The Athenian Constitution   

relating to the organization of the constitution, but after
appointing
a Council of Five Hundred and the other magistrates out of a
thousand selected candidates, and associating with themselves ten
Archons in Piraeus, eleven superintendents of the prison, and three
hundred 'lash-bearers' as attendants, with the help of these
they kept
the city under their own control. At first, indeed, they behaved
with moderation towards the citizens and pretended to administer the
state according to the ancient constitution. In pursuance of this
policy they took down from the hill of Areopagus the laws of
Ephialtes
and Archestratus relating to the Areopagite Council; they also
repealed such of the statutes of Solon as were obscure, and
abolished the supreme power of the law-courts. In this they
claimed to
be restoring the constitution and freeing it from
obscurities; as, for
instance, by making the testator free once for all to leave his
property as he pleased, and abolishing the existing limitations in
cases of insanity, old age, and undue female influence, in order
that no opening might be left for professional accusers. In other
matters also their conduct was similar. At first, then, they acted
on these lines, and they destroyed the professional accusers
and those
mischievous and evil-minded persons who, to the great
detriment of the
democracy, had attached themselves to it in order to curry
favour with
it. With all of this the city was much pleased, and thought that the
Thirty were doing it with the best of motives. But so soon
as they had
got a firmer hold on the city, they spared no class of citizens, but
put to death any persons who were eminent for wealth or birth or
character. Herein they aimed at removing all whom they had reason to
fear, while they also wished to lay hands on their
possessions; and in
a short time they put to death not less than fifteen hundred persons.

Part 36

Theramenes, however, seeing the city thus falling into ruin, was
displeased with their proceedings, and counselled them to cease such
unprincipled conduct and let the better classes have a share in the
government. At first they resisted his advice, but when his
proposals came to be known abroad, and the masses began to associate
themselves with him, they were seized with alarm lest he should make
himself the leader of the people and destroy their despotic power.
Accordingly they drew up a list of three thousand citizens, to whom
they announced that they would give a share in the constitution.
Theramenes, however, criticized this scheme also, first on the
ground that, while proposing to give all respectable citizens a
share in the constitution, they were actually giving it only to
three thousand persons, as though all merit were confined within
that number; and secondly because they were doing two inconsistent
things, since they made the government rest on the basis of
force, and
yet made the governors inferior in strength to the governed.
However, they took no notice of his criticisms, and for a long time
put off the publication of the list of the Three Thousand and kept
to themselves the names of those who had been placed upon it; and
every time they did decide to publish it they proceeded to strike
out some of those who had been included in it, and insert others who
had been omitted.