Critias

Critias (c. 460 – 403 BC) was an ancient Athenian political figure and author. Born in Athens, Critias was the son of Callaeschrus and a first cousin of Plato's mother Perictione. He became a leading and violent member of the Thirty Tyrants. He also was an associate of Socrates, a fact that did not endear Socrates to the Athenian public.

Critias was noted in his day for his tragedies, elegies, and prose works. Sextus Empiricus attributed the Sisyphus fragment to Critias; others, however, attribute it to Euripides. His only known play is Peirithous. In addition, eight shorter quotations from unidentified plays have come down to us. …more