The young man conceded the honour to him by
right of age and abstained from the name of sovereignty, but only from that; he was the substance
and the mainspring of the tyranny. He gave the
government its assurance and security, and he alone
reaped the profit of its crimes. It was he who kept
their guardsmen together, who maintained their
defences in strength, who terrorised their subjects and
extirpated conspirators; it was he who plucked lads
from their homes, who made a mockery of marriages;
it was for him that maids were carried off; and whatever deeds of blood there were, whatever banishments, confiscations of property, applications of
torture, and outrages—all these were a young man’s
emprises. The old man followed him and shared his



 

wrongdoing, and had but praise for his son’s misdeeds.
So the thing became unendurable to us; for when the
desires of the will acquire the licence of sovereignty,
they recognise no limit to wrongdoing.
 
What hurt us most was to know that our slavery
would be long, nay unending, that our city would be
handed down by succession from despot to despot,
and that our folk would be the heritage of villains.
To other peoples it is no slight comfort to think, and
to tell one another, “But it will stop soon,” “But
he will die soon, and in a little while we shall be
free.’ In their case, however, there was no such
comfort; we saw the successor to the sovereignty
already at hand. Therefore not one of the brave
men who entertained the same purpose as myself
even ventured to make an attempt. Liberty was
wholly despaired of, and the tyranny was thought
invincible, because any attempt would be directed
against so many.
 
This, however, did not frighten me; I did not
draw back when I estimated the difficulty of the
achievement, nor play the coward in the face of
danger. Alone, alone, I climbed the hill to front the
tyranny that was so strong and many-headed—yet,
not alone but with my sword that shared the fray
with me and in its turn was tyrant-slayer too. I had
my death in prospect, but sought to purchase our
common liberty with the shedding of my own blood.
I met the first guard-post, routed the guardsmen with
no little difficulty, slew whomsoever I encountered,
destroyed whatsoever blocked my path. Then I
assailed the very forefront of my tasks, the sole

 

strength of the tyranny, the cause of our calamities.
I came upon the warden of the citadel, I saw him
offer a brave defence and hold out against many
wounds; and yet I slew him.
 
The tyranny, therefore, had at last been overthrown, my undertaking had attained fulfilment,
and from that moment we all were free. Only an
old man still remained, unarmed, his guards lost,
that mighty henchman of his gone, deserted, no
longer even worthy of a valiant arm. 
Thereupon, gentlemen of the jury, I thus reasoned
with myself; “All has gone well for me, everything
is accomplished, my success is complete. How shall
the survivor be punished? Of me and my right
hand he is unworthy, particularly if his slaying were
to follow a glorious, daring, valiant deed, dishonouring that other mortal thrust. He must seek a fitting
executioner, a change of fate, and not profit by
having the same one. Let him behold, suffer his
punishment, have the sword lying at hand; I commit
the rest to him.” This plan formed, I myself withdrew, and he, as I had presaged, carried through
with it, slew the tyrant, supplied the ending to my
lay.
 
I am here, then, to bring you democracy, to notify
all that they may now take heart, and to herald the
glad tidings of liberty. Even now you are enjoying
the results of my achievements. The acropolis, as
you see, is empty of malefactors, and nobody issues

 

orders; you may bestow honours, sit in judgement,
and plead your cases in accordance with the laws.
All this has come about for you through me and my
bold deed, and in consequence of slaying that one
man, after which his father could no longer continue
in life. Therefore I request that you give me the
reward which is my due, not because I am greedy or
avaricious, or because it was my purpose to benefit
my native land for hire, but because I wish that my
achievements should be confirmed by the donative
and that my undertaking should escape misrepresentation and loss of glory on the ground that it
was not fully executed and has been pronounced
unworthy of a reward.