### q4 Athenian elites were cruel even to their friends > The orator Lysias is another example. Lysias was born in Athens sometime after the passing of the Citizenship Law. His father had come to Athens from Sicily at the invitation of Pericles and established a business there making shields for Athens’ army. Lysias’ family was wealthy and had connections to many of Athens’ elites, including Socrates, Plato and many other students of Socrates. Under the democracy, his family had been rewarded for their generous contributions to civic life and the Athenian military with exemption from the immigrant tax and the right to own property, an impressive reward in a city that so prided itself on its indigenous status that typically only those born of the land could own it. > > And yet, Lysias lost everything — wealth, property, family — when the democracy was dismantled by a group of elite Athenians, including family members of Plato and followers of Socrates. They murdered Lysias’ brother, even though they had been friends and had regularly dined at his family home. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fgynkyrdv7eg7y52j22wg5v3) - [[We Condone It by Our Silence by Rebecca Futo Kennedy#q4 Athenian elites were cruel even to their friends|View in Vault]]