into a desperate tyranny. These exiles trusted that Attika was full of truly democratic citizens who disapproved of the terror that had swept over their country in consequence of the military defeat of Athens and the subsequent occupation by the army of the enemy. But the desired downfall of these well-established forces required more than disapproval, and Thrasyboulos was determined by a courageous effort to turn this silent hostility into open revolt. He had not trusted in vain either in the democratic spirit of his fellow-citizens or in the hatred aroused by the Thirty against their own rule. And yet the importance of the heroic action of this small group of men must not be underestimated; they turned despair into hope and inertia into courage. It was in the early winter of the year 404/3 B.C. that Thrasyboulos set out from Thebes accompanied by seventy men.' He crossed into Attika and arrived in the mountain deme Phyle, a place that could easily be defended from all sides.2 The news of Thrasyboulos' arrival spread, and, in spite of the military measures taken by the Thirty, his snmall group increased daily. Some thirty men joined him even before the Oligarchs were able to launch their first attack, and for their share in the victory these men were given the same honors as the seventy who had come with him from Thebes.3 There is no reason to assume that all of these men were Athenian citizens: