Critias (krĭshˈēəs, krĭtēəs) [key], c.460–403 B.C., Athenian
political leader and writer. A relative of Plato, he was an
aristocrat and had early training in philosophy with Socrates
and wrote poems and tragedies. He is best remembered, however,
as one of the Thirty Tyrants imposed on Athens by the Spartans.
He was soon at odds with Theramenes, who was put to death.
Critias earned a name for rapacity and bloodthirstiness,
although Plato seems to have admired him, using him as a speaker
in the dialogues Protagoras, Timaeus, and Critias. When
Thrasybulus led his forces against the Thirty, Critias was
killed in battle. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed.
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