Page "History of anarchism" Paragraph 8

In Athens, the year 404 BC was commonly referred to as “ the year of anarchy ”.

According to the historian Xenophon, this happened even though Athens was at the time in fact under the rule of the oligarchy of " The Thirty ", installed by the Spartans following their victory in the second Peloponnesian war, and despite the fact that there was literally an Archon in place, nominated by the oligarchs, in the person of Pythodorus.

However, the Athenians refused to apply here their custom of calling the year by that archon's name, since he was elected during the oligarchy, and “ preferred to speak of it as the ' year of anarchy '”.